The ideal spot to grab a meal's worth of vegetables…read more PRICE: Inexpensive. SERVICE: Not unhelpful. QUALITY: Pretty standard for a greengrocer. CHOICE: Plenty. Fruit and vegetables outside, and plenty more inside. Argyll Place is probably one of my favourite shopping streets in Edinburgh. Odd, I know, but it contains three of my most frequented shops: the Bike Works, Al Haj's and Nadia's Fruit and Vegetables. This place is smaller than its next door neighbour, but has a much wider vegetables selection at a much lower price. It is perfect (indeed, this is what I do nine out of ten times) for nipping to on the bike, grabbing a few different vegetables and then heading back to cook dinner, having spent perhaps a quid without the prospect of vegetables then going to waste at the bottom of the fridge. It is open until an ideal time too: 8pm everyday (usually), and this of course means that even a late night dinner can be created using vegetables from here. Their wide selection caters for most, if not all, meal types, and are never in too bad shape. Of course, unlike supermarkets, fruit from here tends to be ripe and ready to eat... Overall a winner then? Definitely. Though not as smart as its next door neighbour, Nadia's is the perfect greengrocers.

Fresh veg and inexpensive with some hard to find items. This is one of my day to day places to pick…read moreup vegetables. Service is functional and the place is well kept. Not sure what else to say on this as it is a veg shop other than thumbs up from me. Tip: They have reduced items in bags outside which is normally 8 - 10 peppers for 79 pence or on occassion bags for 49 pence of items that need used that day. If you are making soup or similiar that day its ideal.

The fruit and veg from here isn't always at its best and I did once buy a bag of plums from here on…read morethe cheap just to find they'd gone off, but it was on the cheap and luckily for this review I know to slow cook them and they turned out to be delicious. This means there is a risk if you are buying the really cheap or out of season items, but other than that you should be okay. In general I don't want to put you off because there are some nice items on offer here, but you do want to keep your eye out for something that's simply too far gone.

It is a shop filled with an array of unusual ingredients that I wouldn't have a clue how to use but…read moreits handy to know its there and you feel good giving money to a local business. However make sure you inspect what you are buying very carefully. I was in a rush and that was my first mistake. I came home to find that my celery was hollow, my pepper had hole and my bag of potatoes was sprouting. But other times everything has been fine. I think inspecting your fruit and veg very is the key to being a happy shopper. Also its the one place i have seen where you can buy a fresh Guava fruit.

Greengrocers are few and far between nowadays. The supermarkets are rapidly taking over their…read morebusiness, meaning that you'll be lucky to find one on a high street now. Banana Republic in Portobello is one of the few that I've seen in the city. I love the smell of greengrocers. There's something about the smell of fresh fruit and vegetables that just can't be matched. Although small, this place was packed with all sorts of fruit and veg, with a great deal on the pavement in front to tempt the passers by. No doubt this place is facing stiff competition, and we'd do well to use places like this to stop the supermarkets taking over completely.

Great little fruit and veg shop in Portobello…read more All sorts of healthy goodies here from the basics such as potatoes, onion and carrots to imported items such as blueberries and exotic fruits. All the produce is laid out old fashioned style - eg. on the pavement so you pick what you want and then head inside to pay. There are also some more basic items inside too. It is a busy wee place, especially on a Saturday morning, but there is something gratifying about shopping 'local' or independent and selecting the veggies and fruits you will be using through the week. I have always found that the fruits and veggies I have bought here have always lasted well if I store them correctly and prices are reasonable. As I don't live down here, I'm not here every week but I usually stock up when I'm meeting friends or doing a Findlay's run.

A good wee local green grocers selling produce mainly from in and around East Lothian. The…read moreselection isn't massive but it is mostly in season produce. The also have Handmade Italian Breads, free range and organic eggs plus local honeys, jams and spreads. I think they're a family run business. They accept cards which is super handy! They also sell the odd plant or two. They're not the cheapest but you're shopping local and they're a small business so you can't expect them to compete with the likes of Tescos!

Tattie Shaws has fruit spilling out of it into its wee stalls outside the store. Their peppers and…read moretomatoes look so delicious you can't help but wander in! I'm a big fan of independent greengrocers. Sadly, there aren't many of them about these days, but that is what makes places like Tattie Shaws so special. With a great range of fruit and veg from all across the world, Tattie's supplies look full of flavour and ripe like they've just been picked off a plant. It's very reasonably priced and they also stock a variety of herbs and other such cooking ingredients. The staff are pretty alert and keen to help if you need anything. But most of all, I was so impressed with the quality of the produce. With the vibrant colours and fresh appearances, Tattie Shaw's stocks both homegrown and international fruit and veg. It's great that they represent local farmers and suppliers, but their more exotic offerings look equally as fresh - they've definitely been shipped in recently. As it's still the Scottish strawberry season, I'd recommend trying Tattie's for some of Fife's best berries!

There aren't enough good old fashioned green grocers in the world anymore. Tattie Shaws however is…read morea wonderful example of a lovely, well stocked, locally owned business. The guy who runs this place (whose name i'm always forgetting) is a lovely but no nonsense chap, who knows his produce. He sells pretty much any fresh produce that you could care to buy. He seems to have a lot of everything all year round so he must be getting some of it from abroad but I know he also does seasonal stuff too. Ask him what's good and he'll suggest something! It's also handily on my walk home from work (assuming i get out in time before he closes!)

