REVIEW: SUSHISAMBA’S AFTERNOON TEA, EDINBURGH

Chief Sub-Editor Rosie Morton takes tea in the lofty heights of SUSHISAMBA, a fusion restaurant on the tenth floor of the capital’s W Edinburgh hotel

It’s the end of February and we are officially in seasonal limbo.

Beside me, a bunch of daffodils bravely arch their heads towards the window.

Outside, it’s blowing a hoolie, and I’m almost certain the neighbour’s cat just flew past the window.

Try as we might to convince ourselves that Spring has arrived, I’m yet to be convinced. And so, like Mother Nature herself, I shall remain in hibernation for just a little longer.

That means sheltering from the wind and indulging in a few of life’s luxuries. Enter fusion restaurant, Sushisamba, with its new Japanese-inspired Afternoon Tea…

Sushisamba’s new Afternoon Tea is inspired by Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisines.

The restaurant champions local producers, butchers and family-run fishmongers and is a unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisines. It is based on the tenth floor of W Edinburgh hotel and has, by all accounts, cemented itself as one of the most impressive cocktail venues in town.

But Afternoon Tea? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

Signature and Vegetarian menus are available, but we opted to stick with the classic. Save for the scones, there were no pedestrian Afternoon Tea items listed. In fact, most had experienced a Cinderella-type transformation. Cucumber sandwiches had been replaced by Highland Wagyu Katsu Sandos. Smoked salmon tartlets had been whipped up into Samba Edinburgh Rolls with whisky-cured salmon. So far, so good.

My plus one opted for a classic Earl Grey tea while I tried the more exotic Jasmine Pearls. We sat overlooking Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle, and The Balmoral. We spotted a few brave souls clambering up Arthur’s Seat and agreed we were much better placed out of the howling gale. Before we knew it, a beautiful ‘Lazy Susan’ stand – designed and crafted by a local ironmonger – arrived with six savoury items and four sweets.

Samba Waffle Taster with spicy tuna and avocado, and snow crab with chilli sweet potato.

First up? Green bean tempura with black truffle aioli. ‘Green beans have never tasted so good,’ came the voice from across the table. I couldn’t argue.

Scallop Nigiri with passionfruit sauce came next, offering new and interesting flavour combinations. This was swiftly followed by the Bolinhos de Bacalhau black cod which had a lovely silky texture and a nice sour hit of Peruvian aji Amarillo lime mayo. My plus one was quite drawn to the Samba Waffle Taster – one side had spicy tuna with avocado, the other, snow crab with a fiery chilli sweet potato combo.

For me, though, the inarguable show-stopper was the wagyu. It was served in a toastie style with a generous slab of silky, pink, marbled meat, a dollop of arenkha caviar, peppery aji panca and sriracha mayo. Lunchtime ‘sandos’ will never be the same again…

When it comes to Afternoon Tea sweets, I tend to hesitate. Just looking at them is usually enough to make my teeth hurt. But I needn’t have worried. The Blackberry & Coconut Choux with almond sable had a nice acidity to balance the sweetness; while our dark chocolate fix (supplied by Valrhona Chocolate) came in the form of a rich, glazed cremeaux with a miso kick, yoghurt and slightly tart yuzu.

Chocolate Cremeaux with 66% dark chocolate & miso, with yuzu and yoghurt.

My plus one’s favourite was the Japanese Milk Bun which was fluffy and sweet, topped with a mango salsa. Mine was the Plum & Mandarin Taco which was beautifully shaped like a fan and had a delicious crunchy texture to it.

Just when we thought we’d scraped the final morsels from our plates, a bamboo steamer arrived on the table. Inside were two scones – almost like bao buns in appearance – flavoured with honey and Tahitian vanilla. The strawberry and pink peppercorn compote to go alongside it felt more familiar to our Scottish palates, a nice way to round off what had been a bold (and brilliant) melange of cuisines.

Head Chef Shenal Suwaris and the Sushisamba team have created something that truly stands out from the crowd.

So, for as long as that cold wind doth blow… I can’t think of a more suitable antidote to the February blues than Sushisamba’s Afternoon Tea.

Afternoon Tea is served from 12-4pm for £65pp; Champagne Afternoon Tea from £75pp (inc. a glass of Laurent-Perrier Brut). To find out more about SUSHISAMBA’s Afternoon Tea, please visit their website.