Bonsai, Edinburgh

At the end of a very busy few weeks, as two exhausted hungry girls, J and I had decided on sushi lunch as a celebratory meal. Unfortunately, despite normal expectations of this time of year, the ferocious wind and drizzle prevented us from lounging in the Meadows with a take-away bento box, so we headed to Bonsai. This Japanese 'bistro', as it calls itself, is nicely tucked away from the bustle of Nicolson Street with its throngs of charity-shop goers and queues for the bus.

We hurried inside and were kindly greeted into a small, quiet space with mostly booth-style tables for two to four. We had time to settle in and relish the occasion of a luxuriously unhurried lunch, chatting and making future lunch plans for the free time of Easter holiday. Our waiter knelt beside us to take our order, explaining unfamiliar dishes and helping us to choose. Although not Japanese, he seemed to know what he was talking about and their specials board indicated a range far from standard fare.

We opted for a Rainbow Roll (salmon/tuna/cucumber) which was beautifully presented and probably the most classic of all our dishes. Of the specials, we chose tempura roast eel sushi roll - the best of both crispy tempura and sticky eel nigiri which went down well. From the teppanyaki menu, Takoyaki octopus dumplings were a little disappointing, only because mayo and a barbeque-y dipping sauce made them taste less fresh than other offerings - they had the appearance of mini scotch eggs but had a gooey interior. A brothy soy soup with pork gyoza was a warming addition to this, and with two fat dumplings was still perfect for sharing. As we had hoped, after this our stomachs still had room to try one more thing so we ordered another special - crispy salmon skin and avocado maki. Many times have I made the mistake of over-estimating my appetite, but this was not one. This was the perfect end to the meal and since it is not on the permanent menu I am glad we took the risk.

For two girls, this sounds like a lot of food but it was all (save the mayo and bbq sauce) light and we both felt satisfyingly filled until around about dinner time. I wonder if I ate sushi for every meal whether I would genuinely not feel hungry throughout the day, or whether it was because of this immensely enjoyable lunch that I did not think about any other food until it was quite necessary.

9/10
Bonsai
46 West Richmond Street
Edinburgh