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Pierre Levicky, founder of the old Pierre Victoire chain, has been busy of late setting up Passepartout, a new restaurant in Edinburgh. As is occasionally the case with any venture connected to Monsieur Levicky, Passepartout is admirably bonkers.

As befits the globe-trotting name, Passepartout, on Old Fishmarket Close, seems to be a cross between a sort of world food bistro and an Indian thali restaurant.

Set meals are served on a tray for two and vary from curried lamb to lobster with mussels via half chickens and chargrilled meat skewers.

According to Pierre, the menu is based on that of an old Parisian restaurant called Passepartout France-India. Pierre found the chef’s diary in an old fleamarket in Montmartre and recreated the menu from info gleaned from the diary. Obviously.

Diners are encouraged to eat with their hands as, apparently, ‘not eating with your hands is like making love through an interpreter’.

The menu also boasts an exotic range of ice cream – think along the lines of green apple sorbet vodka and mint leaves or the wild-sounding ‘explosive mango sundae’.

Drunken smoothies, cocktails and, it says here, a cinema room complete the picture.

To this blogger, it sounds completely barking but also hugely intriguing.

Located just off the Royal Mile, one suspects that Passepartout could do rather well as the Festival rolls into town and the stretch from the Bridges up to George IV Bridge is inundated with visitors.

Many of them will be delighted to find an alternative to endless variations on haggis-stuffed chicken and Bonnie Prince Charlie whisky sauces.