D F Mcleod

Two red onions, a chilli, a few new potatoes and a few sprigs of rosemary. Guess how much? Wrong! 78 pence for all that! I kid you not, this is one of the cheapest places to get your fruit and veg in the whole of Edinburgh. They also stock a small range of local delicacies, cheese, cakes and they make sandwiches at lunch time.
The staff are incredibly friendly too. They will, as Anne C. said, greet you on the street. They’re always happy to have a conversation when you go in too. And they’ll even knock a few pence off if you’re short or you’ve no change. Brilliant.
There is another thing — they, like Fruit-​A-​Licious in Morningside, sell ripe bananas! Just when they’re perfect, they sell them off cheap. This place was a godsend when I was living on Strathern Road, but it’s worth a trip even if you live a little further away.

Traditional greengrocers seem to be a dying breed these days, what with the rise of supermarket empires and gourmet organic delis. Which is why this unassuming local shop almost seems like it’s from another era, a family run business with a jolly proprietor who says hello to you in the street and has a loyal following of elderly Marchmont residents, well-​to-​do families and cash-​strapped students alike.
As well as fruit and veg., they stock a range of upmarket pickles, preserves and soft drinks and filled rolls with staple fillings such as ham and cheese or egg mayonnaise. Although their usual prices are just slightly above average, check out the reduced items for sale on the street outside — I think I lived almost entirely off this stuff when I lived around the corner, a bizarre diet of ageing mushrooms, discounted pineapples and whatever else happened to be on offer that day.

I’m a big fan of this fruit and veg shop, not only because it is an independent grocers making a stand against all the corporate supermarkets, but also because it offers good value and high quality. Take a trip to Sainsbury’s or any other supermarket chain to buy your fruit and veg and the quality in general falls wide of the mark — here that simply isn’t the case.
You can’t even argue that supermarkets have an advantage over these independent grocers in their deals and special offers — out front there’s always a deal to be had from here and I should know because I pass here every day. Even today as I headed down to find out the opening hours (just a note these should be taken with a pinch of salt as they are by no means set in stone) I picked up a bag of 8 of the largest and tastiest oranges I’ve had in a long time and all for just a pound. A marvellous fruit and veg shop.