I arrived in Madison late on a Tuesday in advance of a business meeting. I had read the mixed reviews about the new Scandinavian menu at Magnus and actually had decided to go someplace else. But my hotel was only 2 blocks away, and I decided to give it a try.
So here's my assessment. It's good. It's definitely not as bad as some of the other Yelp reviewers. But it's not really a rave place either.
So let's start with the food. As I've said, it was late. When I stopped in, I thought I probably would order off the bar menu. But the dining room was still serving, so I ordered off the dinner menu. But I wasn't starving. So I had a soup and starter.
The soup was oxtail soup. It was very good. It was the evening special, and the server described mentioned horseradish as an ingredient. Well, let me tell you. There WAS horseradish in the soup. Now, I like horseradish. But if you were at all sensitive to spiciness, this would have knocked your socks off.
For my 'entree,' I ordered the smoked salmon and potato-bacon crepe. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, and it didn't disappoint. The crepe really was a thin crepe. I thought it might be more like a latke. (But that would be more Eastern European, not Scandinavian.) The smoked salmon was very good. It's just that the flavors together were sort of jarring.
So, I don't know if ordering a soup and appetizer is a fair assessment of the food or not. But as my 3-star rating indicates, I thought it was OK. Not great, but OK. Truth is, I kinda miss the old menu, like many of the other Yelp reviewers.
Just a few other comments - I really love the decor. It reminds me of the 'cellar' cafes that my wife and I ate at in Poland a few years ago. And the music was very cool - French cafe music. (I used my new iPhone app, Shazam, to identify Rupa and the April Fishes as one of the more distinctive performers on the music mix that was playing the night I was there. I thought it was very entertaining.