For 4 years, Mjolnir has been my go-to PAXAUS tradition. It wasn’t just dinner — it was theatre. A Viking feast with fur cloaks, swords, and bone marrow shots that had us laughing and cheering like it was the most important ritual of the night. But this year, something was missing. The magic had dulled, and what used to be an experience ended up just feeling… sloppy.
First Impressions
The vibe walking in was still strong: candlelit tables, embroidered napkins, the dark, cosy setting that makes you want to order mead and shout across the hall. For a moment, I thought, “Ah, we’re back.” But that feeling didn’t last long.
The Drinks Package – Familiar, but Dimmer
We did the cocktail package like previous years, but this time it felt off. One of the listed cocktails was missing, and instead of being told upfront, we were just handed… something else. No explanation, no “hey, we’ve swapped this out tonight,” just a mystery drink plonked on the table.
When we followed up with staff about what it was, the response was basically: “That one’s not available tonight… not sure what you got instead.”
Not exactly confidence-inspiring when you’re paying for a package. The drinks we did recognise were tasty, but the handling of the replacement left a bad taste — not literally (the drink itself was fine), but in how it was managed.
Service Chaos – The Bone Marrow Shot Fiasco
The staff were polite, but the service was scattered. The bone marrow shot is the tradition — a silly, messy, memorable moment everyone looks forward to. This year, half our table’s plates were cleared before anyone even asked if we were doing it. Cue the awkward shuffle of, “Wait, we wanted the marrow shot!”
To their credit, staff did sort out new bones quickly, but by then the energy had shifted. Instead of being handed our moment on a platter, we had to sheepishly request it, which took away from what’s usually one of the night’s highlights.
Food
Food-wise, things got clunky. We’d emailed ahead of time and confirmed on arrival that our group of ten had become nine. Simple enough, right? Not so. Plates came out like we were still a table of ten, which meant servings didn’t match up properly. Some people ended up with extra portions, others went without — we literally had too many ice cream sandwiches and not enough potatoes… (a crime!)
It wasn’t the end of the world — we laughed it off and shared things around — but it felt sloppy, especially considering we’d gone to the effort of making everything clear in advance.
Over-Served Drinks, Under-Served Organisation
The cocktail package added to the mix-ups too. Not everyone at the table had opted in, but we were still getting cocktails as if we all had. At one point we had more drinks than people drinking them, which sounds like a good problem to have until you realise it was just another sign things weren’t being tracked correctly.
We managed with some humour (never waste a good cocktail, after all), but it really drove home the sloppiness of the night.
The Missing Magic
The thing about Mjolnir is that it’s never just been about the food — it’s the atmosphere, the theatre, the little moments that make you feel like you’ve stepped into something larger than life. This year, all of that was gone.
No fur cloaks. No sword. No big hammer at the table for someone to attempt to lift while everyone laughs and pretends they’re “worthy.” These were the bits that used to turn dinner into an experience, the reason I’d hype the place up to friends every PAX.
Instead, it felt like just another restaurant — a nice enough one, but missing the spark that made it memorable.
Final Thoughts
Mjolnir has always been one of my favourite traditions. A place I hyped up to friends and looked forward to all year. But this time, between the mismatched servings, missing drinks, sloppy organisation, and lack of atmosphere, it just didn’t land.
The food was okay, the drinks were fine, but the magic was gone. And when a place like Mjolnir loses its sense of theatre, what’s left is just another dinner.
I think next year, I’ll hang up the cloak and find a new tradition.
The Moonlight Cove 
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