Many restaurants and cafes are located inside malls or hotels. Those in office buildings are mainly either swanky establishments at the top of the buildings or cramped places set up to serve as many people in as short a time as possible. The Lawn, an eatery facing the green corridor and open area in Biopolis, can be a welcomed deviation from the well trodden paths. On a cool evening, the Lawn at Biopolis can be a delightful venue for fresh air and a simple healthy meal of salad and grills.
The Lawn @ Nanos
We knew that we were in somewhere a little unusual when the first sign we saw on one of the doors in the building said “Authorised Personnel Only. Beware of Bio-hazard“. We were in Nanos, Biopolis at One-North. Biopolis is Singapore’s prime research hub for biomedical science and home to many pharmaceutical companies and biomedical research institutes, organisations and companies. The Lawn is on the ground floor of Nanos, Biopolis, occupying the corner facing a lawn and a nice water feature.
The Lawn takes full advantage of the pleasant surroundings and has many seats in the outdoor dining area. The interior of the eatery has 2 main sections – a neat dining hall in one section and the food preparation area and cashier’s counter in the other.
Self-service Cafe
It is essentially a self-service restaurant. You help yourself to the cutlery and water. You design your own meal by filling in a form ticking off various combinations of items. Hand over the form to the cashier at the counter and pay. You will be given a buzzer device while your food is being prepared. The area where you are filling in the form and the cashier’s counter are right next to the place where the meats are being grilled. That may give you some incentive to quickly decide what you want to eat as otherwise, despite the fume extractor, the smell of the grilled meats may soon cling on to your clothing and hair.
Salad Bowl & Grilled Meats
We chose to have a Salad Bowl with Chicken ($9.90) and the Olive Rice with Aceto Balsamico Beef Cuts ($11.90). For the Salad Bowl we opted for the Chicken Breast with Maple Infusion and added the toppings of potatoes, cucumbers, beetroot, chestnuts and apple with Perky Sesame Ginger dressing. The chicken was nicely grilled, moist and tender. There was a hint of sweetness in the bite-size chicken cubes. We could not discern the taste of ginger in the Perky Sesame Ginger dressing but it was quite nice. Although it is called the Salad Bowl, the portion of chicken in the bowl was quite generous and it felt like eating chicken with a side portion of salad. On the whole, the dish was delicious and enjoyable.
The Olive Rice Set came with a side helping of salad. We chose the Apple Cider Vinaigrette dressing for the salad. The olive rice reminded us of Teochew “kiam png” or rice cooked with Chinese sausage and dark soya sauce. Strips of olive added texture to the savoury rice. The olive rice was enjoyable and good enough to eat it on its own. The juicy, tender chunks of marinated beef were tasty. The tart-sweet cider vinaigrette salad dressing was light and refreshing.
The Lawn have options whereby you can pay a bit more to complete the meal with a side order of soup and bread. There is a limited range of drinks and desserts.
Free wi-fi is available. They have a facility where you can order online and choose the time to pick up your order. They also do delivery.
Good Meal in Breezy Space
We think the prices at The Lawn are reasonable. The service could be a little friendlier but it was at least efficient. We were drawn to The Lawn at Biopolis primarily because of their attractive website. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were a little disappointed because the place did not look as good as the photos on their website. Nevertheless, we liked the outdoor seating and enjoyed eating in the breezy open green space. It was a nice change from dining in the usual enclosed restaurants. We left the place happy because the meal was more enjoyable than we expected.
Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs 
The Lawn at Biopolis
31 Biopolis Way, #01-07 Nanos
Singapore 138669
Tel : +65 64789739
Opening Hours
Mon – Fri: 10.30 am – 7.30 pm
Sat & Sun: 8.30 am – 2.30 pm
Nearby MRT Stations: Buona Vista (CC22)
The Ordinary Patrons
a Singapore food blog by ordinary people looking for places to eat
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