The third edition of Specials Board, a new series helping you get more bang for your dining buck, is all about levelling up your city lunches – without having to spend up big. Newsflash: some of your fave CBD restaurants have deals worth getting out of the office or indeed crossing town for.

Martinez

If a trip to the French Riviera is not on the cards, Martinez’s rooftop boasts views and food that will take you there for $20. Each day of the week has different lunch options on offer. Beat the Monday blues with a choice between barramundi with tomato, fennel, chickpeas and grilled bread, ora classic minute steak au poivre. Other highlights include Thursday’s lamb daube, (a Provencale stew) with polenta, or Wednesday’s Fish Colbert burger with yoghurt tartare and chips that will ruin you for Filet-O-Fishes forever.
Quay Quarter Tower Ground Lobby, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney martinez.sydney

Poetica

Those who find themselves north of the Bridge during the week can treat
themselves to North Sydney’s answer to Rockpool with hatted Poetica’s $45 midweek lunch. Every Monday to Friday, choose between three mains, paired with a glass of wine, beer, or soft drink. Taste the touch of their Josper grill with their famous 250g Black Onyx flank served with a grilled seasonal vegetable salad. Whole rainbow trout with leek vinaigrette, or cavatelli with biquinho peppers and zucchini flowers sprinkled with bottarga are both just as worthy.
Mezzanine level/1 Denison St, North Sydney, poetica.sydney

Pinky Ji

Jessi Singh’s signature flavour-forward, cheeky “unauthentic Indian” restaurant Pinky Ji is just the place to inject a bit of fun into your weekday lunch. From
Wednesday to Friday, their $25 thali lunch will have you rolling out of the
neon-lit restaurant and into the weekend. Their signature butter chicken, lamb rogan josh, and dhal are tied together with rice, raita and a hefty garlic naan. If you aren’t already full, add a “ball of happiness” — their take on a pani puri - for an extra $3.50.
89 York Street, Sydney, pinkyji.com.au

The Charles Brasserie & Bar

Everything at the hatted Charles Brasserie and Bar is grand, and their bar’s
“lunchtime indulgence special” is no different. Every Monday to Saturday
from noon until 6pm, their aged Wagyu cheeseburger is on offer for $25
with a house wine, beer or soft drink. This serious burger with a French
accent comes with layers of emmental and comte cheese, stacks of
onion and pickles, topped with mustard and tomato sauce in between a sesame seed brioche bun. If you’re feeling fancy, add a luxurious slice of seared foie gras for $15.
66 King Street, Sydney, thecharles.sydney

Cirrus

Bring a buddy down to Barangaroo, where the handsome Cirrus has
been serving some of Sydney’s best seafood since 2016. For $78 between two diners, their behemoth fried whole flathead is crumbed with amaranth, puffed sorghum, black rice and panko. As well as their beer-battered chips and lemon tartare, it’s also served with thick, fluffy charcoal grilled bread with taramasalata and espelette, as well as a salad with a chardonnay and mustard vinaigrette.
Shop 10/23 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo, bentleyrestaurantgroup.com.au/cirrus

Matteo Downtown

Sometimes the only thing that will cure the midweek blues is an entire woodfired pizza all to yourself. The bar at this smart Italian restaurant is here to help between Tuesday and Thursday with their “la pausa pranzo” lunch special. Choose one of their most popular pizza or pasta dishes with a beverage for $30. Bring the drama with their burrata pizza, or warm up with their tagliatelle osso buco and a glass of red.
20 Bond Street, Sydney, matteosydney.com

Zushi

Both the Barangaroo and Surry Hills locations of this sleek, reliable
modern Japanese have enough midweek lunch specials to have you
coming back for weeks. Keep things light and fresh with their salmon
and tuna sashimi “bibimbam” rice bowl for $24, or level up to a bento
box, which feature main stars such as chicken karaage, miso yuzu salmon,
or vegetables from $30. The Barangaroo outpost’s weekly udon lunch
special isn’t your ordinary bowl of noodles. Expect variations such as clams
and prawn tempura for $28.
10/33 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo; 2A/285A Crown Street, Surry Hills zushi.com.au

Reign

Watch over pedestrians spilling onto George Street through this
champagne bar’s arched windows while you choose a main, side and a
house wine for $45 every weekday. Their signature confit salmon in a
vivid cucumber veloute is a winner, as is their slow-roasted miso
eggplant with pickled king brown mushrooms and tofu. Choose between a
classic cos and cucumber salad with thyme dressing or shoestring fries
with togarashi salt and aioli for sides (you know you want the fries).
Level 1 Shop 48/455 George Street, Sydney, reignatqvb.com.au

Bar Patron

Every weekday from noon until 3pm at Patron’s upscale Mexican bar,
take advantage of their two-course lunch menu plus a beverage for $39.
After you’ve mowed through chips and guac, it’s time to pick your tacos. Lock in classic al pastor tacos, chicken with black mole, or grilled eggplant with avocado crema. As a side, pick between refried beans with queso fresco or garlicky potato revolcadas. Upgrading to a margarita for $5 is a good idea at this tequila mammoth.
2 Phillip Street, Sydney, barpatron.com.au

Spice Temple

If you want to sample the elegance and heat this two-hatted Chinese stalwart is known for, pull up to their bar for lunch from Tuesday to Friday. Their
$25 Bar Noodle Bowl lunch offers generously sized bowls plus a drink. Thick, bouncy Beijing noodles are topped with rich Wagyu. Hand-thrown fried Shanxi noodles show the region’s Muslim influence with lamb and cumin. Wash them down with a Tsing Tao, a glass of house wine or a soft drink.
10 Bligh Street, Sydney spicetemple.com.au