Saveur

Saveur started in a coffeeshop and built a following by selling French bistro dishes at hawker-adjacent prices. Its home now is a shophouse unit on Purvis Street, a short walk from Bugis, where the room is simple and the turnover brisk at lunch and dinner.

The duck confit is still the dish most people order, served crisp-skinned on mash. The Saveur pasta, listed among the starters, is the other house favourite. Beyond those, the menu covers escargot, French onion soup, foie gras, duck rillette, beef bourguignon, roast chicken, pork cordon bleu and steak frites, with crème brûlée, chocolate mousse or profiteroles to finish. A three-course set with a drink changes monthly.

It is best for a quick, inexpensive French meal rather than a long evening; expect queues at peak times. Book through Chope. Takeaway is available online, and mains sit in the high teens to high twenties before tax.