We can't sell our Edinburgh flat due to the strong smell of food from the restaurant below

Darren Barrett, 53, lives with his family above the Vietnamese Food & Coffee restaurant at 14 Queensferry Street in the West End of Edinburgh. But the family has been plagued by a strong smell from the restaurant which is said to be due to holes in the ceiling and around the ventilation system.

He claims the restaurant has avoided a notice to close from the council’s planning department issued in November and is currently facing closure this month after Darren and his neighbours fought the issue for more than two years.

Darren and his family have been left unable to sell their flat and unable to sit together in the living room where the smell is strongest. He said the smell issue started with the previous owners Noodles and Rice, who moved into the unit in 2020 and left in 2021.

But the problem started again when the current restaurant opened in March 2023.

He said: “There was a massive odour issue with the previous tenants, which concluded when the business exited. Then the new restaurant came in and it started again.

“Noodles and Rice had smoke tests carried out by environmental health which found there was insufficient protection between the flats and restaurant. It’s just not an appropriate place there for a restaurant and that hasn’t changed with a different restaurant being there.

“It’s heartbreaking as we want to sell but we can’t, as there is an official notice online that there is an odour issue at our flat, caused of course by the restaurant downstairs.

the Vietnamese Food & Coffee restaurant at 14 Queensferry Street in the West End of Edinburgh. | Google Maps

“It smells like a Vietnamese kitchen every day in our home. We can’t sit as a family in the living room, that’s been two years now. It gets into the hall as well, but it’s at its strongest and worst in the living room.

“We had to go through the winter just there with our living room windows open every day to let the smell out, so it doesn’t stink out the rest of the flat. It is pungent. Our neighbours have also complained because the smell breaks the wall in the stairwell. As soon as you walk into the stairwell you can smell Vietnamese food.

“It’s so stressful having that smell in our home every night. The boys are in their bedroom instead of sitting with us, and my wife and I sit in the kitchen and have to watch TV in our bedroom.

“But our biggest concern is not being able to sell this flat, and that’s the third year now, it’s a nightmare for us as a family.”

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Environmental Health previously investigated the restaurant and established that there was ‘significant cooking odour escape from the premises into the residential property above’. It added: “This seems to be primarily due to gaps / holes in the ceiling and around the existing ventilation system allowing odour to escape.”

Darren and his family have been left frustrated by the lack of action on the issue from the council's environmental health and planning departments, and say the family have been forced to endure two years of ‘hell’.

He said: “We complained to the council and it took over two years to get them to take action. Environmental Health needed us to supply lots of evidence. We eventually got the environmental wardens to come out midweek at night to smell it for themselves and do tests.

“The restaurant was ordered to close, but they then appealed to the Scottish Government. They were given an enforcement issue in November 2024, which they appealed which delayed it for three months, and then they got another 90 days, which took them to May.

“They now seem to have just ignored the orders and are still operating as a restaurant, with the smell still invading our home every day. It’s been hell.

“We managed to get some communication with planning today, after a month of trying, to say the restaurant has been sent a letter to say they have to close by June 20, or it will be passed onto the legal department, but we just don’t know what that means exactly.

“They have been told they can still operate while serving food like soup and sandwiches, but not fully cooked meals. They had earlier said they were not preparing hot food, which is just nonsense.”

Responding to these claims, Vietnamese Food & Coffee owner Kim Dinh said: “First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere sympathy to Mr Barrett and his family. We understand how distressing this ongoing situation must be for them, and we never intended to cause disruption to anyone’s home life.

“However, we would like to provide some important context from our side. When we took over the premises at 14 Queensferry Street, we were unaware of any prior issues relating to odour or planning. Before signing the lease, we clearly informed the landlord that our intention was to serve hot food, and we even shared the concept for our Vietnamese café.

“At no point were we advised that there had been similar issues with the previous operator or that the building might be unsuitable for restaurant use. Had we known, we would have approached the situation differently from the outset.

“As newcomers to the area and to this type of commercial unit, we were not familiar with the local planning process or the specific history of this property. Our motivation was simple — to introduce a new cultural and culinary experience to the West End, and we have been heartened by the warm reception from many local customers, including frequent visits and positive reviews.

“When we received the council’s letter regarding the odour issue, we acted in good faith to address the concerns. We engaged engineers, carried out multiple assessments, and spent a significant amount of money trying to resolve the problem.

“Unfortunately, it appears that the structural limitations of this older building — rather than any specific failure on our part — have made a full technical solution extremely difficult, regardless of the business type operating on the ground floor.

“Throughout this period, we have remained in communication with the council and have followed their guidance to the best of our ability. We have never intended to ignore enforcement — rather, we awaited the outcome of our planning application before taking irreversible steps to close the business, which would have had serious financial consequences for our family.”

Kim also confirmed the “heartbreaking” closure of her Queensferry Street restaurant.

She said: “We will, of course, comply with the latest directive and begin the process of closing the restaurant. This is a heartbreaking decision for us. We have poured our energy, savings, and passion into creating a business that contributes to the local area. We worry this will represent a loss of cultural diversity and community offering in the neighbourhood.

“We hope that moving forward, planning authorities might consider clearer and more structured pathways for new small businesses entering premises with a complex history — rather than simply asking them to close down after the fact.”

City of Edinburgh Council planning convener Councillor Joan Griffiths said: “I appreciate this is a difficult time for the family. The operators failed to comply with our enforcement notice and their retrospective application for planning permission for a change of use of the premises to allow them to operate the restaurant was refused. They have until June 20 to confirm to planning that the use as a restaurant has ceased.”