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Best bars for lunch in Canberra

Rachi Perera reveals her top five bars for a lunchtime break in the capital.

Rachi Perera

Public Bar's lasagne.
Public Bar's lasagne.Supplied

While Friday tends to be the happiest day of the working week for many of us and a day synonymous with a trip to the pub/bar, I'm here to suggest that happiness could come sooner than Friday. With many bars around town offering special lunch time menus, escaping the office for a long lunch at your favourite bar might be just the ticket needed to escape the midweek blues (cheeky beer or glass of wine optional). Here's my list of top five bars around town, offering lunch time temptations that are far more exciting than that cold sandwich sitting in your lunch box:

1. Parlour Wine Room

Just like the rest of their menu, lunch specials at Parlour Wine Room are a sophisticated affair. The other good news is that these specials spread out to Friday and on to the weekend. Every Tuesday to Sunday from 12-3pm sees a $16 lunch menu, which includes a complimentary glass of wine or beer. The specials range from pan seared squid on a white bean salad, to a braised hanger steak with potato tortilla chips and horseradish.

Public Bar in Manuka.
Public Bar in Manuka.Supplied
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2. Treehouse Bar

Treehouse Bar does probably what is the best value lunches around town. Every Wednesday to Friday from midday, $9 gets you one of the five lunch time specials. Throw in some loose change of $3 and you will also get a glass of house wine, beer or a soft drink to wash your lunch down with. The Szechuan squid with Asian slaw and lime aioli is a nice and light alternative to a traditional pub lunch. If you are after a comfort dish to warm you up on a cold Canberra day, the penne with spicy sausage or the roast chicken and mushroom risotto should do the trick. Other current specials include pumpkin soup with ginger and coconut or bangers and mash.

3. Public Bar

Treehouse Bar's squid.
Treehouse Bar's squid.Supplied

Public Bar in Manuka is a popular spot for a reason. Not only is the drinks menu and the large space impressive but they do some delicious lunch specials every Monday to Thursday from 11.30am to 2.30pm. The current specials include beef lasagne, meat lovers pizza, smoked salmon pasta or a 200g rump for $15. This might not be fine dining but the servings are big, hearty and full of flavour. The beef lasagne is particularly impressive with perfectly constructed layers and a rich beef ragu. The meat lovers pizza doesn’t scrimp on ingredients with spicy chorizo and tasty proscuitto on a thin base.

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4. Little Brooklyn

Little Brooklyn has the start of the working week covered with great value lunch time specials every Monday to Wednesday. The two for one New York burgers on Mondays are great value at $18 for two delicious burgers oozing with all the good things and a serving of crinkle cut chips. Tuesdays will get you a $15 chicken parmigiana and Wednesday is $15 steak day. The service is friendly, the burgers are delicious and there’s plenty of room for outdoor dining to catch some vitamin D on your lunch break while tucking into your burger or steak.

Treehouse Bar.
Treehouse Bar.Supplied

5. Shorty’s

In the middle of Civic in a convenient spot, Shorty’s has your lunch times covered with $15 specials from Monday to Wednesday. Mondays are not just ordinary Mondays but rather Malt Shop Mondays, with $15 for any burger and shake (or glass of wine or beer). Tuesdays are Chicken Tuesdays and $15 will get you a schnitzel or a parmi with a drink of your choice. And as we all know, making it to hump day calls for celebration, so why not do that with Shorty’s Hump Day Rump Day, where you can get a rump steak with salad, chips and a drink for $15.

Rachi Perera is a Canberra food blogger.

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