$$$$ • African • Old Town
African and Sudanese cuisine is a rising star in Edinburgh, especially among the hungry and switched-on in Southside’s studentville. No wonder then that Nile Valley Cafe’s Chapel Street location is the place where many University of Edinburgh types converge come lunchtime, all looking for a great value food fix bursting with flavourful, colourful, and healthy ingredients. The Sudanese wraps are undoubtedly the most popular item on the menu here, but there are a range of African delicacies on the menu to choose from – soups, salads and stews figure large, but also sweet Sudanese desserts. A polyglot cuisine, Sudanese food has absorbed centuries of influence from the Arab world, the Ottoman Empire, and Levantine, Egyptian, Yemeni, Indian, and Ethiopian traditions – a very pleasurable blend indeed, and one worthy of an exploration. Just don’t forget the traditional strong, sweet and cinnamon-spiced coffee!