I left India in 1983 to study in the States, having grown up in Madras, now Chennai, in the South…read more For all the years in between, I've only on rare occasions been able to find South Indian food - In Brooklyn Heights on one occasion, and of course in London. One or two restaurants in Edinburgh have purported to offer South Indian fare (they shall remain nameless!), and it was, quite frankly, appalling. So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Janatha Stores. I simply wanted some cellotape and happened to be in a pub round the corner and popped into what looks like any other convenience store, but in side has three rows of shelves of South Indian provisions. The owner, Jaidas, told me he was from Kanyakumari, which is the tip of the Indian peninsula and so he stocks food provisions from both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The supplies range from frozen seafood, especially fish that is typically used in our South Indian Curries, to base materials to make a whole range of starchy foods like idlis (steamed rice cakes - for which you will need to buy an idli maker as well, unfortunately), dosais, vadas, iddi appams, appams and much more. Don't know what these are? Hey, try them, you'll like them, I promise. I love their instant Uppuma - a kind of savoury cream of wheat like dish. It's a great filler dish if I'm too lazy to make something properly. Even their tinned curries are excellent - I tried two - Kerala Kaalan Curry and another - expected them to be dire as most tinned curries are, but they were really good. A whole range of pickles and other spicy additives like Sambols - that lie outside of the more mundane offerings of other asian food stockists. Two of my favourites are Gonkura and Chilly pickle and something that is likened to a Gooseberry but is slightly different. Can't remember the original name, I'm afraid. They also have South Indian curries and rice dishes that are sterilised and vacuum packed so contain no preservatives. 2 minutes in the micro and they are yours - but I have to confess some of these are good but some were not to my taste. Try and see - they are all of £1.49 if memory serves, and many of the things I mention above are even cheaper. Last and definitely not least, my beloved Murrukku can be found here, however they do have two brands and one I found too hard - rice murrukkus seem to be the best here but they are often sold out of them. Am on my way right now to try and see if they have fresh stock! See you there?

Great for south indian shopping. they got a website too visit…read morehttp://www.janathaindianstoreedinburgh.co.uk

Tariq's is a tiny TINY shop and if you don't live in the area, probably only one you'll venture…read moreinto for a pack of smokes or a juice. But for those of us who call Stockbridge home, Tariq's is another one of those "diamond in the rough" grocers along this street. Between this and the Cost Cutter - I don't think there's a spice in the world that you wouldn't be able to find. It's not my go-to for everyday groceries, but when I happen upon something in a recipe that I don't recognize or can't find at Waitrose, this is one of my first places to poke my head in. Bonus: again, like Cost Cutter, the produce here is surprisingly great - very fresh - and you can pick up interesting seasonal produce that you might not find if you shop primarily at the bigger shops down the road. It doesn't look like much, but it's a solid neighbourhood shop and i'm glad to have it around!

Greengrocers ticks all the boxes in its criteria. It is packed full of good fruit and veg, smells…read moregood, seems fresh, hosts some exotic fruit, it's clean, it's fairly cheap for organic produce, and it stocks various herbs and spices. The staff are very attentive and interested in your custom. What's more, greengrocers like this deserve your attention because they have a wider selection than the supermarket. If you've ever been to local fruit shops abroad, you'll see the fruit is oddly shaped and a bit earthy - that's what it's meant to look like. The supermarket has warped our perception of what good food should look like, to the point that we're not arsed if the nutrients have been zapped out of them through pesticides and whatnot. If you have ever watched a documentary on it, you'll see the waste is sickening. Luckily for locals, Greengrocers gives us good fruit, and the slight increase on the cost is a fine price to pay for fruit and veg that is less tampered with than what you'll get from Tesco.

Two red onions, a chilli, a few new potatoes and a few sprigs of rosemary. Guess how much? Wrong!…read more78 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.

I'm a big fan of this fruit and veg shop, not only because it is an independent grocers making a…read morestand 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.

This is the nicest Asian supermarket in Edinburgh. I've been going for years. The staff are always…read morereally friendly , the shop is well looked after and they have a good range of Asian spices, pulses , rice, snacks, sweets, vegetable etc. If you get the little boxes of spices around £1 you can make authentic tasting dishes. I always go there for my Asian items. Another good thing is they are open till 9pm so I can avoid the heavy traffic to get there.

Although I didn't buy anything from Rajah's Supermarket, it was definitely an interesting to shop…read moreto just have a look round. This is the place which stocks all the local Chinese, Indian and Thai takeaways with their (mostly) authentic ingredients. It feels clean and well stocked with a huge variety of exotic ingredients including sauces, chutneys, a whole range of noodles and rices and many more spices and hebs than I even knew existed. Their meat is all Halal which means it has been slaughtered and cured in accordance with the traditions of Islam and is, apparantly, cleaner and purer than meat produced by other means. It did look quite a bit more expensive than the standard meat you can buy at the butcher, but it also looked extremely fresh. The service in Rajah's Supermarket is friendly and if you're after some exotic ingredients then this is the place to come.