The best salad bars in Singapore for a healthy lunch

Salads here are served with a Japanese slant. Mixed greens are served alongside cha soba and various proteins – the most popular are the grilled salmon soba ($10) and Bull Run Soba ($8) with grilled teriyaki chicken. Feeling inspired? Construct your own hearty bowl (from $12.90) loaded with options that include sweet potatoes, edamame, and salmon sashimi.

Founder Jasper Jek cut his teeth at three-Michelin-starred Joël Robuchon Restaurant in Singapore and one-Michelin-starred RE-NAA in Norway. But now, he is applying his fine dining experience to the humble salad at Super Simple. Super Simple keeps things au naturel – honey is used in place of refined sugar, and side dishes like pickled beetroots and dressings like the parsley pesto are made from scratch. Create your own salads starts from $9.90 – you get half a serving of protein, your choice of base, two supplements, a garnish, and a drizzle of sauce.

This casual Greek takeaway store serves up hearty, healthy bowls. Its main draw: freshly made Greek yoghurt that you can sample plain, or in its range of salad dressing. There’s the grilled chicken steak ($9.90) with quinoa, spinach, roasted pumpkin, and other vegetables, served with hummus and Greek yoghurt avocado sauce; and the more traditional Greek beef meatballs ($9.90), which comes with spicy feta cheese and tzatziki.

Finding The Garden Club might be tough – you need to navigate a confusing maze of identical-looking corridors up to the fifth floor of OUE Downtown. But when you do, the space greets you with its vegetable-forward menu and verdant greenery. It has a rooftop garden which, depending on what’s in bloom, might sneak into your lunch bowl or cocktail glass. Customise healthy bowls of rice or salad (from $8) – choose your base, protein, and a selection of sides that include fried brussels sprouts, roasted purple carrots, and stir-fried kailan and kale. 

Haakon, pronounced  ‘haw-coon’, is a Scandinavian-inspired café that brings superfoods from Norway to your plate. For instance, you'll only find premium Norwegian smoked salmon – rich in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants – in your salad bowl (from $11.90). Other options include hearty bowls topped with baked salmon fillet ($13.90) and zero-calorie shirataki noodles; or grilled chicken breast ($11.90) with mushroom, quinoa, and mushrooms.  

For affordable build-your-own bowls in the CBD, hit up Wafuken at either Asia Square Tower 2 or OUE Downtown Gallery. A plain donburi ($4) – choose between furikake Japanese brown rice or white rice – is served with onsen egg, daikon and cucumber pickles and you can choose to add on protein options like sous vide chicken breast ($4) to make a bowl that still comes in at under $10.

Specially tailored for those who have food intolerances or are just fussy with their food, Kitchen by Food Rebel serves up a variety of healthy dishes Buddha Bowls (from $19) to wraps and tacos (from $17). The salad ($17) selection might be a little pricey, but it's packed with all the good stuff like superfoods and organic leaves.

Finding wholesome food in the CBD isn’t difficult at all, but Grain Traders is holding on to a winning ticket built on tasty veggies, premium meats and a wealth of grain options and it is no better evidenced in the salad and meat bar at the far end of the space. The pick-and-mix bowls (from $16) allow for clean permutations with a base of salad greens or quinoa, paired with roasted chicken and vibrant roasted vegetables. 

The Daily Cut is the meat lover’s answer to the ubiquitous salad bowl in the CBD. Owner Jonathan Yang – also the co-owner of Muchachos – caters to a #eatclean crowd with protein bowls priced from $9 packed with healthily grilled options like chicken thighs, sirloin steaks, salmon fillet and lamb meatballs that pair alongside other accompaniments like onsen egg, maple-glazed tempeh, avocado and broccoli.

Your no-nonsense salad bar in the city is most packed during lunch-time with health-conscious CBD folk. You can't go wrong with the standard choices (from $11.20) and Salad Stop sticks to classics and seasonal signatures. Want to take control? Opt to build your own salad (from $9.90) from scratch. 

If you like the health-savvy food at Cedele, then you'll be pleased with its salad bar concept, Toss & Turn. Get creative and pick and mix from the selection of hot and cold proteins, deli choices and various dressings for your personal salad bowl (from $10.50). Still feeling hungry? There's also the option to add on a soup and sandwich to make the meal whole. 

Head to the Fireless Kitchen for a grain bowl concept similar to the likes of The Daily Cut or Grain Traders. Customise a bowl with your choice of base, protein and three sides. The price you pay depends on your protein selection – all prepared sous vide – with options like barbecue pork belly ($13.90), chicken pesto ($11.90) and lemon herb salmon ($15.90). Its star base is a creamy sweet potato mash while companions to your meal come in the form of miso-glazed carrots, balsamic onion confit and more.

Not all salad bars have to be pricey. This humble stall in the CBD serves up salad bowls that start from $4.90 to $5.90. With many choices of greens and leaves, proteins like tofu, tuna, as well as rosemary chicken breast and the wide range of dressing for your salad bowl, you'll be spoiled for choice – and still saving a buck!

If you’re a fan of laid-back, Aussie-style café nosh, check out Sarnies. Opened by Australian Ben Lee, this sandwich shop lives up to its name with rustic ’wiches like roast chicken with house-cured bacon and tuna mayo with bell pepper, onions and coriander. But it is also good for doing a fun salad. You'll never get bored at Sarnies with its tandoori chicken salad ($16.50), paleo steak salad ($17.50) and tempeh ($15.50). 

Can a salad be hearty? At My Awesome Cafe, it can. Fancy salads like the Perigourdines Salad ($21) combines duck gizzards, smoked duck breast, duck rillettes on toast and walnuts. There are healthier options of course, and you can choose from the wide range it has. Make sure to pair it with an open-face sandwich.