Saw was hardly chilled (7)
I believe the answer is:
noticed
'saw' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hardly chilled' is the wordplay.
'hardly' becomes 'not' (I've seen this in another clue).
'chilled' becomes 'iced' (icing is a kind of chilling).
'not'+'iced'='NOTICED'
'was' is the link.
(Other definitions for noticed that I've seen before include "Became aware of" , "Seen" , "Perceived or observed" , "Realised" , "Detected" .)