It’s always nice to splurge on a special occasion, but what if your wallet can’t quite take it? Check out our guide to great restaurants that won’t break your bank.
Etna Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria
110 Upper East Coast Road, Tel: 6444 9530
This neighbourhood Italian restaurant in Siglap has no fancy dress code, but it does serve authentic Italian cuisine, replete with wines and refreshments imported directly from Italy. They usually have a special off-menu dish, so enquire when you’re ordering. Bring your date here for some low key time to yourselves. It can get noisy on the inside, so dining al fresco might be a better choice.
Hatched
26 Evans Road, #01-06 Evans Lodge, Tel: +65 6735 0012
Tucked away in a corner off Bukit Timah Road, Hatched is one of the few restaurants around with a great ambience for dates. Though its interior can get a little echoey, the intimate lighting is great for getting close with your loved one. Expect a quirky menu that has everything to do with eggs, and have a giggly evening sampling the different types of beer they stock.
La Petit Cuisine
10 Jalan Serene, #01-05 Serene Centre, Tel: +65 6314 3173
Photo from missuschewy.com
No frills dining with an option of indoor or al fresco, this little hole-in-the-wall French bistro has a native French chef who’ll come out and ask you how your food was. Food quality isn’t as good as say, Au Petit Salut, but you get your money’s worth here. You don’t even have to dress up for it. Portions remain frenchified, however. When we ordered ravioli, we got just three pieces.
Astons Specialties
(all over Singapore)
This eatery with its humble coffee shop beginnings is taking over Singapore – and all for the better. It serves mid-range restaurant grade food at extremely affordable prices, and doesn’t charge extra for GST or service. Great place to go to if your date loves Western fare, but take note that they’re usually better with their meats than their seafood, and that done-ness of meat varies from outlet to outlet.
Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe
177 River Valley Road, #02-22 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6337 9001
Photo from greatfoodinsg.blogspot.com
Saizeriya is a family-oriented Japanese chain serving Italian food. While the cuisine at Saizeriya definitely tastes like it’s straight from Japan, it’s nonetheless delicious and cheap. Prices don’t go above $8 for most dishes, and nearly everything on the menu is good. You don’t have to be worried about the noise or ambience either – the Liang Court outlet is large enough that you can request for a seat in a nice corner. J
The Garden Slug
55 Lorong L Telok Kurau, #01-59/61 Bright Centre , Tel: +65 6346 0504
Photo by thesimplestaphrodisiac.blogspot.com
The Garden Slug is an East-side eatery commonly frequented for breakfast, brunch, lunch and anything in between. It doesn’t quite come across as a dinner place, but we’ve not tried dinner there (yet). It’s been known to welcome pets and familes, especially during Sunday brunch, but service is attentive and the outdoor ambience is nice (there are fans to take the heat off). The food is also especially value for money.
Tao’s
1 Selegie Road, #B1-19 PoMo, Tel: +65 6339 8858
Photo from wensdelight.blogspot.com
Tao’s offers a six-course lunch and a seven-course dinner with a price difference of $10 between the two. We recommend going for lunch, because six courses for just $24 is a steal. The restaurant is located in the basement of PoMo, which is pretty quiet nearly all the time. Beat the office crowd by going in the early noon, or pop by at two, after they’ve gone back to work. There are nice booths along the wall in which to play footsie.
P.S. The staff here are some of the best we’ve seen, ever.
Ichiban Boshi
Parkway Parade #02-12/12A, Marine Parade Road, Tel: 6342 1013
Photo from OpenRice.com
Ichiban Boshi at Parkway is a hit with the East siders. It’s always crowded, and for good reason. The food served here is top tier, and there’s never a flaw with service. The turn-around time for a table is fast, but the restaurant’s fine with you staying and chatting. Service is friendly and attentive, and the restaurant has cozy corners for couples on dates. Just remember to bring a sweater – it gets cold in there!
Din Tai Fung
4 Tampines Central 5, #02-01/31 Tampines Mall, Tel: +65 6787 0998
Photo from ylyn-journal.blogspot.com
The Tampines outlet seems to get more crowded than most, but with good reason. Food and service here are as what you’d expect from Din Tai Fung, but with just that something extra. Bring your date here for a feast on delectable, affordable dim sum and hand-pulled la mian; share a bowl and you might just end up kissing her!
Phin’s Steakhouse
1 Liang Seah Street, #01-15 Liang Seah Place
Tel: +65 6333 4396
Photo from littlejoyofbeary.blogspot.com
Phin’s is a delightful, budget-friendly eatery that serves – you guessed it – steaks! It also has a good variety of other food on its menu, with the garlic butter snails being exceptionally good. The highlight of going to Phin’s is definitely having a steak served on a hotplate; however we’ve heard that they don’t do that by default anymore, so remember to request for it. Your date will be impressed!
