It wasn’t until the day before I was booked dinner at The Magnum that I realised I’d last been there on a sweltering hot night last summer. A fairly significant night, as it happens, as it was the night before my wedding. A trio of excitable girls, myself, my sister and best pal from Canada had a great night, just what Dr Jitters ordered. Couple of glasses of white, some superb fish ‘n’ chips and the experience is very much what I’ve come to expect from the place over the years. A relaxed, good value spot, particularly well- placed if you’re nearby in the new town. It’s been open for 20-odd years and you can tell there’s an old-guard of regulars who pretty much call it home, whether popping in for a drink, a bar meal or more substantial dinner in the restaurant area.
Replicating summer 2013’s sun-fest, the Tuesday that Janet and I visited after work was an unusually balmy night for April, and the west-facing dining room was flooded with light and rather toasty. A dual menu runs each night, with a more casual bar menu and also the more ‘serious’ dinner menu, if a theme is needed then we’re talking Scottish bistro.
A small glass of vino blanco each for sipping and when starters arrived, both of which were impressively elegant. Janet, started on the first of her ‘underwater’ themed courses for the night. Prawn and scallop en croute, a pretty round little thing of crisp pastry, with a couple of fat juicy prawns and a large freshly sweet scallop cut in two. Accents of classic dill in with the plump bites of seafood, and a salad of lamb’s lettuce with pickled fennel and a citrus crème fraîche dressing made this a promising start.
Equally my spring vegetable terrine was a rainbow-coloured delight, showing that someone in the kitchen has the patience and understanding to plan these things out. Distinct layers of sweet peppers, a mushroom duxelle, spinach, leeks, a little bit of thyme, and wrapped in a ribbon of leek (I think!) and dressed with pine nuts and a goats cheese dressing made this dish well worth eschewing the ol’ classic starter of pâté, (of which a venison liver version) was also on the menu.
Speaking of classics, I did go quite retro for the main course, which was the cold- smoked rib-eye steak with onion rings, roasted baby tomatoes, a succulent portobello mushroom and very dainty tempura-battered onion rings. For the ‘daddy’ choice, this was a surprisingly attractive dish, and the revelation of the night was not the nicely charred steak itself, but the little cubed polenta chips lightly flavoured with thyme. I’ve often found polenta to be kind of claggy, but these were well-seasoned and appropriately crisp. I did find the whole dish a little dry, I guess that’s the only complaint but it was in the back of my mind. The steak itself could have benefited from the option of a dod of cafe de Paris butter, or a little bit of pepper sauce, as although flavourful, it wasn’t the juiciest of specimens.
On the other side of the table, Janet’s sea bass fillet had a crisp skin from pan-frying, yet the flesh was still succulent. Little waxy boiled potatoes cooked with saffron and a sizeable chunk of crispy ready to shatter prosciutto were classic accompaniments. However, to contrast with my sauce-free steak, this fish was being taken back to its days underwater as the plate was awash with the over-oily lemon beurre blanc. Such a shame, as all the components were fresh and seasoning was right, just a matter of balance not being quite right.
Desserts were satisfying enough, without being overwhelmingly fancy. The lemon curd cheesecake was an equal parts tangy and creamy rendition of the old faithful, and I do love a nice hearty chunk of citrussy cheesecake. I definitely took the lion’s share of this pud. The selection of home-made ice creams showed some imagination with flavours, and we opted for classic vanilla, rhubarb and a white chocolate and fudge. Each boasted rich quality of taste, but the texture of all were rather grainy, a little refinement would have gone long way to elevate this to perfection in simplicity.
Verdict
The Magnum serves a well-balanced menu and it’s clear that the chef takes pride in the quality of ingredients that come into the kitchen. Janet and I had a lovely night, and having eaten here a few times you know it’s a great spot to take folks for a nice bar meal and glass of wine in the new town. The slightly more formal bistro/restaurant side of their menu that we had, whilst not the perfect meal, still showed a pleasing honesty in the ingredients used, and a chef with the confidence not to ‘trendy things’ up too much. Well worth a visit.
Prices
Starters £4.95-£6.90
Mains £14.95 – £21.95
Desserts £5.95 – £9.95
We dined as guests of The Magnum – with thanks.
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