'˜Edinburgh's worst chippy' undergoes major refurbishment

IT WAS once labelled as 'The Room of takeaways' with the standard of food described as being from a 'North Korean labour camp'.

But now, the new owners of a chippy once dubbed “the worst in Edinburgh” have insisted they have made vast improvements after being battered by a series of terrible online reviews.

The Kingfisher, on Bread Street, gained viral fame for being slammed by furious customers over the quality of their “disgusting” suppers when Reddit user Mucky_Pete shared a collection of negative reviews on social media.

However the takeaway has undergone a drastic transformation since new owners Rosanna and Gianluca Crolla rebranded it as ‘Luca’s’ and the couple are now hoping to restore its golden reputation.

Staff at Luca's chippy and pizza restaurant on Bread Street, formerly the renowned Kingfisher, Annarita and Luca. Pic: Jon Savage

Rosanna, who has strong family links with the chippy after working there for three years as a youngster, said she was excited at the prospect of reviving the takeaway’s fortunes and urged others to give it a second chance.

She said: “I would hate to think people are walking past and not coming in because they think it’s the same owners and the same food, we’ve made a lot of changes.”

“We’ve carried out a full refurbishment. Everything inside has been stripped out and replaced. When we arrived, all of the fridges were completely rotten and mouldy, they were disgusting, so they have all gone.”

She added: “The interior has been completely redesigned, everything has been improved.”

Rosanna, who has also owned The Chippy takeaway in West Calder for the past 19 years, continued: “My dad has owned the lease for the building for 40 years and we still have 15 years left.”

“I worked there when I was younger, that’s where I started in this industry so it was disappointing to see just how bad it had become.”

The Kingfisher was rated at 1.5 stars out of five on Tripadvisor last month, with 89 per cent rating it “terrible.”

One online user posed the question: “Is this what they feed prisoners in North Korean hard labour camps?”

Another, Jordan Creelie, said: “This place is the worst place I’ve ever bought anything from! Just bought a double cheeseburger and chips... the chips don’t even look edible, forget about the taste! I basically spat it out and the price! What the hell? £10.80. The only saving thing is the can (of) coke tastes good!”

Finn Monteith added: “Ordered food and was told it would be ready. Took 2 and a half hours to arrive. Communication with staff was very poor and when we phoned, the staff were rude and inefficient. When we finally got our food it was stone cold. The pizza orders were not correct, there was no kebab meat as described and the burger was inedible.

However, Rosanna claimed early reviews under the new ownership have been positive, adding they already have a few returning customers.

She said: “We’re still popular with people coming in after a night out, I don’t think that will change.”

“But we already have a few regulars, so that is a good sign and the reviews we have had so far have all been good.”

“Hopefully they can convince everyone else that it’s a new chippy, a new place to eat and with much better food.”

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