Wee Buddha

Iglu had provided us with a real reviewing conundrum on the two occasions that we visited. It was a restaurant doing lots of things right that we caught on two dreadfully poor days. We were sad to see it close finally, shortly after Scratch Series had given it a last hurrah send off.

Brunch dish

The new occupant is Wee Buddha. It offers a menu of pan-Asian small plates and bowls, with a weekend brunch and roast menu having recently been added. I was on my own on this visit so was more enticed by the brunch selection.

I opted for their house brunch which comprised a tattie scone, mushrooms, grilled tomato, spinach and poached eggs. There were various additional items you could add to round it out into a more substantial plateful. Showing reasonable restraint I only added some Stornoway black pudding.

Egg ooze and black pudding

Seated in the downstairs pub dining room, which feels a little smarter and roomier than in previous incarnations, my dish was soon with me.

It proved a slightly mixed bag. The tattie scone and black pudding were very good, but the mushrooms and tomato were a little firm for my tastes and the spinach was very overseasoned. The eggs had some ooze but were right on the edge of failing to be runny enough.

So overall, I think I’ll reserve scoring judgement on Wee Buddha until I come back with some compadres to try their main food offering. It feels like a place of considerable promise but today’s food didn’t quite hit the spot. I look forward to sampling their pan-Asian dishes on my next visit.

I ate: tattie scone, mushrooms, tomato, poached egg, spinach plus added black pudding

I drank: wheat beer

I wore: red trousers

Total bill: £10

Address: 2B Jamaica St, Edinburgh, Edinburgh City EH3 6HH