Restaurant expansion to take bite out of the skyline

Published on Saturday 25 October 2008 10:54

ONE of Edinburgh's most prestigious restaurants is aiming to alter the city's skyline with a VIP rooftop extension.

Plans have been submitted to the city council for a private dining room at Oloroso on Castle Street.

Award-winning head chef and co-founder Tony Singh today said the extension was designed to make the most of the restaurant's fantastic views across the Capital.

But because the glass and cladding addition will be visible from Edinburgh Castle and the Esplanade, it is likely to face a tough ride through the planning process.

Local councillor David Beckett raised concerns about "another glass extension" in the Princes Street area. However, he said he recognised the business benefits the development would bring.

The private dining room, with views of the Castle, would only be visible from ground level along Rose Street Lane and its junction with Rose Street.

In its submission to the council, Oloroso said the extension "matches the existing style of the fourth floor restaurant", and has "no significant impact on the skyline viewed from the Esplanade or the Castle".

Mr Singh added: "Since opening in 2001, we have been working hard to set precedence on the dining scene and are pleased to say that Oloroso is now recognised as one of the finest eating establishments in Edinburgh.

"We are continuously striving to offer our customers an outstanding dining experience."

The extension includes toilets, and will be built with "mid-grey" cladding panels and louvres – all designed to match the existing materials. The dining room would be open between 11am and 1am, and artist's impressions show it set out with just one table for ten guests.

The glass addition mirrors a similar plan by the owners of the historic Old Waverley Hotel at the east end of Princes Street, who want to add a new glass and steel rooftop level. This would allow the hotel to provide a further ten en-suite bedrooms.

At the same time, plans have been unveiled to encase a Georgian building at the west end of Princes Street in glass, in a 40 million creation of the street's first new hotel in more than 50 years.

Cllr Beckett warned of the "drip-drip" effect of modern development that could threaten Edinburgh's world heritage status. He also said glass extensions were "out of character" with the area.

"I do have some reservations about (the Oloroso development]," he said. "But I'm not going to make a knee-jerk reaction. The development doesn't seem to be too obtrusive and, thinking from a business perspective, it would help with the regeneration of Princes Street."