Hundreds of pounds worth of cash and equipment stolen from popular Edinburgh restaurant

The owner of a popular Edinburgh steakhouse has told the Evening News of his dismay after thieves managed to steal hundreds of pounds’ worth of goods and cash.

The thieves, who smashed their way into Los Argentinos in West Preston Street, took cash from the till, a laptop and iPad, and numerous bottles of alcohol.

“This is the last thing we needed,” said Foysol Choudhury MBE, who runs the restaurant, “Coronavirus has killed us business-wise, but this crime has hurt us too.”

“They smashed a glass door,” he explained, “and took £150 from the till. They stole an iPad and the computerised till, as well as the laptop we use for bookings.”

“The glass door will cost me a lot of money to fix, but the thing that really affected me most was the laptop - we keep everything on there.

“You feel like your privacy is gone,” Foysol said.

The thieves also raided the restaurant’s bar and kitchen, stealing alcohol and even taking steaks from the freezer.

“I was surprised,” the 51-year-old said, “Who would take the meat away?”

Now Foysol wants justice to be done.

“Whoever has done this needs to be caught. If he had just taken the meat, I would have said, ‘Okay, he is in poverty’, but taking the alcohol - that has nothing to do with poverty.

“What these people are doing is totally wrong. It’s immoral,” he insisted.

“We need to be standing beside each other at this difficult time, not stealing stuff and damaging property.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Police enquiries continue following a break-in at Los Argentinos, West Preston Street, Edinburgh.

“The break-in occurred sometime between 5 pm on Monday, 8 June and 10 am on Wednesday, 10 June 2020.

“A quantity of alcohol along with some personal items and cash was stolen.”

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