They say that good things come in threes. 

But as we take in the expansive menu at SUSHISAMBA, which marries the cuisines of Japan, Brazil, and Peru, I’m sceptical of just how far that old adage will stretch. 

The restaurant opened just last month within the W Edinburgh hotel, promising not just a three-way clash of culinary cultures but panoramic views over the city in a sleek cocktail bar setting. 

They make good on the atmosphere, with low lighting and a statement bar that loops itself around an orange tree sculpture placed front and centre.

It’s a signature piece, apparently, with replicas to be found in the group's other locations across London, Las Vegas, Dubai and Doha 

Guiding us through the evening is an attentive and thoroughly lovely server who suggests ordering one large plate and four to five small to share. 

Unconvinced that we need platters of meat or seafood alongside a selection of globetrotting tapas we stick to the small plates.

Each course comes as it's ready, and just in time to accompany the cocktail of the month, gin-based with and light with a punch of green peppercorn, we’re warming up with Padron peppers.  

It’s hard to go wrong with these, and they don’t. Charred, spicy and pepped up with a squeeze of lime. All good things. 

Salt and pepper squid is second off the mark, and though the batter is missing a crucial crunch, a generous dusting of dry miso and sea salt saves the day. 

Wagyu gyoza are plump pillows resting on a bed of kabocha purée.

Wrapped in dumpling dough it’s hard to differentiate this premium product from your run-of-the-mill steak, but they’re delicious nonetheless and the portion size that’s almost hefty enough to justify an £18 price tag. 

The same unfortunately can’t be said of the crispy vegetable taquitos which, although picturesque, lack anywhere near enough flavour to warrant a whopping £11 for two. 

Salad to counteract a double whammy of red meat and fried food is all well and good with mango and apple dressing, crystalised macadamia nuts and a flourish of edible flowers. Worth noting is that it arrives in an almost comically oversized, Flintstones-looking, pebble bowl that’s sure to wind up the ‘white plates only’ crowd. 

However, it’s the venison, a dish that’s served exclusively at sushiSamba in Edinburgh, that wins the battle of the small plates. Cooked to preference, it’s beautifully rare, served with mashed yuca and a truffle miso sauce that puts a basic peppercorn to shame.  

A final, and borderline bizarre fanfare comes in the form of a dish we've ordered accidentally while trying to gauge what was what with the gargantuan menu.

It’s the chain's trademarked ‘El Topo’ sushi roll - or - bricks rice with a layer of salmon that's slowly suffocated by a blanket of thick mozzarella cheese. Served warm.

Not terrible, but it feels like the kind of Frankenstein dish you’d only dream up while fighting off the worst of hangovers. 

Which thanks to a stellar cocktail list that's executed with skill could soon be our fate. 

Desserts then. 

Although sorely tempted by a caramelised white chocolate mousse, we instead order a chocolate banana cake with maple butter and vanilla rum ice cream as well as an assorted mochi. 

The cake is a close cousin to sticky toffee pudding, warming, delicious and sinfully sweet.  

The assorted mochi are raspberry, coconut and pistachio flavour with each piece split in two before being placed amongst biscuit shards, and white chocolate ganache. Another win. 

If you'd like to order an Americano with that, it'll set you back a whole six quid.

All said and done, unsure that SUSHISAMBA has fully pulled off an eclectic menu born from the 'tri-cultural coalition' which formed in South America during the early 20th century, and the prices here in some cases go well beyond the extra pennies you would expect to pay for the flash hotel setting. 

But damn it, it’s good fun. 

SUSHISAMBA is located on the 10th floor of the W Edinburgh hotel at the St James Quarter.

For more information click here.