Restaurant review: SUSHISAMBA

It’s nearly 40 years since Gordon Gekko announced that lunch is for wimps, influencing generations of workers to sacrifice one of the great pleasures of life.

For many, this has meant sandwich crumbs in the keyboard, instead – and longer working days – whether doing deals on Wall Street or slaving over spreadsheets in St Andrew Square.  

But it looks like times may have changed.

When we arrive at SUSHISAMBA, on the 10th floor of the five-star W Edinburgh hotel, we’re a bit early; all is quiet. But soon lunch service is in full swing, and the place is buzzing.

Colleagues catching up, friends, couples, families and tourists fill the space. While most are having lunch, others are enjoying a spectacular afternoon tea. Cocktail-filled trays waft past too.

We were shown to our table by a member of the SUSHISHAMBA team who shared with us his love of Edinburgh. And if you didn’t love Edinburgh before, you surely would on seeing the views from the terrace. Some of the landmarks we counted included Stockbridge church, the Forth Bridge, Arthur’s Seat, Princes St, the Balmoral Hotel and Calton Hill.

The draw is the food, though. The SUSHISAMBA menu is a fascinating blend of Japanese, Peruvian and Brazilian dishes. The express menu, available Monday to Friday from 12.30pm to 4.30pm, is priced at a very reasonable £25 per person for two courses or £30 for three. There’s also an extensive à la carte menu.  

We came to try out the express lunch, but we were never hurried. Service was friendly and efficient the whole way through.  Unaccustomed to making time for lunch, we thought we’d be in and out quickly, but the combination of stimulating new flavours, a relaxed atmosphere and the stunning views caused us to linger for longer. 

We had decided early on that two courses would be sufficient, but we soon wished we had enough room for dessert. Diners can choose from pleasures such as chocolate banana cake with maple butter, plantain chip and vanilla-rum ice cream; dulce de leche Japanese doughnuts with red-fruit coulis and citron ice cream; or assorted mochi.

The starters and mains more than compensated: we began with green-bean tempura with black-truffle aioli and concluded that we should never eat green beans any other way from now on.

We could have happily just carried on with these – forever – but we’d also ordered the shrimp tempura, with quinoa, padron, coriander, spicy mayo and red onion. As someone who never usually enjoys quinoa, I was initially wary, but it was earthy and delicious.  I don’t usually like ginger either, but the pickled version piled on the side of the plate was a revelation. It was a reminder to always keep trying new things and to keep an open mind when it comes to food – especially if you tend to stick to your favourites, as I do. 

Soy-glazed pork rib and salmon teriyaki came next, served with aji amarillo rice, Peruvian corn and green salad. While the portions were generous, they were just right. We didn’t feel hungry or too full when we left – just perfectly sated.  

We accompanied the food with Loch Ness sparkling water, which does indeed come from the loch and is bottled in the Highlands. My dining companion also had a glass of petit Chablis as a nod to a happy holiday we once spent touring the region’s vineyards. Then he said his espresso was the best he’d ever had – which is high praise from someone who insists that nowhere in the world does coffee as well as New Zealand. 

Gordon Gekko might have been wrong when he encouraged us to forsake lunch, but if you’re coming to SUSHISAMBA, try as much as you can – this is a place where greed is good.

The editor and her companion were guests of SUSHISAMBA.

SUSHISAMBA Edinburgh I W hotel - SUSHISAMBA