If your calendar’s filled with lunch appointments, and you’re running low on restaurant ideas, we’ve got 10 new spots for you to wine and dine your clients and contacts in Singapore. Whether it’s Peranakan, Cantonese, Italian or fusion cuisine you’re after, we’ve got you covered with these great-value lunch sets below $30.
Bonus: Most of our picks are conveniently located near central parts of town or the CBD.
Compiled by Leanne Liew
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If you are in the CBD but prefer an intimate lunch spot away from the crowds, head to Le Binchotan, the French-Japanese resto that focuses on French techniques and binchotan (charcoal) grilling. For its executive set lunch, the small outfit at Amoy Street presents a two-course menu at $27 or three-course at $34. Most of the choices on offer in the sets are created especially for lunch, and are not featured on the dinner menu.
Select one main course such as beef cheek with potato, pear and molasses sugar; red snapper with braised Japanese leek, cumin and cherry tomatoes; or sakura ebi cappelini with shio kombu and chives.
Starters may include in-house smoked salmon with purple potato and pickled cucumber, or burnt aubergine with sesame, yoghurt and puffed rice. Desserts come in the form of coconut pudding with matcha and raspberry, a refreshing lychee sorbet with mango and kaffir lime or the more decadent smoked ice cream with white chocolate and sea salt.
Available: Mondays to Fridays, from 11.30 am to 3 pm.
At 115 Amoy Street, #01-04, Singapore 069935 (Entrance via Gemmill Lane), Tel: 6224 1045.
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Those who work in the East will be hard-pressed to find a better lunch deal with such panache. Baba Chews at Katong boasts a highly affordable weekday set lunch menu priced at only $15.90. For $2 more, you can add on the signature Baba Iced Tea, or the dessert of the day.
From the menu, choose one starter such as ngoh hiang, tauhu goreng or chicken satay, one main course such as a robust ayam buak keluak, beef rendang, or ikan goreng tempra, babi pongteh, and udang masak lemak as well as one vegetable dish like chap chye or sambal terung.
Those who work in the East will be hard-pressed to find a better lunch deal with such panache. Baba Chews at Katong boasts a highly affordable weekday set lunch menu priced at only $15.90. For $2 more, you can add on the signature Baba Iced Tea, or the dessert of the day.
From the menu, choose one starter such as ngoh hiang, tauhu goreng or chicken satay, one main course such as a robust ayam buak keluak, beef rendang, or ikan goreng tempra, babi pongteh, and udang masak lemak as well as one vegetable dish like chap chye or sambal terung.
Available: Mondays to Fridays, from 12 to 2.30 pm.
At 86 East Coast Road, Katong Square, Singapore 428788, Tel: 6723 2025.
Blue Jasmine, located on the fifth level of Park Hotel Farrer Park, is the newest halal Thai restaurant in Singapore. The casual spot serves up a host of classic and street food dishes from southern Thailand. The Blue Jasmine Express lunch is available at a very affordable $12.50, which includes one main and one dessert. Choose either the hearty Thai beef noodles or duck noodle soup. And when you’re done with your quick one-dish meal, enjoy a scoop of coconut ice cream or panna cotta with gula melaka before heading out.
Available: Mondays to Sundays, from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm.
At 10 Farrer Park Station Road, Singapore 217564, Tel: 6824 8851.
Located in Marina One, The Spot is a new multi-concept venue comprising an all-day café, restaurant, and bar. Head there for the two-course set lunch, which includes a choice of one main, and an appetiser or dessert, for $30. There’s the three-course option for $38, which includes the full meal of appetizer, main and dessert.
For starters, you will get to choose from the Atlantic salmon with citrus and plum sesame dressing, or the celeriac soup with whipped mentaiko and pork floss. Mains are a unique proposition. Think dishes like pork cheek bbq (grilled bak kwa style with potato mousseline and caramel vinegar); local skate with pearl rice risotto and salmon roe; or pan-fried red snapper with crispy skin, green curry emulsion and eggplant. To round off the meal, opt for the sea coconut brulee with sour cream ice cream and kaffir lime.
Available: Mondays to Fridays, from 11.30 am to 2 pm.
At 5 Straits View, #01-26/27. Marina One - The Heart, Singapore 018935, Tel: 6284 2637.
At Publico, diners can enjoy a two-course set lunch for $30. You get to choose any two items from any two categories of your choice: antipasti, bruschetta, insalata, zuppa, primi/pizza, and dolci. The three-course menu at $35 lets you choose from three categories in total.
Start with buffalo mozzarella salad or wild mushroom soup, followed by a hearty primi (pasta). Highlights include spaghetti chitarra comprising fresh egg spaghetti with cherry tomatoes , olives and chilli flakes; or linguine ala vongole brimming with clams cooked in a white wine, leek and garlic broth; or the slurp-worthy fresh pasta alla carbonara, with free range egg yolk, pancetta, and pecorino.
