On a warm Friday evening in late July, the Magnum Bar and Restaurant was buzzing with happy customers: there are a few tables of beer drinkers and diners outside as we enter the cosy bar area. We are warmly welcomed and taken to our window table next door in the Restaurant.
Wherever you sit it’s comfortable, with black leather upholstered chairs and well spaced-out polished wood tables. The décor is smart and classic – the dark grey walls with contrasting red cornice creates an ideal mini-gallery for a selection of photographic prints for sale.
The Magnum offers perfect flexibility with separate bar and restaurant menus, from which you can choose in either dining room. After ordering from the Dinner menu, we are brought a basket of soft sundried tomato and olive bread to nibble as we sip an aperitif of ice cold Prosecco.
I start with a light summery salad of Smoked Salmon, (from Belhaven smokery), wrapped around a creamy red pepper roulade with a mound of peppery rocket and herbs. The undressed leaves could perhaps have been drizzled with a little garlic or almond oil to jazz it up, but overall the fresh quality of all ingredients was excellent.
My partner very much enjoyed his generous portion of Wild Mushroom ragout on a nest of polenta, finished before I could taste a forkful.
For his next course, I am quicker off the mark and sample an extremely tasty morsel of pan fried Sea Bass, the crunchy skin coated in sea salt. This was served with paprika roast potatoes and red pepper salad; a colourful and carefully seasoned dish and not a scrap was left.!
Meanwhile I am presented with a large platter of Aubergine Involtini smothered in a rich tomato sauce and topped with melty Mozzarella. Why can’t other chefs prepare such delicious gourmet vegetarian food like this.? Superb.
With our meal we share a bottle of South African Chenin Blanc, selected from long list of house wines. After these two courses, we were unable to find room for Sticky Toffee Pudding, Dark Chocolate Pot or even a palate-cleansing, home-made ice cream!.
“Thank you for choosing this restaurant” .. “absolutely delicious” were the comments from our fellow diners at adjacent tables. At around 9.30pm, I see another party of friends arriving who look very pleased to be able to sit outside.
Other choices on the Dinner menu (which changes every few days), include Crab Gazpacho, Guinea Fowl, Pork Loin and chargrilled fillet of Beef.
The Bar menu is very popular with pub grub favourites - burgers, fish and chips, rib eye steak and haggis (traditional and vegetarian). With a good value Lunch set menu of £12.95 for 2 courses, we shall return very soon.
The Magnum is a unique concept, serving fine dining cuisine in a casual Bar-Bistro setting. Although just a short stroll from the traditional pubs on Broughton Street or the sophisticated wine bars on George Street, this classy place a bit of hidden gem.
But it certainly has its fan base judging from recent reviews, so make sure you book a table soon to check it out for yourself!.
“ ..a relaxed atmosphere means you don't need to get dressed up but the food is definitely very good restaurant quality.”
“ …. friendly pub/restaurant off the tourist trail with food that is worthy of a posh establishment.”