Seven & Ate

Seven & Ate
78 Horne Road

https://www.facebook.com/sevenate.sg/

Quinoa Bowl With Beef Steak (SGD $16)

Hearty Dishes & Puns In This Modern Gastropub

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 5
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $27 per person.

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Opening its doors in December 2017, Seven & Ate is a chill gastropub in the Lavender / Jalan Besar area of Singapore, that serves up hearty Modern Singaporean cafe dishes. The main draw at Seven & Ate is their range of craft beers, and their affordably priced yet generous portions, making them a pretty good choice for a meal if you're in the area. Also, their name is a triple pun - Seven & Ate takes after the numbers '7 and 8', which is also their address '78', and is a play on 'eating'.

Ambience at Seven & Ate retains a casual modern industrial look, harkening back to the days when the shop space was occupied by Windowsill Pies, and later, Bao Makers. The warmly lit and spacious area still has those bare concrete walls with wooden panels on the floors, lined with sturdy wooden furnishings. Quirky, old-school, tongue-in-cheek posters provide minimal decor, while retro music plays in the background. It remains cozy and inviting.

Service at Seven & Ate is partially self-service. Ordering and payment is made over the counter (they accept cash or nets only), but staff will serve orders to your table. They're friendly, and will accede to special requests for customisation of orders. Staff display decent product knowledge on the menu, and decent efficiency at clearing empty / dirty tables when diners leave. Not much engagement though, pure transactional style.

Food at Seven & Ate is Modern Singaporean, a fusion blend of Western and Asian flavours. Dishes are well balanced in construction, large in portion size, consistently well-executed, and delicious. They have different dishes for lunch and dinner, and options are available for healthy eating or indulging, all made with fresh ingredients. Prices are more affordable than other cafes or gastropubs, budget about SGD $27 per person for a meal here.

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Seven & Ate Exterior

Seven & Ate Interior

Seven & Ate Menu - Lunch

Seven & Ate Menu - Dinner

Seating

Poster

The Caffè Americano (SGD $4) is decent, a full-bodied and smooth cuppa with medium acidity. Served with sugar on the side. This is actually an off-menu item they made for us.

Caffè Americano (SGD $4)

The Beer Mac's Three Wolves (SGD $10) is an American style pale ale, brewed by Mac's Brewery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has a glowing orange amber colour, with aromas of tangerine, mango, caramel, and bread. The body is crisp, smooth, and dry, with a medium carbonation, and tastes of papaya, grapefruit, pine, and passionfruit. Lovely floral fruity zesty sweet sour bitter flavours here.

Beer Mac's Three Wolves (SGD $10)

The Beer Yakima Red (SGD $11) is an American style red ale, brewed by Meantime Brewing Company Limited in Greenwich, London, England. It has a dark, dull brown red colour, with aromas of caramel, roasted malts, strawberry, and pine. The body is thin, smooth, and tingly, with a lively carbonation, and tastes of hops, redcurrant, grapefruit, and wheat. Slightly fruity sweet with a hint of bitter, but fairly approachable.

Beer Yakima Red (SGD $11)

The Beer Gosnells Gooseberry Mead (SGD $14) is a British English mead, brewed by Gosnells Meadery in Peckham, London, England. It has a hazy, pale straw colour, with aromas and tastes of honey, cucumber, gooseberry, and green apple. The body is semi-dry, crisp, and fresh, with a light carbonation, and flavours of fruity sweet sour tart, nicely refreshing. Very easy to drink, and the alcohol also hits you quickly.

Beer Gosnells Gooseberry Mead (SGD $14)

The Beer Guinness Draught (SGD $14) is a dark Irish dry stout, named after Arthur Guinness, and is brewed by Diageo PLC in Dublin, Ireland. Among the most famous beers worldwide, this has a deep, dark black brown colour, with a creamy white foam head. The aroma and taste is similar, consisting of smoked malts, roasted coffee beans, faint caramel, and barley. The body is rich, velvety smooth, almost creamy, with a bitter sweet grainy flavour.

Beer Guinness Draught (SGD $14)

The Cocktail Piña Colada (SGD $14) here is made with white rum, coconut rum, coconut milk, and pineapple juice, served blended with ice. Nicely fruity sweet, with a boozy kick. Good tropical vibes going in this beverage.

Cocktail Piña Colada (SGD $14)

Cocktail Piña Colada

Love the presentation of the Spam Fries With Ranch & BBQ Sauce (SGD $9), served in the original tin container. The spam fries are coated in a crisp golden panko crumb batter, crunching lightly when bit. This keeps the meat within moist and tender, and the flavour is nicely savoury salty, very light and pleasing. Served with a duo of sauces; tangy sweet sour barbecue sauce, and creamy refreshing ranch sauce. So good it's unstoppable. Highly recommended!

Spam Fries With Ranch & BBQ Sauce (SGD $9)

Spam Fries

Ranch & BBQ Sauce

Loved the Breaded Eggplant (SGD $7), which features large, tender soft slices of brinjal / eggplant / aubergine, coated in a crisp golden panko crumb batter. Bite in, and you get a satisfiying light crunch, then the smoky vegetal sweet flavour, with a hint of salty and milky notes. Not greasy which is good. Completely delicious, I would eat this as a bar snack or television snack, it's so addictive. Unconsciously kept reaching for more! Highly recommended!

