Town Restaurant’s weekday lunch buffet is not designed to overwhelm you.
There is no lobster mountain, no oyster station and no attempt to make lunch feel like a cruise ship departure hall. At S$55++, the spread is noticeably smaller than many hotel buffets in Singapore.
I went on a Tuesday which turned out to be the right decision.
One-Line Verdict: Town Restaurant’s weekday lunch is smaller than Singapore’s headline hotel buffets, but fresh sashimi, cold seafood, good local dishes and a proper roast-beef station make the restraint easy to forgive.
The Room Felt Familiar, Which Helped
I had just stayed two nights at the hotel for my Fullerton Hotel Singapore review, so walking back into Town Restaurant felt less like arriving somewhere new and more like returning downstairs for lunch.
The restaurant runs along the Singapore River, with plenty of daylight and tables spaced well enough that the room does not immediately feel like a buffet.
I arrived shortly after noon.
That was useful. The seafood still looked freshly arranged, the sashimi counter had no queue and the hot dishes had not yet entered the dangerous part of buffet service where everything begins looking slightly tired.
The Spread In Three Lines
- Eat: sashimi, prawns, roasted striploin, one or two Peranakan dishes and the better cakes.
- Approach carefully: noodles, rice and anything that looks too filling too early.
- What surprised me: dessert had more personality than several of the savoury sections.
Start With Sashimi and Cold Seafood
The cold seafood station had poached prawns, green mussels, clams and half-shell scallops.
The prawns were the best of the lot. They were properly chilled, firm and sweet rather than watery. The scallops were clean and slightly briny. I liked the kaffir lime and coriander dressing, although I used very little of it because fresh seafood usually benefits from being left alone.
The sashimi rotation that day included salmon, tuna and hamachi. The salmon was rich without becoming soft. Hamachi had the cleaner finish and was the one I went back for.
This is where Town makes its first good argument for S$55++.
There was no expensive seafood theatre, but what was there tasted fresh enough that I did not miss it.
Tuesday Is Better If You Want Beef
The roasted striploin was the main reason I would choose Tuesday or Thursday.
The first slice I received was pink through the centre, with a properly browned outer edge and enough garlic and herb flavour to taste seasoned before I touched the sauce.
I returned later, closer to 1.30pm, partly because I wanted to see whether it had survived the lunch rush.
It had.
The outer slices were slightly more cooked, which is unavoidable, but the beef had not dried into the grey buffet meat I was expecting. Staff were still carving to order rather than leaving slices on a tray.
The Cajun potatoes beside it were less memorable. They were warm but had lost most of their crispness.
I ignored them after the first plate. Buffet appetite is too limited for loyalty to average potatoes.
The Local Food Was More Interesting Than The International Section
The Peranakan station gave the buffet more identity.
I had ayam buah keluak and Nyonya chap chye that day. The chicken was tender, and the sauce had enough earthy bitterness from the buah keluak to feel deliberate rather than softened for hotel guests.
The chap chye was gentler but useful beside the richer dishes.
I also tried the laksa from the noodle station.
You build the bowl yourself with noodles, fish cake, clams, scallop, quail egg, vegetables and other toppings before adding the gravy. I kept mine small.
The broth was rich enough, with decent spice and a clear coconut base, although it did not have the intensity of a dedicated laksa stall.
That is fine.
I was eating it between sashimi and roast beef. Context matters.
The Real Test Came After 1pm
Buffets are easy to run at 12.05pm. I pay more attention at 1.15pm.
Town Restaurant held together reasonably well. Used plates disappeared quickly, water was topped up without asking and the sashimi still looked presentable.
One hot tray was getting low when I passed it, but it was replaced before I came around again.
This is the part of hotel buffets I care about more than another ten dishes.
Variety means very little if the restaurant stops functioning halfway through service.
Town Restaurant did not.
Dessert Is Where The Buffet Gets Generous
The dessert counter looked larger than I expected relative to the savoury spread.
There were several cakes, Nyonya kueh, fruit, ice cream, sorbet and small local desserts.
The Fullerton chocolate cake was the safest choice and a good one. Dark, rich and not aggressively sweet.
I preferred the coconut calamansi cake. The acidity helped after the beef and curry, and I went back for another small piece.
The Nyonya kueh was less convincing. A few pieces had the dense, slightly dry texture that makes me wonder why I used remaining stomach space on them.
The durian pengat made up for it. It was thick, unmistakably durian and served in a portion small enough to remain enjoyable.
I finished there rather than with ice cream. Some decisions improve with age.
Final Thoughts, Would I Return?
At S$55++, I would.
The weekday buffet works because Fullerton has removed much of the expensive spectacle without removing the parts that make lunch feel worthwhile.
Sashimi was fresh. The roast beef held up past the first hour. Local dishes had enough character, and dessert was stronger than expected.
There were misses. The potatoes softened, the kueh did little for me and coffee slowed when the room got busy.
None of those changed the meal.
Town Restaurant is a good reminder that a smaller buffet can still feel generous when the right things are done properly.
I would simply book Tuesday or Thursday, arrive close to noon and leave the second plate of carbohydrates to someone with more confidence.
Author Attribution
J.C. Yue is often in transit, and hotel buffets are her most reliable “in-between” meal in Singapore. She reviews hotel buffets for RERG based on what she actually ate, highlighting what’s worth returning for, and what isn’t.
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