MacNiven's--Does it have any value as food?

MacNiven's is a Scottish-themed restaurant downtown on Mass Ave, in case you haven't been there (consider eating before you go!)

I have to say, I had never eaten there, and had sort of wanted to. I've met friends for drinks a few times late night--and was always highly impressed by their humongous Beer List, and if you like Scotch--I'm sure they've more selections than anywhere in the city.

It is a Scottish themed restaurant. I'd heard of their haggis, assumed their might be some sort of shepherd's pie, but other than that I didn't really know what to expect.

Matt and I were in the mood to try something new. Neither of us had eaten at MacNivens. My ex-roommate and her beau used to have dinner there every Friday night, and Matt's brother (who often frequents the downtown restaurants) had mentioned it was pretty good. I knew the the atmosphere was intimate and woody, and they had lots of new beers to try. Sure, why not, it'll be great.

We started with the Haggis sampler. Now, most people might be shy about trying Haggis based on its description--basically a mush of organ meats and grains--but, if you are going to eat Scottish, might as well try it once. Plus, though I don't often eat red meat, I have always enjoyed a little bit of organ on my plate. I can thank my Dad for this, I think, since early childhood memories involve fighting him for the baked innards from the turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The dish comes with a small bowl of Haggis, several small slices of rye bread and a huge portion of butter. So, Matt and I start out spreading the butter on the bread and topping it with the dull brown mealy mush of Haggis. After a couple of servings, I am not bothered by the organy taste of the stuff, but the overwhelming saltiness of the dish. It occurs to me to taste the butter on my finger, and I discover they are serving the stuff with salted butter! I was shocked, really. so we continue on the appetizer without the butter, but really our pallets have been so assaulted the only thing either of us can taste by that point is just tons of salt.

I am sad to say the appalling use of salt and butter did not stop there.

For the entree I ordered the Pan Seared Trout. I had just been reading some foody article about pan-seared fish, and was excited when I saw it on the menu, expecting a delicious slightly crispy skin with the warm and light meatiness of the fish. Whoa--who would of thought, they did not even pan sear the skin side, and it came out a mush slimy grey film on the flesh of my fish. Now, this meal might have been okay still except for the fact that the darn thing was drizzled in so much butter there was actually a pool a couple of centimeters deep filling my plate, and even making the side of veggies soggy. Worse yet, it was that same darn salted butter they had given us before. Are you kidding me!? You can't cook a fish and flavor it without killing my mouth in a soup of salted butter? I couldn't eat it.

Matt had no better luck with his dish. It was some kind of deconstructed shepherd's pie, they meat, carrots, and onions drowning in gravy and the potatoes and neeps on the side. He also was so sickened by the taste of salt creating a toxic effect in his mouth (and in his head--he actually felt his pulse exploding in his brain!). The only thing on the plate palatable, according to Matt, were the neeps--which apparently is the Scottish name for rutabaga.

We spoke with the waitress, quizzed her about the food, and she said, well it's always served that way.

So diner beware. Your may be taking your life into danger when eating at MacNivens, seriously--imagine if you were a customer with high blood pressure, you might explode!