5 Places For Lunchtime Gatherings

table manners singapore lunch gathering

A few weeks ago, we published Guide to Brunch Places in Singapore, a list of places in Singapore to score the perfect combination of eggs benny and English breakfast.  But what about the lunch? The perfect spot to enjoy a dish of pasta or a healthy wrap with your customary 1pm coffee? Here we have it, a list of 5 places for lunch so you can plan ahead and not select just any eatery at random to gather. After all, your lunchtime gatherings should not be a shabby affair. They should be filled with lovely conversations, tasty bites, interesting decor and well, wonderful ambience to set the mood right (and the tummy hungry).

1. Marmalade Toast

Smacked right in the middle of town at Ngee Ann City, Marmalade Toast cannot be any more ideally located. Self-proclaimed as the perfect “tai-tai escape”, the casual-chic cafe is the perfect example of a small joint tucked away discreetly for intimate lunchtime or high-tea gatherings.

Marmalade Toast

Image Credit: http://www.soshiok.com

As a simplified version of the Marmalade Pantry found at Ion Orchard and Fairways Drive, Marmalade Toast is widely known for their wraps, pizzas and desserts. Some of their more popular picks are the smoked turkey wrap, masala chicken wrap, lemon meringue sponge cake, chocolate fudge cake and the carrot cake. To top it all off, the menu also carry some of the most loved smoothies to complete your meal.

Image Credit: maybenovemberxx.onsugar.com

The brightly-lit interior premises of the eatery features an open kitchen concept with marbled counter-tops and tiled surfaces. The application of mirrors and glass in a place of space constraint also makes it a spacious and clean hangout, comfortable enough for lunch gatherings and long catch-ups that extends into the evening.

2. Table Manners

Universally, we know table manners as the rules of etiquette when it comes to eating. But at Changi Business Park, Table Manners is a dining concept!

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A gem tucked away in the east and a stone throw’s away from the office building at Changi City Point, Table Manners is an easily accessible bistro. Whether is it a private gathering on Saturday afternoon, a business lunch with a client or a short, lovely treat you wish to grant yourself on Friday’s lunchtime with your colleagues – this chic eatery makes a perfect meeting venue.

Image Credit: thumbsforfood.blogspot.com

Kitschy, but not at the expense of taste and elegance – expect to be delighted by the smallest of details at Table Manners. Witty quotes and snippets adorn the walls on white paper in black frames. The place also has a retail section for you to do some shopping, browse the household items and see if you fancy any. Placemats on the table tops comes with quirky illustrations of cutlery/crockery setting, or entertaining ideas for conversation starters. Clearly, if there’s one thing you can be sure of, it would be that waiting for your food is made less of a pain and surely more interesting.

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The design and layout of the restaurant is neat and aligned, with furnishings largely made up of Scandinavian-inspired furniture – mostly wooden textures against monochromatic color schemes. Not keen on dining in such a setting? Take your table manners outdoors to the timbre-decked pavilion set against lush greenery, and enjoy the alfresco experience.

3. Arteastiq

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If you’re a huge lover of well-furnished spaces and beautiful, instagram-worthy decor, this is one place you have to visit. With its central location at Mandarin Gallery of Orchard Road, Arteastiq is impossible to miss.

Image Credit: xoxocris.blogspot.com

Arteastiq does give a visitor the impression of a artist’s personal gallery and abode. While it seems like most cafes in Singapore are adopting the simplistic and safe layout and design, this place is something different by going ahead with the bold geometric and floral prints on its walls and furniture. Candy-colored chairs sit by the full-length windows overlooking the streets under the tall ceilings, almost like a scene out of a modern Alice in Wonderland.

Image Credit: keruiteng.blogspot.com

The highlight of Arteastiq is its range of teas. One of their most popular offerings is the Monet Dessert Tea, a french rose tea with champagne vanilla ice cream. Other than that, the cafe also serve amazing wraps, salads, breakfast dishes and a delectable confectionery selection.

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As its name suggests, the place truly is artistic. If you’re looking for an afternoon activity alongside lunch, then you may have just found the perfect venue. Not only does Arteastiq allow you to bond with your lunch dates over food and beverage, you can also do so through the creation of your very own artpieces! With a personal piece of canvas and unlimited acrylic paint, you may wish to engage in an afternoon painting session, or even register for their in-house workshops.

4. Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar

If there’s one thing that must never be excluded from a hearty lunch meal, it has definitely got to be coffee. And that, is Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar‘s specialty.

Image Credit: liren.sg

Image Credit: spherepiece.blogspot.com

With the intent of bringing to Singapore the Melbourne coffee Experience, this cafe & bar at one-north was opened to share the love and passion for it. Needless to say, guests can expect that the cafe roasts their own beans and sell them too. While it is not too hard to tell that Jimmy Monkey Cafe is big on coffee, one look at the wooden shelves decked with beers, liquors and wines and you can tell that this place turns into a bar at night.

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The cafe’s atmosphere makes it a quiet and laid back spot for lunchtime gatherings – one with interesting things to look at, from bookshelves to magazine racks and even a toilet bowl exhibition on the second deck . The interior of the cafe has a unique, industrial finish that is well pulled-off without appearing the least bit shabby.

But of course, along with the whiffs of aromatic coffee beans that will fill your lungs pleasantly on a weekday afternoon, one can expect cafe food to be served at Jimmy Monkey Cafe. Some of the customers’ favorites are the poached eggs breakfast sets, truffle fries, and beer-battered fish & chips. There is also a variety of pastas, pies, scones, and desserts like the molten chocolate lava cake to wrap up your lunch treat.

5. Carpenter & Cook

In this millennium that we live in, it seems that there is no concept more popular then “vintage” be it in the form of fashion or home decor. But in the form of a cafe? That surely tantalizes all five senses.

A combination of a cafe, artisan bakery and a home-store to the theme of vintage, Carpenter & Cook is an up and coming artsy cafe. Even before entering the cafe, the old school desks and chairs that make up the waiting area at the entrance is an inviting preview of the dining experience that is in store for the guests.

Image Credit: www.daintyflair.net

The home-store retail section of the cafe is especially a treat to look at. Antique items like clocks and crockery are unique gift ideas if you’re on the hunt for a housewarming present. The old-school wooden shelf is also decked with a variety of goodies like marshmallows, cookies, and jars of jams. So if you fall in love with the cafe, you can consider purchasing some of these packaged bites to share with your colleagues, friends, or family!

Image Credits: themunchingirl.com

With such a pretty dining setting, the quality of the food and beverage does not disappoint either. Bestsellers at Carpenter & Cook includes the passion fruit meringue tart, cook’s amazing quiche and the brioche bun. A large selection of delicious looking confectioneries gloriously on display is bound to make anyone hungry.

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Carpenter & Cook is without a doubt a beautiful place for a lunchtime gathering – savory bites on flora-printed crockery that looks like they were a part of your grandmother’s most prized porcelain collection.

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Marketing Executive (Editorial) for We Are Spaces. Economics/finance student who crunches numbers by day and stays up to write by night.

2 Comments

  • Reply February 10, 2014

    Wilson

    Thank you for sharing my picture, the one of Table Manners @ Changi City Point. I am honoured for my picture to be used as your title banner picture. 🙂

    • Reply February 12, 2014

      Sharon Lourdes

      Hi Wilson, it is indeed a great picture! Thanks for letting us use it 🙂

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