Seven dishes at Seven on 7th

Seven seems to be a very popular number in history. There’s lucky number 7, the 7 Wonders of the World, 7 dwarves (please don’t count Snow White), the 7 deadly sins, and now, Seven on 7th! 

 

Interesting name for a newly opened restaurant located on, you guessed it, 7th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Don’t let the elegant fixtures and minimalist interior make you think this place is about high-end dining or food you may not be able to pronounce. 

 

According to part owner Randy Lao, he and his partners fashioned the restaurant as a casual European bistro serving comfort food, much like a hotel lobby where everyone is welcome. They don’t even have a dress code. There is something about the place though, with its pristine white walls and its chic young owners (at least two of whom are at Seven on 7th on any given day) that may make you think twice about flip-flops and shorts attire.

Speaking with Randy, who fondly remembers spending a lot of his childhood in his family’s restaurant in Cubao, we discover it was really his idea to pool resources together with his friends to open a restaurant. Ellis Chua, Flo Campomanes IV and Khristopher “Toff” Sy make up a young group of four (not seven!) who, together with Chef Jay Rollan, drew up an interesting menu from each owner’s favorite dishes plus some other menu items the Chef recommended for the kind of high-quality, not overly high-priced restaurant they all had in mind.

 

The first dish put on our table by the accommodating staff was the Seven Bistro Salad. This was an interesting mix of crisp lettuce, grilled beef, herbed chicken and sesame crusted tuna. The mix of beef, chicken and seafood paired with lettuce plus a sprinkling of olives and capers and the tart combination of orange slices and mango bits dotted with lemon was a good appetizer. Not too filling or overpowering, it left room for the two kinds of soups which followed the salad: the Seafood Laksa and Wild Mushroom soups.

 

The Seafood Laksa is a definite must-try on the menu. This bisque with hints of curry flavor and a strong taste of roasted coconut milk had bits of mussel, squid and prawn coated with the thick soup. This delicious medley of flavors reaches a crescendo with the taste of delicious crab fat. 

 

The Wild Mushroom Soup, on the other hand, is recommended for those who really really like mushrooms. Made from not less than four different types of mushrooms and truffle oil, the huge impact on one’s palate made by the absence of any cream plus the intense mushroom flavor are not for the meek or mild diner.

Dishes to note are the Hanger Steak, a delightful combination of grilled onglet (the French term for a cut of beef steak from the cow’s diaphragm valued for its flavor), rice pilaf and greens. The grilled onglet, by the way, is also known as butcher’s steak because butchers often kept this cut for themselves instead of offering it for sale. The tender meat is delicious paired with long-grain rice that is far from what one typically considers rice. Once you’ve finished this superb dish (because you cannot not finish it), you still have room for dessert.

 

Other dishes we put on our table: the Ginger Lemongrass Chicken Confit which was nice and juicy on the outside but a bit dry on the inside; and the Vegetarian Lasagna which actually tastes like it has meat but is certified to be made of nothing but vegetables (we made the chef swear to it!).

 

Putting a cap on the list of seven dishes that made an impact, the dessert to note was the Chocolat Verrine which my dinner companion, an admitted chocoholic, agreed was nothing short of stupendous. A tempting mix of devil’s food cake, almond meringue, chocolate mousse, vanilla crème topped with chocolate glaze made us push the empty dessert glasses away, lean back and pat our tummies with a satisfied sigh. 

 

Toff shared that they were still undergoing birthing pains, but we didn’t find anything too painful about dining at Seven on 7th. In fact, being a newly opened restaurant, it had staff that were attentive, if not a little overly enthusiastic, serving all the courses at once, but we’re sure once the said birthing pains are over, it will be smooth sailing.

 

For those who plan to dine at Seven on 7th, we do recommend you park your car across the street at The Fort Strip. The short walk back to your car should shed off whatever weight gained from the dishes gobbled up at this restaurant. —KG, GMA News

 

Seven on 7th is located at The Forum South Global, 7th Avenue corner Federacion, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City with operating hours from Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For reservations call +63 917 840 98 76 or (0917) 577-2720.