We turn up on time and are whisked into the piano bar to wait for our table. It turns out to be a champagne bar. A trolley of three different marques is swiftly wheeled to our table. The choice is Laurent Perrier at £9 a glass, Ruinart at £15, or Dom Perignon vintage at £25 a glass. Guess which one I plump for. I wish I hadn’t bothered, really, because our table is ready before I am halfway down my glass.

We are at the restaurant whose Invernessian sibling was made famous – or infamous – by being mauled on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Proprietor Barry Larsen’s French chef Loic Lefebre was at the receiving end of some brutal criticism and Ramsay advised them their Edinburgh venture would fail. Lefebre has since departed, leaving head chef Sean Kelly a free rein to develop an intelligent and playful menu that draws on his extensive experience of working in France. It’s clear he’s aiming for stardom.

The dining room

The dining room itself is gorgeous: all chocolatey walnut walls, big creamy lightshades and fake snake-covered tables. Or is that mock crock? The staff are predominantly French, friendly and au fait with what we’re eating. Our pre-starter is a chilled oblong plate of a blue cheese puff, pork lollipop, and raw tuna sushi. We peruse the wine menu: there’s a Chateau Latour 1997 at just £400 a bottle, or a Chateau Margaux 95 at £450. Our choice of Rhone Valley Crozes Hermitage seems a bargain at just £8.50 a glass.

Then there’s our amuse-bouche of carrot and star anise velouté, a warm and creamy welcome in a pristine Villeroy & Boch cup – the crockery du jour of any ambitious chef. I find my starter of Devonshire snail ravioli with sautéed frogs’ legs, roast garlic puree and parsley (£10) a lot of fun – balls of leg meat come skewered by tiny wee femur bones à la Fred Flintstone – but the garlic puree they sit on overwhelms their rather bland flavour. The snail ravioli, shaped like a little pie, is delicate and lovely. My partner’s sweet Scottish dived scallops surprise him with a delicious sesame crust, partnered with a melt in the mouth spare rib and wilted pak choi (£13.25).

The imaginative menu continues with my two small discs of tender slow cooked Borders beef with oyster croustillant and horseradish macaroni (at a rather hefty £27). I love the nippy sauce and tiny cubes of snowball turnips, but it’s a pity that the traditional pairing of beef with oysters is marred by what appears to be one of those spring rolls you get at a Chinese takeaway – hard and much too oily. My partner’s sliced roast middle neck of black face lamb with mustard and herb crust and roast root veg (£21) is deemed just right. He particularly loved a baby shepherd’s pie with creamy potato top on the side.

After all those fabulous flavours you’d think a Granny Smith tarte tatin with pink peppercorn ice-cream (£7.95) and a platter of three perfectly ripe French cheeses would be way too much. It almost is, but somehow we manage. There’s an optional charge of 12.5%, which pushes this delightful meal into the range of quite expensive at £129. But then, I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve picked up the gauntlet thrown down by the Michelin star master. Score: 3.5 out of 5 (I would have given it 4 out of 5 but for the price).

field facts

Price: £129 rating: 3.5 stars. Abstract 33-35 Castle Terrace Edinburgh EH1 2EL Tel: 0131 229 1222 www. abstractrestaurant. co.uk