About 6 months ago a restaurant creeped up in ABC place, replacing a very hard to please Thai restaurant that was poorly matching prices with it's dishes. We used to work in the area, frequenting the ABC java house for lunch and let me tell you in the two years that I frequented that area, the Thai restaurant was open AND empty! Hmm.... So needless to say when construction began and finished we were eager to see of management (who to my knowledge remained the same) would get it better this time around with it's replacement, Seven Seas.
If you are a seafood lover, then it is indeed in your best interest to give this place a run for it's money. Seven Seas, hereby further refereed to as Seven, soon became a replacement for our lunch time catch-ups and even evening cocktails after work. Remember, part of our goal here (and similarly greatest dining frustrations are issues around consistency), if to go to each establishment re review at LEAST twice, if not more, to get a sense of their ability to deliver on a standard. Food, service...everything!
Where to begin with Seven. I think I may have tried close to everything on the menu! And I have to say, the Chef, ( who by the way, has an accent that can make you melt... Almost as if from new Zealand!) has put together some really fantastic dishes! For the most part , he has created palate pleasing dishes that capture perfect combinations of textures and flavors that compliment one another without blending together in a way that you miss out on getting tongue to twinge in it's different areas when your taste-buds recognize the sweet, tart, creamy, crunchy, chili notes that comprise each bite! It's really an enjoyable experience for a foodie.
Let's look at some specific dishes. Their "signature" crunchy fish and chips.depending on their catch of the day, the actual fillets used may vary. Most consistently in their preparation is rock cod. The dish delivers on it's promise. Well seasoned fish battered and fried for a crispy-crunchy covering, with almost a buttery-soft, lemon infused, fish-center. Their "secret ingredient" is not so secretive... Hello corn flakes! It's an obvious one, I mean you can see the entire flake fry-frozen into position on the fish. :) seven, you are fooling no one. You do not need to squeeze the lemon on the top unless you like a little extra acidity to give it a bite. Served primarily with chips (my favorite of most restaurants I've been to) are thin and crunchy. Adding to the Seven "signature" style is a trio of sauces. There is a home-made chili aioli, made from a home roasted paprika and red bell pepper (delish); an oil-based herb sauce- which to the best of my palate's abilities is a combination of mint and parsley; and last but not least a roasted garlic cream sauce. They are great, and in my opinion are best slathered over the chips, as opposed to the main proteins which often are already well marinated and accompanied by their own home made tartar sauce or Bearnaise..... Perhaps the greatest weakness in this area is sauce OVERKILL. The staff provide no guidance on the intent behind the sauce options- how each one may bring out certain notes or what combinations are best served with a prawn, a fish or Squid. Which then leaves me to believe that they are not given much more thought then to be a bit of a fancy show off :)...yup, I said it. Keep in mind I love them, so I am not hating. But, I believe everything served should serve an intention for the diner.
If you are a seafood lover, then it is indeed in your best interest to give this place a run for it's money. Seven Seas, hereby further refereed to as Seven, soon became a replacement for our lunch time catch-ups and even evening cocktails after work. Remember, part of our goal here (and similarly greatest dining frustrations are issues around consistency), if to go to each establishment re review at LEAST twice, if not more, to get a sense of their ability to deliver on a standard. Food, service...everything!
Where to begin with Seven. I think I may have tried close to everything on the menu! And I have to say, the Chef, ( who by the way, has an accent that can make you melt... Almost as if from new Zealand!) has put together some really fantastic dishes! For the most part , he has created palate pleasing dishes that capture perfect combinations of textures and flavors that compliment one another without blending together in a way that you miss out on getting tongue to twinge in it's different areas when your taste-buds recognize the sweet, tart, creamy, crunchy, chili notes that comprise each bite! It's really an enjoyable experience for a foodie.
Let's look at some specific dishes. Their "signature" crunchy fish and chips.depending on their catch of the day, the actual fillets used may vary. Most consistently in their preparation is rock cod. The dish delivers on it's promise. Well seasoned fish battered and fried for a crispy-crunchy covering, with almost a buttery-soft, lemon infused, fish-center. Their "secret ingredient" is not so secretive... Hello corn flakes! It's an obvious one, I mean you can see the entire flake fry-frozen into position on the fish. :) seven, you are fooling no one. You do not need to squeeze the lemon on the top unless you like a little extra acidity to give it a bite. Served primarily with chips (my favorite of most restaurants I've been to) are thin and crunchy. Adding to the Seven "signature" style is a trio of sauces. There is a home-made chili aioli, made from a home roasted paprika and red bell pepper (delish); an oil-based herb sauce- which to the best of my palate's abilities is a combination of mint and parsley; and last but not least a roasted garlic cream sauce. They are great, and in my opinion are best slathered over the chips, as opposed to the main proteins which often are already well marinated and accompanied by their own home made tartar sauce or Bearnaise..... Perhaps the greatest weakness in this area is sauce OVERKILL. The staff provide no guidance on the intent behind the sauce options- how each one may bring out certain notes or what combinations are best served with a prawn, a fish or Squid. Which then leaves me to believe that they are not given much more thought then to be a bit of a fancy show off :)...yup, I said it. Keep in mind I love them, so I am not hating. But, I believe everything served should serve an intention for the diner.
