49 Seats at The Centrepoint

Rising food prices need not necessarily mean we have to deprive ourselves of having a good meal when out shopping in Singapore’s prime shopping street. There are still cheap and good restaurants in Orchard Road. 49 Seats at The Centrepoint is one such restaurant. It is where we can get a good lunch complete with soup and a beverage for under $20.

49 Seats at The Centrepoint

49 Seats is a local restaurant known for its affordable fusion style dishes such as Tom Yam Seafood Pasta and Salted Egg Popcorn Chicken. The restaurant first opened in Kreta Ayer Road with a seating capacity of … as you might have guessed, 49 seats. It now occupies a large space on level 1 of the rear wing at The Centrepoint that can accommodate many more than 49 diners. However, there is still a connection to the number 49 – it is located at unit #01-49 of The Centrepoint.

The casual diner has a raw interior decor with irregular textures and imperfection. The furniture is functional and it uses metal chairs. It has the feel of an industrial park canteen.

The unique quirky interior that features an old coffee shop metal gate is part of the branding of 49 Seats. Opinion may differ as to its aesthetics, but the wall art of spray-painted tableware and kitchen items is certainly eye-catching.

Menu of 49 Seats

The menu of 49 seats is not extensive but you get all the usual Western cafe standards like fish & chips, chicken chop, pasta and waffles. The menu also has some interesting fusion dishes like Smoked Duck Pasta and Pan Fried Fish with Tom Yum Sauce.

Below are pictures of a few pages of the 49 Seats menu.

Weekday Set Lunch Promotion

There is currently a Weekday Set Lunch Promotion for a main dish with soup of the day and a choice of drink for $14.90. The Set Lunch deal is available on weekdays from 11 am till 5 pm.

Outside the set lunch promotion hours you can upgrade any main course to a set meal to get a soup and a drink with a $4.90 top up.

We ordered a Fish & Chips Set and a Chicken Chop Set. Every main dish allowed us to choose two side dishes.

For our chicken chop, we opted for brown sauce for the chicken and garden salad and pasta salad as our sides. The soup of the day was cream of mushroom, which was served with garlic bread.

As you can see from the photos, the portion was quite substantial. It was a lot to eat but every item was enjoyable. The chicken was tender and the brown sauce was slightly sweet and peppery.

The Fish and Chips with Alscampi Sauce was also a substantial dish. We foolishly added mashed potatoes and pasta salad as the sides. There were nice but it meant we had excessive carbohydrates.

The thick creamy sauce had mussels and prawns. The batter of the fish was crispy and the fish had a nice clean taste with good texture. In other words, the Fish and Chips with Alscampi Sauce was a rather good version of the common fish and chips dish.

Good Value Meal

It is easy to understand why 49 Seats are popular with students and national servicemen. When you need to eat a substantial meal, 49 Seats is a place that should please the palate and the pocket. The decor and raw industrial vibe of the causal diner in Orchard Road may not appeal to all. Other than that, we think 49 Seats at The Centrepoint is a great place for a cheap and good meal, especially if you take advantage of the set lunch promotion.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 3
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs

Menu

49 Seats
#01-49/52 The Centrepoint
176 Orchard Road, Singapore 238843

Tel: +65 6225 4332

Opening Hours: 11.30 am to 11.30 pm

Nearby MRT Station: Somerset

Website

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The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog