Get your sunnies on cause the sun shines bright on the 4th Floor at Harvey Nics.

With large walls of glass, plenty open space and a balcony; the 4th Floor Brasserie is a greenhouse during the Summer and no matter where you are seated, you’ll catch the rays.

With very little decor inside, its the gorgeous views out over St Andrews Square and glimpses of Edinburgh Castle against a backdrop of azure blue skies that will provide the scenery for the new Summer menu.

In my opinion, Harvey Nichols is most definitely a female dining destination, it’s for ladies that lunch or do dinner. Yes, there are males who dine here too (but they do seem to have been dragged along by a group of females) and young males taking their girlfriends/partners out somewhere special for cocktails.

EAT - REVIEW OF HARVEY NICHOLS 4TH FLOOR EDINBURGH SUMMER DINING MENU

The set Summer menu is 3 courses and a cocktail for £28 and a bargain in my book!

There are two cocktails to choose from, both made using Beluga Noble Russian Vodka:

Sunshine in Sevastopol (served in the short glass) - Vodka with apricot, lime and vanilla. Very refreshing with a nice linger of vanilla

Caspian Mule (served in the highball glass) - Vodka, Chambord, lime, chocolate bitters, ginger beer. Another refreshing cocktail really picking up on the ginger and the lime.

A short time lapsed by which was filled by people watching; young couples having their photo taken on the balcony, many a cocktail balancing on trays being served outside in the evening sunshine, groups celebrating and someone taking a business call!! (on such a glorious evening!!)

Soon our table was laden with colours of Summer.

Salmon Beetroot Gravalax with compressed cucumber, melon, elderflower jelly and lime puree.

Salmon roses, yes, we took a wee step back in time, but I love the Salmon Rose. These are perfectly executed and plated with semi compressed cucumber slices for the leaves. The beetroot provides the deeper ruby red colour to the salmon but not much flavour - its all salmon. The elderflower jelly is wonderful and a few more dollops of this would have been most welcome.

Heritage Tomato Salad with burrata, pomegranate pesto, aged balsamic and crispy basil.

My eyes are trained to automatically pick up on the word burrata with the other ingredients almost ignored. However this salad, with its strong, vibrant flavours and colours, was a symphony. Every ingredient only enhanced the next, in a very playful dance. Superb!

The people watching continued as the sun settled into its last few hours. The mains were delivered and gorgeous aromas wafted around our table.

Pan-fried Bass with sumac and lemon yoghurt, shaved fennel and orange salad.

If you LOVE fennel, you’ll love this dish as the bass sat proudly atop a mound of soft fennel punctuated with orange segments. The fish was lovely but I felt the salad needed a little something else to balance it out.

Corn-fed Roasted Chicken Breast with chorizo and chickpea salad, confit garlic spinach, smoked tomato and sherry vinegar dressing.

Another striking dish with colours that make your mouth water. At first glance I was slightly underwhelmed by the dish but my taste buds done a complete U turn once Id taken a few bites. The chickpea, chorizo and smoked tomato flavours blew me away! The chicken was rich and so succulent leading to a full on umami party on the tongue.

Plates cleared, it was time to start thinking about desserts. There are only three options and one is ice cream/sorbet so you wont need to spend hours deliberating over which dessert to choose. We settled on one each, and we could do a swopsie half way through!

Strawberry Cheesecake with white chocolate, macerated strawberries and strawberry coulis.

I loved this cheesecake. It was soft and creamy yet subtle almost like eating strawberry flavoured air that had a mouth feel of single cream. The biscuit base was thin and broke off easily, with the coulis almost jam like. Lovely!

Valrhona Chocolate Creamaux with hazelnut and almond crumb, and chocolate and hazelnut ice cream.

Wonderful chocolate dessert. The creamaux was so smooth and creamy with a good ol burst of ‘death by chocolate’ feel added for good measure. The chocolate and hazelnut ice cream was very welcome on this hot Summers evening and although both ice cream and the creamaux slice held the same smooth textures, their contrast in temperature with the added bonus of the crumb, really made this dessert.

A delightful evening spent eating some beautifully cooked and presented food. The dishes aren’t too heavy and you won’t leave feeling bloated or unsatisfied. On sunny Summery evenings in Edinburgh city centre, this is one venue you want to grab a table at.

Harvey Nichols, 4th Floor Brasserie, St Andrews Square, Edinburgh. www.harveynichols.com/store/edinburgh/dining

My Spoon Award : Gold Spoon 9/10

I was invited by Harvey Nichols to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.