5 Affordable-yet-fancy contemporary eats in Singapore

Dining in style needn’t always be as expensive an affair as it is made out to be in Singapore. One can enjoy a fancy night out without, essentially, blowing up a huge sum of money. And we don’t just mean a fancy setting with midget-sized portions made up of overpriced ingredients – we’re talking about generous servings of food, mostly up to six-course set meals with some throw-in options of handsomely-sized dishes. We’ve picked five restaurants that are good enough for you to dress up for, but affordable enough for you to spend and eat to your heart’s content at.

SET Contemporary Cuisine

As the name suggests, SET specialises in lunch and dinner set meals. They describe their cuisine as a ‘fusion’ and say it gives diners a flexible dining option. Restaurant-goers can opt for the five or six-set meal, that consists of a cold starter – hot favourites being the tomato caprese and salmon garvlax, a soup from four options, a main course from five options and a dessert from five options as well. For a choice of main course, one can’t go wrong with any of these – the Baby Pork Back Ribs, Marinated Rack of Lamb and Roasted Beef Tenderloin. Another unique part of this restaurant, apart from its spacious indoor and al fresco dining concept, is the fact that their meals are mostly interesting combinations of foods. For example, the Miso soup with Sake, which is miso soup infused with sake and served and had as shots in sake cups!

The 5-course SET lunch is priced at $28.80++ per person and the 6-course SET dinner at $38.80++ per person. SET is located at POMO, 1 Selegie Road.

Tandoor North Indian Restaurant

Apart from its fancy decor and growing reputation, this haven for kebabs and curries also boasts an affordable and plentiful set menu, for both lunch and dinner. The Lunch Gourmet Trail, priced at $38, includes soup, kebabs, a main course and a dessert. For a lighter option for lunch, there is always the Daba Express for $18, which is a starter and a main course served with some carbs. The dinner set is a slightly more grand affair and the Dinner Gourmet Trail also includes soups, kebabs, main course and dessert options, and one can opt for the $48 or the $58 option. Additionally, one can have the dinner set with wine pairing at $88. That’s still pretty affordable by any outdoor dining standards!

Tandoor North Indian Restaurant is located at 11 Cavenagh Road and is open everyday for Lunch from 12 noon to 2.30pm and Dinner from 7pm to 10:30pm.

Garibaldi

A classy ambiance, with authentic Italian food that could rival any of its fine-dining contemporaries, Garibaldi makes for an exquisite dining experience. Expertly-made Italian cuisine at affordable prices, with a 3-course set lunch menu priced at a mere $39, not forgetting the myriad options of antipastis, main courses and desserts? It probably doesn’t get much better than this.

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar is located at 36 Purvis Street #01-02 and is open everyday for:
lunch from 12:00pm – 2:30pm & Dinner from 6:30pm – 10:30pm

Ma Maison

Although not the first restaurant option that might come to mind when thinking of a fancy place to dine, we thought we’d include Ma Maison to the list because it is definitely a restaurant that stands out. Whether it’s the utterly quaint, old-English-cottage-style decor, the vintage crockery and posters that line the walls, or just the Japanese-Western fusion food that make it stand out, or the combination of everything, Ma Maison is most certainly a place where you can enjoy an affordable but relatively fancy contemporary meal. The Omu Rice, which is rice cooked in egg, is served with rich brown sauce and mushrooms, the steaks, pizza and squid ink pasta are all things to look forward to when you visit. The Bugis+ outlet also offers a Set Lunch Menu, with items priced between $12.90 to $16.50.

Ma Maison is located at 6 Eu Tong Sen St, #03-96 The Central @ Clarke Quay and at Bugis Plus, 201 Victoria St, #01-12 and is open Mondays to Sundays from 11:30am to 10pm.

Bar-Roque Grill

This bespoke French restaurant and grill, modeled after the Baroque era in 17th Century Europe, is nothing short of amazing. From its artistic decor, to its food, it is no wonder there has been nothing but praise for this dining spot. Alsace-born Chef Stefan Istel brings his intimate knowledge of French cuisine to the table and, according to the restaurant, diners can expect a feast not just for the stomach, but for the soul. In addition to a wide variety of lunch and dinner a la carte options, the restaurant also has a two-course set lunch priced at $34, a 3-course set lunch at $40 and a five-course dinner priced at $98++ per person, for a minimum of 2 pax.

Bar-Roque Grill is located at 165 Tanjong Pagar Road #01-00 and is open Mondays to Fridays for Lunch from 12 pm – 2.30 pm
 and Dinner from 6 pm – 10:30 pm and on Saturdays for Dinner from 6 pm – 10:30 pm.

Diya-Maya Tsering Bhalla