Breaded Eggplant (SGD $7)

Breaded Eggplant

The Scotched Quail Eggs (SGD $7) are a signature dish here, and with good reason. They're delicious! A trio of halved, soft boiled quail eggs, the yolk still semi-runny, wrapped in tender minced pork, with a golden crumb breading, and served in a sriracha mayonnaise garnished with chives. Bold flavours of eggy sweet savoury salty spicy at all once. So easy and tasty to eat, making you crave more. Highly recommended!

Scotched Quail Eggs (SGD $7)

Scotched Quail Eggs

Scotched Quail Eggs

The Fried Jalapenos (SGD $8) are decent enough. The juicy jalapenos, with their sharp sour spicy flavour, are stuffed with gooey cheese, and coated in a golden panko crumb batter. Served with a side of crème fraîche, these make for a decent sharing appetizer to open the palate.

Fried Jalapenos (SGD $8)

Fried Jalapenos

Fried Jalapenos

The Hot Wings (SGD $14) features 5 whole chicken wings, grilled till smoky and appetizing, smothered in a sharp spicy chili sauce. The chicken meat is tender and juicy, nicely savoury salty, then you get the sharp spicy burn that lingers on the palate. Makes me want to eat more!

Hot Wings (SGD $14)

Hot Wings

Staff kindly acceded to have our Quinoa Bowl With Pork Belly (SGD $15) served with ingredients on the side. The base of tri-coloured quinoa has a fragrant aroma, with a fluffy chew, and a light grainy flavour. The salad of fresh tomato salsa, roasted yellow squash, mesclun salad, oranges, poached egg, and house made guacamole is meant to be mixed and eaten together, having a combination of smoky zesty vegetal sweet bitter eggy flavours, and layered textures of crunchy, tender, soft, juicy, and creamy. The grilled pork belly has a nice ratio of fat to lean meat, with a tender chew and a smoky savoury salty flavour, but slightly more gamey than I'd prefer.

Quinoa Bowl With Pork Belly (SGD $15)

Quinoa Bowl With Pork Belly

Quinoa Bowl With Pork Belly

The Quinoa Bowl With Beef Steak (SGD $16) features a base of tri-coloured quinoa with a fragrant aroma, a fluffy chew, and a light grainy flavour. The salad of fresh tomato salsa, roasted yellow squash, mesclun salad, oranges, poached egg, and house made guacamole has a combination of smoky zesty vegetal sweet bitter eggy flavours, and layered textures of crunchy, tender, soft, juicy, and creamy. The medium rare cut of beef sirloin steak strips has a tender, juicy chew to texture, with deep meaty savoury flavour. Highly recommended!

Quinoa Bowl With Beef Steak (SGD $16)

Quinoa Bowl With Beef Steak

Listed on the menu as 'Mushroom & Brussels Hash', the kitchen served up a customised Mushroom & Asparagus Hash (SGD $16) for me instead, as they could get fresh asparagus but not brussel sprouts. The mix of corned beef, asparagus, onions, red bell peppers / capsicum, and brown button mushrooms have an alternating tender crunchy texture, with bold salty savoury vegetal sweet flavours. Pair it with the fluffy soft, toasted brioche bread, and the sunny side up egg, for a flavourful mouthful. Portion is large and best shared. Good!

Mushroom & Asparagus Hash (SGD $16)

Mushroom & Asparagus Hash

Mushroom & Asparagus Hash

A proper Duck Confit (SGD $17) here, among the better renditions around. The confit of duck leg has little fat, as it's been rendered down, making the duck meat so tender and moist and savoury salty in taste. The duck skin is crispy with a burst of flavour, while the thick and creamy smooth potato puree goes well with the sharp sour sweet red wine sauce. I also like the alternate take on the poached pear; with tender juicy pear slices poached in red wine till it takes on a sour sweet flavour. Good!

Duck Confit (SGD $17)

Duck Confit

Duck Confit

Was disappointed by the Spiced Blackened Chicken (SGD $15). The chunks of cajun spice and thyme marinated chicken are dry and chewy, although the flavour is properly savoury salty spicy and delicious. Would have preferred a large, whole chicken thigh instead, to prevent this unpalatable texture. At least the roasted lemon slice and roasted garlic pump up the flavour, the former with its juicy zesty sour sweet notes, the latter with its smoky earthy herbal taste. However, the overall dish is super oily, with the orange butter pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Not great. Skip this.

Spiced Blackened Chicken (SGD $15)

Spiced Blackened Chicken

Spiced Blackened Chicken

The Pork & Oysters Burger (SGD $16) is delicious. Fluffy soft, toasted and buttered brioche burger buns sandwich crunchy purple cabbage, a duo of juicy savoury salty sweet pork patties, mild earthy onion cream, tangy sweet sour barbecue sauce, and juicy battered fried oysters. Served with a side of barbecue sauce and crisp nacho chips, this is an incredibly messy yet satisfiying meal. If you've eaten a Chinese Fuzhou Oyster & Minced Pork Cake, you'll get the flavours here. Good!