Forth Floor - Harvey Nichols

The Forth Floor Restaurant, Brasserie and Bar offer guests a stylish, striking venue for lunch, dinner or drinks; floor to ceiling windows run the length of the restaurant to give spectacular views over the Edinburgh skyline from the Castle to The Firth of Forth, making it an ideal venue for entertaining. A thirty two metre Terrace poised high over St Andrew Square provides the opportunity to dine in the fresh air and sunshine for which the capital is renowned.

Whether dining in the more formal Restaurant, meeting friends for a casual supper in the Brasserie or starting the night with a cocktail or glass of Champagne in the Bar the Forth Floor provides the very best in contemporary entertaining.

The Restaurant opens for lunch every day and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. The Brasserie serves breakfast, lunch and an afternoon menu every day - as well as brunch on a Sunday and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. In the evening, diners enter the restaurants via a dedicated express lift situated at the side of the store off Multrees Walk.

Stuart Muir, Scottish born and bred Head Chef has been at the Forth Floor since day one and is passionate about the excellent Scottish produce he has available to him and the ever-growing Scottish restaurant scene. Whether using hand dived scallops from Oban or organic lamb from near Castle Douglas, Stuart is proud to feature Scottish produce on the menu. The restaurant serves modern British cooking with a Scottish twist, while the Brasserie serves classic British and European food for more casual dining.

Lunch in the restaurant might include seared Oban scallops with duck foie gras, honey, caper and lime butter, or an Arbroath smokie and preserved lime risotto with horseradish crisp. Main courses of grilled halibut with roasted salsify and artichoke have caramelised baby turnip on the side, and roast organic salmon combines wonderfully with braised puy lentils, smoked pork belly and Toulouse sausage. Banana and chocolate pudding makes a blissful or a selection of fine chesses from the adjacent Foodmarket might be the end to a perfect meal with a skyline view.

At dinner dishes are more elaborate and could start with Forth Floor gravid lax tian with crab, horseradish and watercress purée, or gnocchi with the famed Lanark blue, pickled walnuts and watercress, before moving on to an assiette of suckling pig with pork belly with beetroot puree, trotter and cheek with spinach and loin wrapped in Parma ham or maybe a lamb cutlet with lamb and oyster mushroom pudding, homemade pickle and rosemary jus.

Desserts tend to have a wow factor with champagne strawberry jelly with vanilla pannacotta, poached strawberries and a strawberry ice cream cone a recent favourite.

Colin Bell, their award winning Head Sommelier leads a team happy to help you negotiate your way around an extensive list of over 350 wines, and champagnes, from all over world, with many bottles exclusive to Harvey Nichols in Scotland the list is full of treats for every pocket from £13.50 to £2,500.

Should wine not be your particular tipple, they also have a full range of spirits from small batch bourbons to unusual malts to fine cognacs.

The Brasserie offers stylish casual dining for lunch and dinner and the menu might includes favourites such as Scottish rib-eye steak frites, smoked salmon, risottos and fishcakes. Desserts always include a hot pudding such as ginger sponge and ice creams from S. Luca of Musslebrough.

Recently enlarged, the Bar features comfy banquettes, low leather stools and an unexpected view of Leith and the sea. Most importantly the extensive back bar accommodates numerous unusual spirits that help the bar team conjure up the freshest and most exciting cocktails.

In addition to Forth Floor Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie, the fourth floor also has a 3000 sq ft Foodmarket with Wineshop that sells fresh foods with a strong emphasis on local sourcing and grocery products from across the world - often sold exclusively to Harvey Nichols - as well as their award-winning own-label range. The Wineshop stocks a wide variety of interesting spirits and over 300 hand picked wines and Champagnes.

For more details please visit the Website.

Photographs - Copyright Chris Gascoigne.