The Mussel and Steak Bar

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

There are few dining gems in the Grassmarket among the stag parties, specialist boutiques and theme pubs, but this is one of them. The particularly good lunchtime set menu makes this an attractive proposition if you're out shopping, meeting friends or just soaking up the sites of Edinburgh's Old Town. The glass frontage, turquoise banquettes and blonde tables and chairs mean the interior is surprisingly bright for this neck of the woods. A seat near the window is good for people-watching, but further back there's an incongruous flat-screen television airing a taxi-style car ride through the streets of Edinburgh, which is a little distracting. The range of starters and mains is impressive, but the moules-frites and the steak are really the stars here. Sourced from the west coast, the mussels come in two portion sizes with a choice of liquor. Surprisingly, the frites come two ways: cooked in dripping or in vegetable oil. Plump for the latter and you're in for a treat. All of the beef here is Scottish, less than 30 months old, and has been hung for 21 days. And it shows: a char-grilled fillet with creamy green peppercorn sauce is heavenly. If you can manage it, there's a fabulous trio of sweets on offer, including a coconut cheesecake.

• High point: The fillet steak
• Low point: Not enough peppercorns in the green peppercorn sauce