Hong Kong has many great venues but Raini Hamdi finds one with the complete package
Hong Kong has many great venues but I wasn’t sure about visiting SEVVA when I was in Hong Kong recently. There was just too much going on at its website, which had tabs on brands such as Ms B’s Sweets. What has confectionery to do with a dining venue?
Ms B refers to Hong Kong’s entrepreneur and style icon, Bonnae Gokson, alias Queen of Confectionery. One look at her luscious cakes in the Ms B’s Sweets section, which had the defiant proclamation, Let them eat cake, did it for me. I knew I was in for a spoiling and a unique experience if the brain behind SEVVA was this fun, colourful and audacious.
MICE application
Was I glad I went. There is a lot on the website because SEVVA has everything under one roof on the rooptop of the designer mall, Prince’s Building, in Central, Hong Kong.
The 12,000 sqft (1,115m2) penthouse, which boasts unimpended views of Hong Kong’s harbour and city, comprises two dining areas serving the same menu, Harbourside and Bankside. The outdoor Terrace with lounge seats is a magnet for guests because of the views and SEVVA cocktails created by New York mixologist Joseph Boroksi. Drinks can be accompanied by small plates from an indoor bar, Taste Bar. There are as many as 25 small plates to choose from and, with snacks such as Wagyu Steak bites with garlic chips, who wants to eat steak? But eat you must (see F&B concept).
There are many ways to ‘do’ SEVVA: evening cocktails at Terrace, an afternoon spouse programme with Ms B’s Sweets, a gathering at Taste Bar, full dinner at Harbourside and Bankside, or book the entire place. SEVVA can take 200 pax seating and 400 pax cocktail-style. For a two-course and a glass of wine, budget HK$800 (US$103). Menus can be tailored for groups.
Ambience
But why SEVVA when there are also other rooftop restaurants in Hong Kong?
I adore its unabashed lust for life – it has so much energy and the atmosphere is so festive. It does not look like another top-notch restaurant; it felt like being at home and its walls are adorned with artworks from London’s Fine Art Gallery. While the whole venue is large, each of the different spaces exudes intimacy and its own inimitable design, like the ceilingful of flower petals in the Harbourside dining area.
Food concept
The menu was what I had been searching for in Hong Kong, offering a curated list of everybody’s favourite Western and Asian dishes presented creatively. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to share a Lobster Crepe for starters (and they rolled up a whole freshly-shucked lobster in the crepe, not some chopped up meat), followed by Char-Grilled Wagyu Striploin (again, top quality) served with Bernaise Sauce, then a platter of Chicken Malai Tikka, Salmon Tikka, Prawn Curry and Okra. Ms B lets us have cake with her ingenious menu, although, admittedly, I preferred the Western; the Indian Spice Platter lacked…spices.
Service
Professionalism and panache combined to make the service of one of the best I’ve encountered in Hong Kong. F&B manager Joseph Chan welcomed me warmly, seated me and offered a glass of champagne. Assistant manager Benson Luk then took over and it was posh yet warm service all the way to the end. Everyone knew what they were doing and, though the place was packed, the staff made me feel I was the only one in the house that evening.
Contacts
25th floor, Prince’s Building, 10 Charter Road
Tel: (852) 2537-1388
Email: reservations@sevva.hk
Website: www.sevva.hk
Opening hours
Open daily except Sunday. Lunch is served
Monday to Friday, 12.00-14.30. Dinner is served
Monday to Saturday 18.00-22.30
