The iconic Nile Valley Café, on Chapel Street, can probably lay claim to having fed every student at the University of Edinburgh at some point or the other. The hum of customers never ceases throughout the day, reaching a crescendo at mealtimes, when the queue snakes out of the door. And that’s not just because it is convenient to get to, located within hailing distance of George Square, their wraps are delicious: nutritious and hearty. And of course, Nile Valley is unmatched in value for money.
These attributes are no accident. For Mr Abdul Abdalla, when he set up the café, he wanted to feed the students well. In the hubbub of university life, Nile Valley is a source of homely comfort, in tribute to students like us, who helped Mr Abdalla feel at home in an unfamiliar land when he came to Edinburgh in 1995.
Though many of us frequent it so habitually, little is generally known about Nile Valley itself. It’s welcoming and accessible – no airs or fanfare about it. Though, in speaking to Mr Abdalla, I realised his life is one to be celebrated.
Football was his first dream.
“I used to be a professional footballer back home in Sudan – a left-winger. I went to university in Morocco for two years, studying law, but by that time I was famous. People in Sudan wanted me to come back home to play. I was on the first team for a top club.”
Beyond his football career, Mr Abdalla muses on the food culture of Sudan, and especially his native Khartoum. The Nile river influences every aspect of life in Sudan, and many people’s livelihoods depend on food – its cultivation, production, and preparation. There is a strong emphasis on freshness of ingredients, an ethos that carries through to the Nile Valley Café. Traditional ways of cooking falafel, and a secret sauce to marinate the chicken, make the food unique in Edinburgh.
Mr Abdalla first visited Edinburgh for a friend’s wedding, and decided to move that very day. He walked into the Tesco on Nicholson street and asked for a job. “I didn’t want to leave!” he laughs. In 1996, he and his friend and co-founder, Mr Gary, decided to open something different.
Nile Valley pioneered the African wrap, since “at home [in Sudan], it’s the same type of food, but not wraps”. Mr Abdalla explains how the wrap was adopted for takeaway ease. They were the first takeaway café in the area to do wraps at all.
So why did an ex-footballer from Sudan fall in love with Edinburgh? It’s not an intuitive transition. For Mr Abdalla, it was the students. Not only as customers, but a lot of Nile Valley’s staff are students working part-time. “I work with my staff all the time; I never treat them like I’m their boss”, he comments. In the early days, a standard weekend for Mr Abdalla would involve throwing a big party in the café, with discounted menus and free corkage for students. This would be followed by a night out at Teviot or a salsa club in Grassmarket.
Their target market is attracted by their business model. “We sell a lot and make less profit – that’s fine”, Mr Abdalla summarises. Though the price of chicken has doubled since COVID, with similar increases in the prices of other key ingredients like lettuce, cucumber, and avocado, Nile Valley has only increased their price by around five percent. This is their first price change in over ten years. Mr Abdalla used to own the neighbouring shop but sold it since he felt the quality was being sacrificed when his attention was spread thin. He made it clear that his establishment’s relationship with its student clientele is beyond symbiotic – the Nile Valley staff regard students with affectionate care.
Mr Abdalla’s journey was not one of adversity, nor does he identify with the ‘immigrant’s plight’. Be it football, law, Tesco, or in the kitchen, he prioritised hard work and through it, has generated a cult-like group of loyalists. His story is one of being in two cultural minds, a condition a lot of us sympathise with.
“Now, Edinburgh is home. It’s nice to go back to Sudan to visit, but I can’t stay for too long since everything is different”.
As I speak with him, it raises the question – where do you call home? When moving, one tends to bring elements from home, talismans of familiarity. The ensuing multiculturalism not only allows others to benefit from the exposure. Taking your favourite elements of a romanticised culture forgone, and marrying them with this new place, enables you to create your own version of ‘home’, which the present version of yourself relates to more.
As Mr Abdalla was so taken by the student culture of Edinburgh, Nile Valley is able to give all of us an insight into the Sudan which Mr Abdalla recognises as home. The wrap is a conduit to both worlds.
And most importantly, Mr Abdalla’s favourite wrap is the Samar Salad.
Image Credits: photo of Nile Valley Cafe provided by Theo Bebbington, used with permission.
Photo of Mr Abdul Abdalla provided by Mahika Ravi Shankar, used with permission of Mahika Ravi Shankar and Mr Abdul Abdalla.