Popped in for dinner. Place is smart casual with the cusine Scottish influenced. Had the mussels which were lovely & the cullen skink which was very tasty. Throughly enjoyable meal, reasonably priced, staff attentive worth checking out if you're in town.

A rare sunny day in Edinburgh. What to do but flounce around in the outdoors before stopping for a bite to eat at the glorious regency building that now houses Howies Waterloo?

Stepping into the cavernous hall, with light streaming through the magnificent period windows, s.o. and I agreed that there are few dining rooms nicer than this in our fair city. The charming waitress was over in a jiffy and gladly told us about the early dining offer, which we then felt obliged to take advantage of.

We accompanied our meal with a nice bottle of pink to mark the start of summer, which came out with some lovely bread with oil. Indeed, the more that I eat out, the more that I appreciate the little touches that bread at the start of the meal can offer. It certainly contributed to the lazy day feeling the warm weather brings.

Our starters soon followed, pigeon breast with parsnips for s.o. and chicken liver parfait for moi. S.O. loved the pigeon and now never passes up an opportunity to order. My parfait was offally good, totally smooth and delicious - it had me feeling that I was sitting in the south of France languishing in the heady midday heat - and then I opened my eyes and glimpsed the grey, tourist laden streets of Edinburgh. But hey - the food got me.

Mains weren't nearly so divine. S.O. plumped for the salmon dish (unusual for him to choose the fish option) and I went for the chicken. Neither dish was totally satisfying, and managed to land the uninspiring accolade of 'filled the spot'. Underseasoned, underconceived, underwhelming.

But, our meal was going so swimmingly that we thought we would prolong the lovely late lunch by testing their pudding menu. In the Provencal spirit, we split with spoons a rhubarb pannacotta. That weekend, I dug up the rhubarbs in my garden in an attempt to recreate the delicious and dainty desert. Texture and taste combined to make a really fantastic pud, perfectly complimented with the pinky wine we flushed down.

Overall, it was a rollercoaster ride of excellent dishes and mediocre mains. However, the stunning interiors and excellent service were of such high quality that s.o. and I reached uncommon agreement in our assessment that this is one of Edinburgh's best dining spots.