Brunch and Supper: What It Says On The Tin

Previously open only for brunch, the declaratively named establishment has now extended its offering – and opening hours – to include a supper menu. (Surprise!) The concept revolves around sharing plates, which fall into different categories by size or course; Lights (£5), Bowls (£7), Plates (£9) Sides (£3), Sweet (£4).

Cider glazed pork belly

Great recommendations

The night we visited, our very helpful and friendly server explained the dining concept before we chose four savoury dishes across Light and Mains. Presumably the equivalent of sharing your starters and main courses, except they all come at once – not ideal for people who enjoy piping hot food.

The waitress also provided an excellent wine recommendation from the short but varied list. We had opted for red and were steered towards the Malbec as a suitable pairing for all the dishes we’d chosen. We were not disappointed.

Light dishes

First up, we dived into the appetising cider glazed pork belly with pickled apple and pineapple chilli. Succulent meat lay beneath crunchy skin, the fat in between providing some necessary lubrication. The sweet, spicy diced pineapple and sliced apples, as well the vigorous application of beetroot dust (!), made the whole thing a promising start, packed with flavorful zing and contrasting texture. The only drawback was serving up 3 pieces of belly, which lead to a fight for the last piece of skin…

Salmon with ginger pancakes

Our second foray took us to the singular piece of sticky salmon with spring onions, ginger pancakes and soy dressing. It also boasted soft flesh and crispy skin, although the pancakes were dense stodge, lacking in the fire or sweetness of ginger. The dressing was more of a glaze on the plate, and the dish would have benefited from a much larger quantity of it. However, at least there were an even number of pancakes.

Main dishes

Korean aubergine and sticky rice

On to the mains. The Korean aubergine, sweet potato, chickpeas and sticky rice had plenty of sauce, and the flavour was a good a balance of heat and umami that could easily be turned up a notch or two. The chickpeas were notably absent, although an odd inclusion in a South East Asian dish anyway. Still, without them everything was mushy and crying out for texture. We thought pepper or mushroom would work well, as they would make the dish less sweet too.

Lamb skewers

Our final plate was by far our favourite. The lamb skewers, tagine and red pepper ketchup had no tagine, but to be honest we didn’t notice. The lamb was perfectly seasoned and the plentiful ketchup had a lovely wee kick. Curiously, despite being from the same section of the menu, it was a much smaller portion size than the aubergine. We could have eaten twice as much!

Delice-ious dessert

Chocolate delice with… orange?

We continued our sharing pattern into dessert, magnanimously dividing the whisky, orange and dark chocolate delice. Surprisingly, this came with a large quantity of freeze-dried raspberry, and a conspicuous absence of whisky or orange, give or take the tiny amount of orange syrup drizzled on the plate. The thick, rich mousse on top of thin, squishy sponge was very enjoyable, but in a familiar vein, it also needed sauce.

Trio of sorbets

Fortunately, we had ordered the trio of sorbets, and the best of them, raspberry, stepped in to fill the void. Its companions, passion fruit and apple, were tart and oddly chewy, respectively.

Planning ahead

Overall, we agreed we would go back to Brunch and Supper, once it’s bedded in. With a few tweaks including consistency of dish size, more generous application of sauce and actually serving what’s on the menu, Supper’s offering will be robust. It will certainly be a Fringe winner, providing fast service and something for everyone, regardless of how adventurous they are. The sliders in particular looked good, with variety of fillings and a decent portion size to recommend them. Just sayin’.