Lunch at work: the time of day when you make a desperate dash to your local store and pick up food you don’t really want to eat, or you spend an extortionate amount on a takeaway only to feel like you need 400 trips to the gym to work it off. All we really want is to snack on something sumptuous as speedy as possible, to avoid the gruelling glare of a boss unhappy.
Which is why, luckily, some restaurants are catering to our munching needs with Express Lunches; the latest trend that sees high-brow restaurants rustling up an express business menu for those who hold blackberry in one hand, and juggle their life in the other.
All aboard the menu express!
Hammer & Tongs
Hammer & Tongs have just launched a new express lunch, which takes just 15 minutes to prepare and comes with bottomless tea or coffee to get you through the afternoon slump. The menu includes honey chicken sosatie or free range spiced pork belly sosatie with the likes of honey braai carrot and couscous and feta salad as well as braaiboodjie and Cape Malay curry.
Duration: 15 minutes to prepare and then as long as you can take for lunch!
Where: 171 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3AL, UK
Nearest station: Farringdon (London) (0.4 miles)
Website: Book Here
Sexy Fish
As sexy as sexy can be is the Sexy Fish express lunch menu. Interiors are swish and sophisticated and the space makes for a ideal spot to schmooze during your working lunch. Expect dishes that include rice bowls such as a donburi made with Japanese eels and avocado, crispy prawn gyoza, yellowtail maki and salmon teriyaki. The creative dishes come off the Kuikku menu, meaning “quick” in Japanese. Well done Sexy Fish, we see what you did there!
Duration: 60 minutes
Where: Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BR, UK
Nearest station: Green Park (0.3 miles)
Website: www.sexyfish.com
Roka
Renowned for their psychedelic installations during cherry blossom season, Roka is the award-winning Japanese restaurant on everyone’s lips. And, weighing in on the creativity, is their express lunch menu which can be consumed within 45-minutes, we’re told. Taking place at the Aldwych and Canary Wharf locations, guests benefit from a selection of five dishes for the table and a dish of their choosing from the robata grill. If you’re big on sashimi, gyozas and other Japanese must-eats then this express lunch is for you.
Duration: 45 minutes
Website: www.rokarestaurant.com
Zuaya
Wow your clients with a business lunch to remember curtsey of Zuaya. Dive into their express menu and enjoy three tapas dishes and a coffee. The express lunch runs Monday through to Friday, from 12pm-5pm, so whether you’re a looking for a quiet environment for an important meeting, or an intimate lunch date with one of your gal pal’s, Zuaya’s new express lunch is perfect.
Duration: 60 minutes
Where: Zuaya London, Kensington High Street, London, UK
Nearest station: High Street Kensington (0.3 miles)
Website: www.zuaya.co.uk
