The Makk on 124

Edmonton’s 124 St has made quite the stir with its latest restaurant opening in the past year and with the addition of the farmer’s market last summer, it’s definitely one of the hip-and-happening areas of town. When The Makk on 124 opened last November, I was quick to jot it on my list of places to try. Not too far from the downtown area, a 5 minute drive is the next best I can do aside from walking across the street to whatever is closest to Joe’s condo.

Interior – Bar

Interior

The dinner was a little under a month ago but I remember it all too well. For one, I was sick and hoping to get over a pesky cough in time for New Year’s Eve. The other, I was catching up with my friend Alex in the post-Christmas festivities. We made it a relatively early dinner at 6pm and when I arrived, the restaurant was bare and the servers were preparing for service. The interior is very nice, well-lit, and the tiling behind the bar made it a beautiful focal point.

Panzanella Salad

Our server was efficient, taking our orders quickly, and even giving me a teapot of hot water after I made a few requests to top off my warm water to soothe my throat. Originally, I was eyeing the menu item of a roulade of house cure salmon – tarragon crêpe, crème fraîche, salmon tartar, honey Dijon and salad bouquet. Sounded mouth-watering! Sadly, they were out of the dish, and I went with the Panzanella salad, a fresh summer-friendly salad with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, and toasted focaccia as croutons. Presentation was beautiful and the salad was delicious!

Beef Consomme

Alex ordered the beef consomme, with shredded crepes, vegetables, and beef. I only had a sip of the broth and basically, it tasted like beef broth… as it should according to the definition of a consomme. I’m not sure where the appeal is in a clear broth served as a dish personally, but Alex seemed to enjoy it.

Truffled Mac & Cheese

For a main, I ordered the truffled mac and cheese. Made with cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, and truffled cream, the dish was very rich. The portions were gigantic, although I could have probably finished more if I wasn’t sick. Yummy! They could easily cut back on the amount of truffled cream they used and substituted it with a protein or seafood to give another dimension of flavor but other restaurants offer that alternative.

Scallops and Prawns

Alex’s main was a bit more complex, and a lot more interesting to look at! Choosing the scallops and prawns, served on a bed of lobster risotto and crisp onion pakora, he seemed pretty please with it. I questioned the term of onion pakora when it really looked like onion rings, to which Alex agreed. The risotto was rich and had a strong lobster flavor. As for the scallops and prawns, I couldn’t tell you too much about its execution as I didn’t want to infect Alex and forgot to ask him as I was inhaling the truffle fumes coming from my own dish.

Chocolate Flourless Cake

Somehow, we both managed to have room for dessert (I had my pasta packed for lunch the next day). With only four options to choose from, it wasn’t too hard to narrow down what we wanted. I chose the chocolate flourless cake. The cake itself was dense, and had that odd gluten-free type texture to it. Compared to Tzin’s flourless cake, this was less that spectacular. The sorbet that came along with it was interesting enough. By this time our server had a full house to tend to and failed to mention what kind of sorbet it was. Multiple tastings between both Alex and I could not pin point what the flavor was. When asked what I thought it was, I mentioned the first thing that came to mind and that was bubblegum… although I knew that was well off the mark. When our server came around to the table, I asked if she could check what flavor was given out. Turns out it was eggnog. Interesting… perhaps my tastebuds were in a mess from being sick!

Vanilla Creme Brulee

Alex’s dessert choice was vanilla crème brûlée, also served with a mysterious flavor of house made sorbet. I don’t even remember what it actually was, but the same reaction was in place when our server told us what it was. The crème brûlée had a smooth texture, although nothing stood out to either of us in terms of depth of flavor or richness.

Overall, The Makk had some hits (the salad and the scallops and prawns stood out for me), and some misses (sorbet surprises!). I would most definitely come back to try more dishes but unless my next visit is awe-inspiring, there are other restaurants within a block of The Makk that I would rather go to. Here’s looking forward to my next visit, the Makk on 124 still on the list!

The Makk on 124
www.themakkon124.ca
10418 – 124 St
(780) 705-3710

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