Reviews - Initial
Reviews summary
Reviews from various users
Last update : 06.06.2026
This is my second visit and every dish has been a delightful surprise! I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who appreciate fine dining quality, attentive service, and all without the stuffy atmosphere one might expect from a fine dining establishment!
A wonderful discovery in every way. Refined cuisine made with simple ingredients. A tranquil setting where you can take your time. Highly recommended.
While in Caen for work, I had the real pleasure of discovering this restaurant. The tasting menu lives up to its name: it's full of surprises! The cuisine is creative and flavorful, showcasing local produce. I appreciated that the dishes were tailored to my dietary needs. I also enjoyed chatting with the chef at the end of the meal. P.S.: Don't hesitate to choose the wine pairing to complement your meal. Another great find!
Perfect in every way, superb cuisine, full of surprises, lovely touches for the customers. A must-try.
Our children had an excellent experience at MAGMA restaurant: refined and original cuisine. The on-demand menu was surprising but a great success. I recommend it, we will be back.
Last update : 26.07.2023
We booked a table for 4. We opted for the 4 course tasting menu at €56 per person.my daughter and her partner added the wine pairing for €28 per person. There were 2 waiters for the whole restaurant. Apperitives were lovely but it was downhill from there, First course was sea bream with a Luke warm watery stock poured over- no explanation given.First wine tasting poured- no explanation. I asked what it was and was told the ‘chef likes to keep it secret’.This despite the fact that a table behind us was getting a full explanation in English of the wine. The next course was a reasonable ,but not great, sea bream.Second wine poured as we finished again no explanation. Third course pork bright pink raw and tough- I didn’t eat mine and wasn’t asked why.Third wine served at this point. About 70 mls,if that.i asked what the wines were we were then presented all three bottles and given a 10 second name check on each wine. The pudding was passable but not great Total bill€333 euro . I complained about the service ,the meal and the lack of explanation. Was told I should know 1 Michelin star restaurants don’t have the same level as 2 star. We have been lucky to eat in one Michelin starred restaurants before.This is not one . We were charged€14 euros for water.This despite the fact that the waiter shared the bottle he opened for us with other tables. The bill was reduced by €66, that was not the point.It was a miserable experience which was supposed to be a real treat. Don’t eat here
We had a family dinner Food was very good We were 6 and our 15 years daughter do not like to eat many items they were very flexible and adjust her dishes per her request All dishes were very original, beautiful presentations very tasty!!! It is clear why they got a Micheline start!
My wife and I called spur of the moment driving back to Caen from Mont St Michel. We ordered the 16 euro dejeuner menu along with a bottle of Morton Beaujolais. The owner and staff were wonderful: 3 amuse bouche and a complementary dessert. The white asparagus with Camembert sauce was one of the best dishes we ate over the past two weeks in France; the duck breast in a light beet reduction was perfect. And the total bill, all in, was 55 euros. We'd return in a heartbeat.
Very competent cooking in the center of Caen, convenient for a treat before catching the ferry. The service was very kind they were aware we had time constraints and the service was efficient and well paced. We were the only table in the downstairs area that evening the ambience was a bit cold. Nevertheless an enjoyable meal.
A cosy inviting restaurant for sure. They specialise in “degustation” or grazing menus. Our friend could not eat various items but they adapted and adapted and succeeded. The staff are very knowledgeable and give a running commentary on the different dishes. The cod and lobster combination is superb. Another plus is the apple dessert. We only had limited time which was a shame but ferries wait for nobody. If you visit Caen and are a foodie then definitely come here.
Last update : 20.03.2023
I would have put 3.5 stars if I could. The kitchen is very good, tasteful, the kitchen is just and the flavors mix originality and justness. However, we hesitated strongly between the 5 and 7 services, which the waitress invited us to choose the 5 services because we really needed to be a good eater (we understood that the rest of the tables had chosen the 5 . The apprentice at the service does not know his dishes and does not know how to announce them are Saint James .... we ask for extra bread at the time of the main dish and the waitress tells us that it will be the last piece of bread and keep for cheese because they have turned off the oven to recover it... Finally, we are the last at the restaurant and we feel that at 22:20 the service grows so that we pay and leave (the apprentice says goodbye and goes in front of us! . To arrive at 8:40 pm and take an aperitif, we feel a bit in a hurry to eat the 5 services. Too bad, for a gourmet recommended by Mr. Carbone, although the kitchen is good, we will not return for the whole setting.
Lunch in Magma, kitchen to discover from the entrance of the dessert. Beef Raviole at the entrance, fish risotto and black forest magma. We'll be back.
A pure pleasure, the excellent magma menu, very refined and even if you don't like some ingredients, no worries that the chef makes you enjoy, thanks for this culinary sharing, a real happiness in the mouth
A very pleasant moment... the idea of discovering what we eat while we are going is simply great!
Celebrate 2 anniversaries at Olivier Barbarin’s MAGMA Restaurant was a pure moment of gustative pleasure, combining discovery of flavors and balances, very great culinary mastery and true originality. 5-course tasting menu, with the surprise of discovering each meal presented by the chef himself, a perfect faultless. Probably my best dinner. Redo with pleasure and epicurean gourmet! Pascale BALLART