The catch of the day is a standard menu option that is a hit or a miss depending on what day you go. There is no way to tell how successful it will be. (which begins the discussion of seven's greatest fault.... Consistency). Sometimes the filet has skin, other times not. When it does, it does not get that fire-grilled crunch, and feels slimy and soft in the mouth. And even though very well seasoned, it is still a Very unappealing experience. Insert here sauce overkill: there is the watered down version of the red-paprika sauce that the fish itself is marinated in, then the dish comes with a bearnaise accompaniment on the dish, and then the 3 sauces. Another real hit or miss, more often a miss, is any chicken dish you choose. There are two: a grilled spring chicken and a chicken sandwich. The spring chicken (we ordered twice) each time came badly undercooked (blood and all) and it was more of a fall or winter chicken, if we are to make age an issue. The sandwich is a bit better, with a wonderful finely ringed onion fry on the top adding again the layers of texture to the dish, but when we come to seasoning, it seems to be prepared with two of the trio, which lacks creativity. Why give us more to add, if it's already there?
And I wouldn't suggest switching up the side-options. The chips are the way to go if flavor and freshness is priority for you. I, in my health conscious state of mind ordered their side of rice, which is a pilaf with vegetables. It would have been fantastic had the rice not been from two days ago. Ok, my timeline may be off but the key here is that it was NOT made that day. You could taste it, even in spite of the veges and seasoning. This was a bit of a disappointment.
Each main dish comes with a side salad, which need lots more effort for it to be worth eating. I love salad. These ones clearly have no thought or intention attached to their preparation besides giving the patron more for their money. Its simply not worth it. The salad itself would not be so bad (it is jut a standard garden salad anyway), but its often soaking in vinegar, with a dash of oil. It has little to no taste except that it burns all the way down. More effort required in this department
Above from L-R : Trio of sauces, boring side salad and catch of the day with rice
The salads that clearly matter to the Chef are those you can order as a dish on the menu. I have also had quite a few of them. The seafood salad served with fennel and onion (too much onion, but great balance of acid with the fennel)' the duo of calamari (GREAT dish, but small portion, so make it a shared starter if you are very hungry) and the beetroot and feta cheese salad, sprinkled with sunflower seeds, and a lovely balsamic drizzle, this is by far my favorite salad on the menu. The mix of the creamy cheese with the acid of the balsamic vinaigrette and the sweetness of the beets. I could have this again and again.
Now....let's be real about seven's fatal flaws and I mean fatal because we stopped going, and now only go when a craving for the crunchy fish and chips is too great to tame or ignore. Consistency. In what area's? Almost all. seven has fantastic cocktail menu. And they used to have a Thursday buy one get one free offer, which I guess they didn't plan well for because it stooped and even before it stopped, one night we were there and cut off! (our office had some drinkers! Present company not withstanding). It doesn't seem like Seven is trying to be that kind of a place, where you can sit around after work at the bar with cocktails and bitings (no biting on the menu) and if that is the case, then it all makes sense, otherwise its just bad manners.
Then the service. It's either fantastic, too over-the-top friendliness or, so-slow-you-want-to-throw-the-trio-of-sauces-at-homeboy-with-the-short-tie FRUSTRATING!!! Actually there is one serever in particular, me thinks his mama dropped him a lot. He should now be in front of the house. Let him do prep in the back. If consistency in food preparation is also important to you, then seven is not for you to frequent. Like I said, hit or miss. Seven you need to step up your game here because this is enough for us and others to no longer recommend your restaurant. but MAJOR SHOUT OUTS go to one server named Kariuki. He goes above and beyond the call. He describes and recommends dishes well, is a very responsive server without EVER being over the top in your face too much. He is another reason I would go back. He treats all his customers like they value their dining experience highly. Well done Kariuki!!! help your brother who is a hot mess... You know who I am referring to.
Lastly but not lastly... The menu. It is very limited. Chef, can we get a daily specials option at least? I think after just a handful of visits in had exhausted my variety, hence my need to go only when the chips are calling my name.
I have to say we had SUCH high hopes for Seven.... You don't even know. It was an affordable and casual fine dining concept that delivered such tasty food! For the first two months of it being opened, we could not STOP telling the chef (who does drive-by's to the tables to see how you are enjoying the meal: Brownie points on customer service!) how fabulous and enjoyable the meal was. Then down the slope we all went as consistency dropped. Its not too late to tighten things up though, and that coupled with a specials menu would make Seven a prime dining experience over all.... for now, its just nice for very specific things once in a while.
So in sum for Seven...
Food: worth trying but lacks variety or consistency in some areas
Drinks: fantastic
Service: get it together! shoe-throwing may be necessary, especially if you get one brotha in particular, I think arrived from shags just the other day
Cost: lunch is fair dinner is not worth it
Ambiance: cool and trendy
Chef's accent: yummy!
Would we go back? If Kariuki is the server, and the craving for chips hits... Yes.
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