WITH THE CITY centre's capacity swelling,
dinner in Edinburgh's New Town was a welcome break from the chaotic flurry of the
Festival. I had yet to visit The Magnum,
and this chilly August night offered the perfect opportunity to remedy that.
The bustling atmosphere instantly
hit as Sarah and I took our seats at the window by the bar, ordering a very
enjoyable bottle of Rioja (£19.95) as we decided upon our grub. My starter was
Devonshire crab gazpacho with avocado cream, peppers, cherry tomatoes, which was
finished with olive oil (£6.95). This dish was fresh and light and would
have been perfect for a warm summer's day - if we had been fortunate enough to
get one.
The sweetness of the gazpacho was
enhanced by the crunch and warmth from the green peppers, which really made the
dish for me. Crab is a ridiculously
underused ingredient in my opinion, and the delicate meat was delicious
alongside the chilled soup, although a crack of salt wouldn’t have gone a miss.
Sarah started the evening with pan-fried
breast of pigeon, with frisee and radicchio salad, toasted pine nuts with
sultanas and Quail’s egg (£6.95). The pigeon
was adequately pink, juicy and tender. The
pine nuts and sultanas brought an earthiness to the plate as well as texture. It
was a pity the quail’s egg was a little over; no runny yolk this time boo hoo. The
only other minor foible was that Sarah felt it could have been a little hotter, and the plate wasn’t warmed either.
The menu proudly focuses on
Scottish produce, and for main, I chose whisky and vanilla cured salmon with
saffron potatoes, wilted baby gem lettuce and samphire (£18.95). I reckoned the
salmon had been steamed, and while I love the crispy skin that comes from pan-frying,
the cooking was so good that I forgot all about it. The fish was beautiful and flaky, and any
fears I had of being over-cured and sickly were dispelled with the first
forkful I devoured. The warmth of whisky
and tinge of vanilla didn’t overpower the salmon either, and those little
potatoes stained with saffron were sublime.
I love cooked lettuce and it worked well in this dish, adding crunch and
slight bitterness, with the saltiness of the expertly cooked samphire adding to
its enjoyment. If I’m being picky, a sauce or even a drizzle of olive oil would
have just rounded the dish off perfectly.
Continuing her game theme, Sarah
ordered venison steak with dauphinoise potatoes, broccoli, thyme and garlic
infused mushrooms and redcurrant jus, priced at £19.95. The venison was soft
and tasty, with the classic dauphinoise sufficiently cooked and adding a creamy
note to the plate. You could really
taste the thyme and garlic, and the dish was all the better for it. The enormous portion was excellently seasoned,
and the full-flavoured sauce made this a high standard gastropub dish allround.
Sticky toffee pudding with salted
caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream (£6.50) would be my third and final
course of the night. I’ve often found that desserts let places of (what I’d consider) similar ilk down, but this pudding
was actually very good. The cake itself
was light and manageable after two courses. The sauce was sweet and with just a hint of
saltiness, and while the ice cream was middle-of-the-road and could have presented a little neater, it nonetheless provided a cold contrast
to the excellent sticky toffee pudding.
For dessert, Sarah went for
chocolate and star anise cake with fennel ice cream (£6.50). The star anise
brought a welcome twist to a normal chocolate torte pudding, with the fennel
ice cream lending to the aniseed flavour.
It was rich, yet light and well-balanced flavour-wise.
As far as gastropub fayre goes, The
Magnum is ticking all the boxes. The
menu is well thought out, with the technique of the chef apparent, and gives the
customer a sound interpretation of Scottish food. The portions were generous and the surroundings
lend to a really decent dining spot in the New Town.
Follow: @MagnumBar_Rest
Phone: (0131) 557 4366
1 Albany Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3PY
Opening times: Sun-Thurs 12pm -12am
Fri-Sat 12pm- 1am
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