The Autobus (Raffles Place)

The Autobus at Raffles Place occupies unit #01-03 on the ground floor of Republic Plaza, at 9 Raffles Place, right in the middle of the CBD and a couple of minutes from Raffles Place MRT station. Formerly Autobar, this 120-seater sister to the Shenton Way original is sleeker than its industrial sibling, all dark marble and gold accents, and it follows the group's two-part formula: healthy protein bowls for the office lunch crowd by day, craft beer by night.

The chrome tap wall leans heavily on Chinese and Asian breweries such as Nanjing's Master Gao, Wuhu's Myth Monkey, Wuhan's No. 18 Brewing and Beijing's NBeer, curated towards sessionable, food-friendly styles, plus draught cocktails, ciders, hard seltzers and wine. Across its venues the group also works with Singapore breweries including Brewlander, Alive Brewing, Niang Brewery, Outtamost and Lion Brewery, and the Shenton Way flagship, which the group bills as Singapore's largest craft beer taproom, pours around 45 beers if you want to go deeper. A separate draught list for Raffles Place is published on the group's menus page.

Pair a pint with the Nonya ngoh hiang or the 10-hour braised beef cheek rendang. At lunchtime, the $35 heritage set lunch is well regarded among the CBD crowd, and the group also suggests oysters, cheese and charcuterie as partners for its beers.

It works best as an after-work stop for anyone based around Raffles Place or Boat Quay, and as a smart lunch option during the week. Check the menus page for the current tap list and lunch menu before heading over, and book ahead for larger groups.