The middle of the week has hit and the salad you carefully meal-prepped is looking less and less appetising with every new email in your inbox. To brighten up the rest of the day, treat yourself to a quick out-of-office bite at Crown Sydney, or take the time to luxuriate in a long lunch that’ll tide you over until the weekend.

You might associate Crown Sydney with celebratory dinners or glitzy hotel stays, but the precinct is offering both short and long lunch options at its many dining venues. Some even offer a reduced menu that’ll have you satisfied and out the door in an hour.

We’ve taken the guesswork out of ordering and selected our top picks from four of Crown Sydney’s most popular restaurants, including world-famous Nobu and renowned steakhouse Woodcut, so all you have to do is escape your desk and enjoy a table with a view on your next lunch break.

Break up the rut of salads and sandwiches with elevated Cantonese fare at Silks at Crown Sydney.

SHORT LUNCH

Stop in at the elegant restaurant for the lunchtime yum cha menu, which includes steamed dumplings, fresh rice paper rolls, pan-fried dishes and congee. Our recommendation for a well-rounded quickie would be braised abalone with chicken sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves; lobster, ginger, spring onion and tobiko dumplings; and pork spare ribs with black bean sauce.

LONG LUNCH

If you’re taking advantage of a longer lunch, there’s no shortage of incredible dishes on Silks’ extensive lunch and dinner menu. 

Notable highlights include the chilled mixed seafood and green beans in XO sauce; barbecue meat platter with crispy roast pork, honey-glazed five-spice pork neck and roast duck; premium spring rolls with truffle lobster; and a trio of prawn and chive, scallop and lemon myrtle and jade-skin dumplings. 

For a truly decadent experience, try the steamed egg white with sea urchin and scampi in aromatic hua diao wine or the delicate and creamy layered egg white with lobster and truffle oil.

Book your lunch at the Silks website.

Nobu is known the world over for its innovative Japanese cuisine, pioneered by renowned chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa. Trade the glum humdrum of the office for the glamour of the celebrity hotspot — even just for a lunch break.

SHORT LUNCH

In addition to its usual menu, including sushi, sashimi and signature dishes, Nobu at Crown Sydney offers bento or donburi options with miso soup for those after something quick and easy.

Opt for the Sydney bento for the best of both worlds — the two-layered box opens to reveal slices of fresh sashimi, three nigiri and three cut rolls selected by the chef. Underneath that sits spicy garlic vegetables with rice, lobster tempura with tamari honey atop salad leaves and your choice of teriyaki or anticucho chicken or salmon.

LONG LUNCH

Looking to go long? Experience some of the flavourful dishes that have put Nobu on the global map.

Start with edamame and a tangy jalapeño yellowtail before munching on a trio of spicy miso salmon, wagyu beef and lobster wasabi tacos. The baby spinach salad is an unexpected hit, dressed with an umami-rich miso and topped with parmesan. Pair this with the vibrant sushi cup selection of sashimi atop rice and of course, the iconic miso-marinated black cod.

Top it off with the baked cheesecake, served with berries and a refreshing scoop of yuzu and strawberry sorbet.

Book your lunch at the Nobu website.

Cosy Italian classics are served with style at a’Mare, helmed by chef Alessandro Pavoni.

SHORT LUNCH

Keep it casual with a’Mare’s smaller Cucinetta menu. The osteria option is designed for quick bites and aperitivo, so you’ll be sure to make it out before your afternoon meeting.

Start with the fluffy focaccia served with Pugliese olive oil and aged balsamic, which pairs delightfully with the antipasto box. Salumi, cheese and marinated veggies are served on a grand box which slides opens to reveal different types of crackers. Add on the busiate with wagyu beef bolognese that has been slow-cooked for 12 hours and the mozzarella drizzled with Pugliese olive oil.

LONG LUNCH

Leave your desk behind and take a culinary trip through Italy with an extended lunch at a’Mare.

Go from a vitello tonnato topped with an airy tuna mayo and baby capers to the fritto misto with Moreton Bay bug and calamari. Don’t miss the signature trofie al pesto — the creamy pesto is made tableside using fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts and macadamia nuts for an Aussie touch. Round it out with the veal cutlet alla Milanese with semi-dried tomatoes and lemon, shaved white and purple cabbage with pomegranate and mint and roasted potatoes with rosemary.

For a grand finish, it doesn’t get much better than the tiramisu, which is made from chef Pavoni’s nonna’s recipe. 

Book your lunch at the a’Mare website.

There’s a lot more than steak on offer at Woodcut at Crown Sydney. With an open kitchen, waterfront al fresco tables and some incredibly picturesque dishes, it’ll be a struggle to return to the office after lunch.

SHORT LUNCH

For a steak lunch that won’t leave you feeling groggy, take your pick from the short cut menu, which is designed for power lunches that take less than an hour.

Kick off with the raw fish plate of ocean trout, kingfish and tuna with apple, capers and an apple vinegar dressing and burrata topped with nectarines, basil seed dressing and basil. Then, go for the pepper steak with whipped sour cream and watercress along with an order of crispy skin-on chips.

LONG LUNCH

Bask in the warmer weather and take in the harbour views with a luxurious al fresco lunch.

You can’t go wrong with the crab cakes and oyster mayo or cold seafood stand, which includes oysters, tiger prawns, crab legs, mussels and cooked bugs with a trio of sauces. The famed garlic bread is not to be missed, made with sourdough from PiOiK Bakery smothered in Tasmanian black garlic and fried in butter until golden brown.

Some of our other top picks are the native live pipis cooked with fragrant vadouvan and curry leaves, sticky haloumi with honey, thyme and figs and colourful lipstick peppers with red pepper oil and olives. Sip on a glass of red while enjoying the bone-in Black Market sirloin grilled to tender medium-rare perfection.

Book your lunch at the Woodcut website.

Find out more and book your midweek lunch at the Crown Sydney website. 

All images by Jude Cohen.