In Singapore, we work hard, and we play hard.

After a long day in the office, many of us like to hang out with our co-workers and friends over a couple of drinks and some bar food, and commiserate about the day’s happenings.

The outdoor seating area of The Garden Club

The Garden Club, Singapore’s Newest Rooftop Concept, is #NotYourOrdinaryFoodClub

Before we know it, we’ve consumed an unhealthy amount of deep-fried snacks and overly-sweet beverages, which often leads to us feeling even more lethargic at the end of the night.

But we don’t have to sacrifice our health for a good time out. There’s a new al fresco rooftop bar right in the heart of the Central Business District (CBD) that lets you have fun while still living consciously.

Enter The Garden Club, a live-music casual dining venue by food and beverage group Ebb and Flow, which is also behind other concepts like The Dragon Chamber and Vianney Massot Restaurant.

The restaurant-bar, which has been playfully dubbed #NotYourOrdinaryFoodClub, is set at the breezy rooftop garden of the OUE Downtown, in a tastefully designed space that is both trendy yet cosy.

True to its name: There is a herb and vegetable garden inside The Garden Club. Basil, coriander, eggplants, and more from the garden are used in the restaurant’s cooking.

LUXUO got to tour The Garden Club’s own herb and vegetable garden, where we saw basil, coriander, and eggplants being grown.

The inspiration behind it, as Creative Director Norman Hartono shared with LUXUO, is to provide affordable healthy dining options for the CBD crowd.

“We wanted to provide these creative vegan and plant-based alternatives that will not break the bank, beyond what is already available out there” he said.

Quick serve DIY bowls like this consisting of consciously prepared ingredients are available during lunch for only S$9 per bowl

For lunch, patrons can choose the mix-and-match quick-serve bowls (complete with a variety of healthily-prepared bases, proteins, vegetables, add-ons, and condiments), where prices start as low as S$9, or they can opt for the ala-carte menu.

On the ala carte lunch menu, Beyond Meat Cheeseburger and Fries ($26) stand in for the same juicy bite of a good ol’ cheeseburger without the guilt, while Garden Ragu Fettucine ($15) tempts with fettucine in house-made specialty Beyond Meat ragu sauce.

#NotYourOrdinaryFoodClub: The Garden Club takes conscious living to a new level, with its selection of vegan and wholesome food and drink options

For something richer, the Barley Mushroom Risotto ($12) serves up the best earthy wholesomeness of a risotto with Shimeji mushrooms veggie au jus, topped with Shiitake mushroom shavings and cherry tomatoes, as does the Quinoa Porridge with Grilled Butternut ($12), made with coconut milk, maple caraway and tarragon oil topped with crushed almonds and walnuts for a buttery treat that promises to satisfy.

The Smoked Tofu Slab (S$14) was one of our favourite dishes at the launch party of The Garden Club

The dinner menu is a lot more extensive with items like Cauliflower Bouquet Roast ($10) a melt-in-your-mouth delight of a whole roasted cauliflower topped with a house special garlic miso sauce and confit leek, as well as Eggplant Pesto Grill ($12) – cooked with eggplants from its own garden – that has a whole eggplant beautiful grilled with house special pesto, fried capers, confit cherry tomatoes and Japanese purple sweet potato mash. What’s so special about the pesto? It is made with ingredients harvested from The Garden Club’s very own garden for assured freshness with every serving.

But if vegan food isn’t your thing, all that plant-based goodness is also balanced out with traditional proteins like Beef Cheek Confit Fennel ($23), a whole slow-cooked and seared cheek of beef served with a side of roasted potatoes and edible greens as well as Grilled Barramundi ($20) served with tabbouleh, grapes and sesame tofu puree.

Guilt-free bar snacks and drinks

Bar snacks are also reimagined with choices like Fried Curry Okra and Wild Herb Karaage to go with equally punchy and vibrant drinks. Desserts are equally tempting with items like Spice Cream ($8), a homemade clove and cinnamon ice cream served with kumquat and candied walnuts and Apple Rosette Tart ($8), little “rosettes” of apples baked with apple gel on a homemade cookie shell.

The Garden Club opens officially in September 2019.