The Magnum restaurant’s dining room glitters like gold. There are rows of fairy lights draped across each street facing window and magnum sized bottles of champagne decorating every shelf.
This is a room full of unexpected surprises – especially after walking through a rather dingy bar to get to it. The restaurant’s atmosphere is quiet and intimate. There is plenty of space between each table, making it the perfect venue for a private candlelit meal.
Our well-spoken waitress sits us at a table for two in one corner of this room. We have a window to our right, which overlooks Albany Street (where this restaurant is located) and a view of the dining room bar to our left.
The dining room bar is very different to the main bar that you have to walk through en-route to this small restaurant… there are no punters propping up the bar here, just the bar staff preparing drinks.
The table settings are relaxed (two sets of cutlery, side plates and paper napkins) and the restaurant and bar menu is urban chic – it’s a folding wooden menu.
There are five starters on the menu and all are under £7.00. There is homemade soup of the day, one game dish, two fish dishes and a vegetarian option. The gazpacho topped with hand picked Scottish crab, avocado cream, pepper brunoise and baby tomato finished with olive oil tempts both my partner and I. But, as crab meat can sometimes be a little overpowering for us, we decide on the carpaccio of spice rubbed duck and the Scottish smoked salmon with warm dill pancakes.
On scanning the wine list, we come across this quote: “Wine is bottled poetry” by Robert Louis Stevenson. I quite agree and order a bottle of the house white for us to try. My rule when dining out is this… if a restaurant has good quality house wine, then you know it is a good restaurant.
Starters
When our waitress places our duck and salmon starters in front of us, my partner and I both look at each other and smile. It is not just the dining room that is full of unexpected surprises at The Magnum, it is the food too. We were both expecting pub style food – something hearty that tastes nice more than looks nice. But, the presentation of both these starters is superb. It’s not fine dining, but it is colourful and creative.
My carpaccio of spice rubbed duck is laid out on the plate like a bicycle wheel. The long, lightly pink fingers of duck stretch outwards like spokes from the Romanesco floret, fennel and baby leaf centre and the small circular drops of burnt orange syrup between each piece of duck resemble the nuts and bolts.
I cut a mouthful of duck and dip it into the syrup. It is exceptionally thin, just as carpaccio should be, and has a delicate texture. It melts in my mouth, leaving a pleasant sweet and sour aftertaste.
My partner’s salmon looks festive, reminding me of a Christmas cracker. A rectangle shaped handful of lambs leaf is secured between two half moon shaped smoked salmon and dill pancakes. A mound of parsnip crisps on either side of the salmon remind me of the ends of a cracker, making me want to pull them.
My partner dips a piece of salmon into the accompanying horseradish cream and nods his head in appreciation.
Maincourse
Again, the maincourse menu offers five possibilities, ranging from £14.50 to £22.50.
We both stick to the same theme for our maincourses. My partner carries on the fish theme and orders the pan-fried sea trout with a chorizo, podded pea and saffron potato fricassee and a warm caper and tarragon dressing. And I carry on the game theme by ordering the seared venison haunch with soured cabbage, Montbeliard sausage, green beans, baked beetroot and rosemary jus.
Seared Venison Haunch
It’s hard to find good restaurants that offer seasonal game on the menu in Edinburgh. But, The Magnum is one of them.
I smell the seared venison haunch before I see it – there is an earthiness and a Scottishness about the smell that is truly unique. And the taste is equally as memorable. It feels like a heady mix of heather and moor has exploded in your mouth. We are what we eat, as the saying goes, and our red deer feast on the very best that the Scottish Highlands have to offer…
The presentation of this dish is spot on too. Three seared cuts of haunch rest on a bed of cabbage and green beans, and two thick chunks of sausage are marinating in the beetroot and rosemary jus that encircles this dish.
My partner’s sea trout rests on top of the chorizo, pea and potato fricassee mix. It looks colourful and is just as rustic as my venison dish. The portions are substantial here, but my partner’s plate is empty within minutes – which is always a good sign.
We feel contentedly full, but order desserts’ anyway after reading that Cranachan cheesecake is on the menu. Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert containing oats, cream, whisky and raspberries. It’s normally served as a trifle, so it will be interesting to try it cheesecake style.
Dessert
The Cranachan cheesecake with red berry coulis and raspberry compote and the chocolate and macadamia nut pudding with chocolate sauce and white chocolate and rosemary ice cream look stunning on the plate. Both portions are small and simple. The Chef has let each dessert take centre stage and has only added as much condiment as is necessary, which makes a nice change. You feel that you are eating little works of art, rather than tucking into a diabetics nightmare.
The Cranachan cheesecake tastes like traditional Cranachan, but the addition of the shortbread base and the thick raspberry compote topping transform it into a modern master. The Chef has also used a few pieces of dried Scottish heather as decoration on the plate, which is not just noteworthy but poignant.
The chocolate and macadamia nut pudding with chocolate sauce is as decadent as it sounds. But the white chocolate and rosemary ice cream ice cream cancel out the American heritage of this dessert and give it a refined look and taste.
Our thoughts
The Magnum restaurant in Edinburgh is not a posh eatery. It is a relaxing and informal hidden gem that I am loath to publicize – only because I want it to retain its quiet, intimate charm.
The Chef uses local and seasonal produce and is not afraid to cook traditional Scottish dishes. He has cooked us a meal that is proud of its roots. One that uses the best of our resources. And one that fills us with comfort after a long day battling the cold.
The Magnum restaurant is one of only two game restaurants in Edinburgh that I would recommend. It is a restaurant for everyone. A place where you can breathe and sit back and not worry about what you’re wearing or how you look. It’s a place to go for good food. But then, I knew that at the beginning of our meal after sampling the house wine. My one restaurant rule has never failed me yet: if a restaurant has good quality house wine, then you know it is a good restaurant.
Contact details:
For reservations call: 0131 557 4366
The Magnum Bar and Restaurant is open 7 days.
Sunday to Thursday from 12 pm to 12 am
Friday to Saturday at 12 pm to 1 am
Website: http://www.themagnum.webeden.co.uk/
