DINING at Seven on Club, the new Mediterranean restaurant-cum-Brazilian churrasco, brings few surprises. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.

The restaurant, which opened on Aug 1 at 7 Club Street, offers a menu that captures much of what was good of 1990s dining.

Dishes such as herb-encrusted tuna fillet with mango and olive salsa and seafood linguine in a light and spicy tomato sauce are like those old friends you enjoy meeting again and again, even if you talk about the same things each time.

There is hardly anything new-fangled, except for a lobster bisque that comes with two lashes of foam. But even then, the menu refers to them as a more 1990s-sounding 'heady cappuccino of Pernod'.

I've never really understood the current fascination with foam among many Western chefs.

When I first encountered it in molecular creations such as 'foam of roast beef', it was a new sensation that was intriguing. But it's really neither here nor there, a mere wisp of flavour with nothing to bite on. I'd rather have some real food I can eat, or drink, any day.

And at Seven on Club, you get plenty of that.

Executive chef Jason Lee, 41, who has helmed other Club Street restaurants such as Las Pampas and Shidong, is a dependable talent in the kitchen. His food never disappoints, but it doesn't shout either.

The King Crab salad ($24), for example, is a dish that is very easy to like. It is a generous portion of crabmeat with bits of crunch provided by small pieces of vegetables.

But do not worry that there is a paucity of greens because the dish includes a bouquet of poached baby vegetables like carrots, asparagus and kailan stuffed into a crispy tortilla shell.

And that's not all. There is also a delicious sesame fried jalapeno pepper stuck on top of the vegetables as well. It may sound like too much on a plate, but since everything tastes pretty good, there is no reason to complain.

The angel hair pasta with slipper lobster tossed in a light sundried tomato pesto ($28) is just as satisfying.

The bits of slipper lobster do not make much of an impression, but the slightly tangy pesto provides delicious company for the pasta.

Order it as a starter for two people, so you can have room to check out the main courses.

For that, I fully recommend the roast rack of lamb in a hazelnut and garlic herb crust ($39). The meat is tender and juicy, and the crust adds a lovely aroma. If the waiter offers you mint sauce to go with it - as he did with me - say no, it doesn't need that. The lamb jus it comes in is all that is needed, and mint would have overpowered the flavour of the meat.

To round off the dish, there is a timbale of aubergine and potato as well as some pumpkin puree. Which is yummy though a bit too heavy for me to finish. But that is because I also speared my fork into some of my dining companion's roasted Yorkshire pork rack ($32).

Served with prunes and lime potato mash and a thyme-scented red wine sauce, it is great for those who eschew strong-tasting meats. I, however, prefer more flavour.

Flavour is what you get in the lychee panna cotta ($8). I like the luscious sweetness of the fruit in the Italian dessert, given a tropical touch here. It is certainly more interesting than the tiramisu ($9), which is decent but unremarkable.

The restaurant also offers a Brazilian churrasco, which has nothing to do with the a la carte menu. For this, you pay $38 per person and get a wide selection of grilled lamb, beef, chicken and pork on skewers which the waiter slices onto your plate.

It also includes a small buffet of salads and antipasto. Go for it if you are a meat lover. It's cheaper than dining a la carte, too.

Seven On Club
No. 7 Club Street
Singapore 069403
Tel: 6327 9663
Open: 11.30am to 2.30pm (Mondays to Fridays), 6.30 to 10.30pm (Mondays to Saturdays). Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Food: *** 1/2
Service: *** 1/2
Ambience: ***
Price: Budget about $80 per person for a three-course meal 

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Aug 29, 2007.