G7 Private Dining

G7 is a cozy and intimate restaurant; the semi open private room allows guests to relax away from the main dining area which is situated upstairs; this room is again small with half the room devoted to the open kitchen where the chefs skill can be witnessed; sadly so can the less elegant dish cleaner wandering in and out.  Seating only 10 covers this is an intimate restaurant and if all tables are occupied a sense of being hemmed in would be apparent; the small courtyard located beyond the incredibly small toilets offers a chance for al fresco dining and is pleasantly decorated in scenes reminiscent of an old Italian trattoria.  G7 is unique in its decor and offers something different with attention to detail evident creating an ambience of relaxed eccentricity.

Constantly changing menus give the Chef a chance to utilise the best of the seasons and whilst I did not sense this on the night we dined I was impressed with the creativity of the menu offered; an antipasti platter was beautifully presented and the freshness of the ingredients evident; an elegant frozen mango crush over the iberico ham was novel and the sashimi Hokkaido scallop was exceedingly fresh although somewhat overpowered by the in vogue use of yuzu; a pumpkin soup followed that was perfectly ok but revealed nothing exceptional and being served in a glass cup is a little passe; a beetroot rissotto was again perfectly ok but something most competent home cooks can achieve and I was disappointed that nothing jumped at my taste buds to entice them to new levels of flavour sensation. A kurobuta pork chop served with a coffee infused sauce was beautifully cooked but a lack of sauce left a slightly dry dish; the signature roasted US prime rib was cooked as requested and was delicious but served with exactly the same vegetable selection as the pork; this reflects a lack of creativity from the kitchen and I would have liked my pork to have seasonal vegetables that compliment the completely different texture and taste between the two meats, rather than the one vegetable suits all approach. A small but excellent Italian cheese dish is served before dessert where a pleasant but again expected tiramisu or a rather stodgy Italian rice pudding were offered. G7 is serving good food but I felt with a little more effort it could be serving outstanding cuisine.

A limited Italian selection is available offering some excellent boutique wines; the best option is to select the wine pairing menu and taste some unique wines that one may normally not experience.

A small restaurant requires excellent service and G7 delivers this; all dishes were introduced by Chef Clayton at the start of the evening and then explained again when served. Wines for the pairing menu were explained and whilst serving measurements were a little regimental the overall level of service was excellent.

G7’s set menu is HK$880 plus 10% with the wine pairing menu adding HK$250 to this; it is expensive and for this money I would like to see far more creativity from a kitchen that seems more functional than creative.