G7 Private Dining – an intimate dinner tucked away on Glenealy Street, Central

Last year, I reviewed a place called Chef Studio by Eddy. The lovely Eddy has now opened his second venture called G7 Private Dining and this time in a much more central location.

Whilst Chef Studio is located in an old, converted warehouse in Aberdeen, G7 is a beautiful, cosy space that feels more like someone’s dining room. Tucked away up on Glenealy (number 7, hence the name), you have to go looking for G7 in order to find it – as if you have indeed been invited to a friend’s place for dinner!

There is a private room and a shared yet still intimate dining room that overlooks the open kitchen. Sadly Eddy wasn’t there himself on the evening we visited, but we were still very well looked after by the sous-chef Chris and the rest of the team.

After some delicious homemade bread served with Parmesan and preserved garlic oil, our first course arrived. I say first course, this was really four courses in one! Clockwise from top left, we had my all-time favourite melon and Parma ham (good, but the melon was a little too hard), grilled prawn (delicious and perfectly cooked), confit peppers with rocket salad (light and refreshing, albeit rather simple) and burrata and tomato salad (amazingly fresh and bursting with flavour).

Following this came a beautifully presented porcini cappuccino. Personally, I found the flavour a little too intense for my liking and couldn’t manage too much of it. I did however like the larger chunks of mushroom that gave this dish more depth and texture.

I was pleasantly surprised by the crispy Japanese amadai with fennel and tomato olive coulis. Unlike other fish, the scales on amadai are actually edible. Grilled until crispy and flaky, they are also seriously tasty, making the otherwise very simple fish much more interesting.

Meanwhile, the asparagus risotto with scallops and salmon roe, was slightly disappointing. The risotto itself was a little runnier than ideal and, whilst the crunch and bounce of the asparagus and scallop respectively were spot on, the flavour of the roe was a little too salty and strong for this dish.

For main course, we could either choose roast duck breast or bone-in prime rib with bone marrow (the latter at a surcharge of $180). The beef, although a little on the chewy side, was absolutely delicious and carried a lovely smoky flavour. The bone marrow was also very flavoursome and paired beautifully with the meat. The only letdown was the vegetables, which were unfortunately overcooked.

Seeing as the friendly chef could tell we were curious about the duck, he brought us a little sample, along with more beef from alongside the bone. I found the bone-side cut more tender and flavoursome than the rest, whilst the duck was tender, gamey and delicious.

To finish was a classic homemade tiramisu, which was without a doubt the best dish of the evening. Chef Chris served us generous individual portions at the table and informed us that it was actually all-you-can-eat tiramisu. Unfortunately we couldn’t manage more than our serving, but, had we been hungry, it’s nice to know we could have eaten the entire tray!

A meal at G7 without wine (it’s BYOB) will cost $780 per person. Add on the surcharge if you can’t resist the beef, and you’re looking at $860 (+10%) per person. Although the setting is lovely and food is good in theory, there were a few disappointing dishes that made the price a little hard to digest. My personal opinion is that I much preferred the setting of G7, but the food at Chef Studio was by far superior to that of the new restaurant. Perhaps I was just missing Eddy’s permanent smile?!

G7 Private Dining, 7 Glenealy, Central, 2810 6626, www.g7privatedining.com

Fancy trying it out? They’ve also got a brand new menu to spice things up a bit! Book below: