Hadrian’s, on the ground floor, provides an object lesson in what a decent brasserie should be. Good quality produce is properly and straightforwardly prepared, set forth attractively on the plate and served in a friendly manner in comfortable surroundings. The waiters wear aprons and flit about the Art Deco-ish room to good purpose. Parma ham with galia melon, green asparagus with hollandaise sauce, char-grilled rib-eye steak with béarnaise sauce and crèpes Suzette – four highly enjoyable courses for £36.55 (which could have been £2.60 less, if I had omitted the separate dish of carrots with coriander, the only weak part of the meal).

My waiter, a helpful fellow from Austria called Stefan Lecker, suggested – from the brief wine list – an Italian primitivo. This was good advice. Its ripe, plummy fruitfulness went well with the beef (Salento, Apollonio, Puglia, 2000 - £21). For my white, I plumped for a chardonnay from the reliable Australian producer, D’Arenberg (Olive Tree, Mclaren Vale, 2002 - £23), and found it well-structured and full-bodied. To be able to drink so well at such modest cost is exactly what you want in a brasserie. Congratulations to those responsible.

On the following night, in the grander dining room, there was even better quaffing to be had. Not surprising, perhaps, for Number One has a star and four knives and forks – making it the Michelin guide’s most highly rated restaurant in Edinburgh. Its dark red walls, spotlights, modern pictures, gold velvet banquettes and large, widely-spaced tables make this basement a sophisticated setting for some serious eating and drinking.

If you have £1,000 in your pocket you can try a bottle of 1990 Latour, the most expensive of an appealing range of the grandest clarets (which include 1982 Haut Brion at £500, 1983 Pavie at £145 and 1989 La Fleur- Pétrus at £195). But burgundy fans will be more tempted by the great 1989 La Tâche – good value at £620. And those on a tighter budget will be pleased to know that a muscadet from the Loire can be had for £19. For my own delectation, sommelière Sam Aitken brought two massive wines from the New World. (I readily confess that I am a real fan of these high-alcohol, up-front ‘blockbusters’, despite my love of the subtler delights offered by the Old World classics.) The 2002 Montes Alpha chardonnay (£38), from Chile, was a big, beefy confection of butter and vanilla, and the 2002 Two Hands Lily’s Garden shiraz (£65), from the Mclaren Vale in Australia, yielded a nose of new-mown grass, was full of dense damson jam in the mouth and left an aftertaste of remarkable sweetness.

Chef Jeff Bland offers a 5-course tasting menu at £55. My four courses from the carte (£60.40) included a dish of true magnificence. For this plate alone you should journey northwards. Roasted breast of Anjou pigeon came with spiced foie gras and game sausage. The richness and wonder of this perfectly cooked combination of tastes and textures gave me a surge of pure pleasure. Beautifully done. The rest was more ordinary, but still enjoyable: celery soup, with spinach and ricotta ravioli; loin, head confit, and belly of Tamworth pig (the belly by far the best) with morel and pea risotto; and roasted pineapple with vanilla parfait and pineapple sorbet. Service, orchestrated by restaurant manager Gary Quinn, was properly formal.

Edinburgh has its really good grand hotel. For those of you tempted by the Athens of the North, The Balmoral awaits.