Pizzas include startlingly loaded options like the Carne, with pancetta, salami, bacon, fennel sausage, beef bresaola and rocket leaves; and the popular Tartufata, which is topped with mozzarella, porcini mushoroom, smoked scamorza and truffle.
Available: Fridays and Saturdays, from 12 to 3 pm.
At Intercontinental Robertson Quay, 1 Nanson Rd, Singapore 238909, Tel: 6826 5040.
Salted & Hung at Purvis Street offers a two-course set lunch at only $25, and three courses at $35. To booze up your meal with a glass of wine, add $10.
Chef Drew Nocente’s well thought-out dishes include his 63 C egg served with field mushrooms and trout roe; cured salmon with horseradish and trout roe; and charred pork belly partnered with shallots and edamame.
For more substantial items, the menu offers tender beef cheek with carrot, scallions and shitake (add $10); barramundi with smoked bean cassoulet; or ragu with pepper tagliatelle and beef fat crumbs. Those having the three-course menu can look forward t ending the meal with the warm chocolate mousse with cherry and almond, or mascarpone ice cream with espresso crumbs and amaretto.
Available: Tuesdays to Fridays, from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm.
At 12 Purvis Street, Singapore 188591, Tel: 6358 3130.
It’s tough to find a quiet spot on Orchard Road, but a booking at Mitzo takes care of the little problem of getting away from the shopping crowds. The modern Cantonese restaurant at Grand Park Orchard offers a three-course dim sum set lunch at $28, which includes a double-boiled soup of the day, plus a selection of three dim sum items, and dessert of the day. The range of steamed, deep-fried and baked bites include royal shrimp dumpling with black caviar, steamed shrimp and pork dumpling, charcoal barbecued pork bun, baked seafood tart, crispy beancurd prawn roll and more.
For another $10, and you will get to enjoy the four-course dim sum set, which offers abalone, soup, a choice of three dim sum, dessert, plus a noodle or porridge option. Choose either dry-style thin noodles with prawn dumplings and the signature Mitzo barbecued pork; or porridge with lobster claw, fish and pork.
Available: Mondays to Fridays, from 12 to 2.30 pm.
At Level 4 Grand Park Orchard, 270 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238857, Tel: 6603 8855.
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This American-styled “diner” boasts great waterfront views thanks to its location at One Fullerton. Perfect for a quick and easy weekday lunch, its two-course set is only $24, and three-course at $30.
Start with a salad – broccoli and avocado with quinoa and feta; or Californian kale with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red grapes and caramelised bacon. Or, go for a soup like the Pacific Coast clam chowder with crispy bacon.
Hearty mains you get to choose from include the fried chicken sandwich (served in a brioche bun); the grilled three-cheese sandwich with tomato soup; the beer-battered barramundi roll; and Overeasy’s “To-Die-For” Burger with perfectly grilled wagyu chuckblend patties. Desserts are decadent but not to be missed: waffles with warm maple butter and vanilla ice cream or bourbon donut holes with homemade fudge. The dough mixture is proofed with bourbon, tossed in brown sugar and cinnamon, and partnered with a generous serving of house-made fudge sauce on the side.
Available: Mondays to Fridays, from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm.
At 1 Fullerton Road, #01-06 One Fullerton, Singapore 049213, Tel: 6684 1453.
This popular tapas spot off Keong Saik Road offers excellent lunch sets at $28 for two courses, or $48 for four courses. The laid-back atmosphere (we recommend grabbing a seat at the kitchen counter and watching Esquina’s head chef Carlos Montobbio and his team in action) have you wanting to linger longer, perhaps with a glass of something in hand. While there’s no alcohol add-on, wines by the glass are highly affordable.
The food offerings change on a daily basis adding an element of surprise. You may get creations such as beetroot pickled and roasted, accompanied by stracciatella, smoked walnuts, horseradish; or pigeon served with forest berries, and burnt rosemary polenta. If you’re having dessert, the BBC – textures of banana, beer stout ice cream, warm caramel sauce – will round off the meal perfectly.
Available: Tuesdays to Fridays, from 12 to 2.30 pm
At 16 Jiak Chuan Road, Singapore 089267, Tel: 62221616.
Nothing beats a classic Italian meal. Make your way to Amò at Hong Kong Street, which is most known for its artisanal pizzas and pastas. The set lunch menus feature a changing selection of appetisers, and a choice of gourmet pastas or pizzas for the main course.
Pasta specials include homemade pappardelle with spiced braised pork ragu or pork ravioli with fontina fondue, rosemary jus, and truffle. Pizzas on offer may include one topped with buffalo mozzarella, marscapone, and homemade cured speck; or one with fava beans, buffalo mozzarella, house-cured pancetta, basil and pecorino.
The set menu is priced at $28 for two courses (starter and main), or $33 for three courses (starter, choice of main and dessert). The sets come with coffee or tea.
Available: Mondays to Fridays, from 12 to 2.30 pm.
At 33 Hong Kong Street, Singapore 059672, Tel: 6723 7733.
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