12 great $20 lunch deals for Center City District Restaurant Week

Center City foot traffic and office occupancy are making their way back from pre-pandemic levels, translating into an uptick in lunch business.

Center City District Restaurant Week, on through Saturday, Feb. 3, offers a couple dozen $20 lunch specials, in addition to more than 100 dinner options priced at $45 and $60.

How far can your Andy Jackson go? Here are some of the better lunch deals out there:

Alice (235 S. 15th St.): Known for its Roman-style pizza al taglio, this snug corner spot at 15th and Locust shares ownership with the nearby favorite Gran Caffe L’Aquila, and offers three courses. Perhaps a salumi or mozzarella tasting for starters; a second course including pizza, ravioli, roasted buffalo Caprese, or chicken panini; and a scoop of gelato or sorbetto for dessert.

Bank & Bourbon (1200 Market St.): The Loews Philadelphia’s stylish business-lunch spot offers two courses: salmon salad, steak frites, or a crispy chicken sandwich, plus a choice of dessert (triple-layer chocolate cake, pineapple upside-down cheesecake, or sorbet). B&B is a good bet for Regional Rail riders; get off at Jefferson Station and it’s just across Market Street at 12th.

Bridget Foy’s (200 South St.): South Street’s long-running destination presents a challenge. You get two courses — appetizers such as lobster bisque, honeycrisp apple salad, pretzel bites, or hummus; a choice of pasta Bolognese, cheeseburger, grain bowl, or shrimp tacos for the main; and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, death by chocolate cake, or crème brûlée for dessert.

Darling Jack’s (104 S. 13th St.): There are so many options on the two-course deal at this old-fashioned tavern in Washington Square West. Five firsts include butternut squash soup, roasted pears with ricotta, crispy calamari, and roasted beets, and five entrées include a crispy fish sandwich, veggie grain bowl, and a double smash burger and veggie burger, plus a plain and pepperoni pizza.

Flambo (205 S. 13th St.): Caribbean flavors imbue the appetizers and main courses at this Washington Square West bistro: pholourie (deep-fried split-pea balls), vegetable spring roll, or pakora (a spinach and chickpea flour fritter) for first, and a choice among nine entrées such as pepper shrimp, curry shrimp, chow mein, and paneer butter masala.

The Hayes (1123 Walnut St.): Washington Square West’s dark, cozy hideaway offers Caesar salad, butternut squash bisque, or a salad with beets, apples, baby kale, and blue cheese as appetizers, followed by three wintry entrées: fried eggplant Parm sandwich on a seeded Tuscan roll, chicken and root vegetable pot pie, and gnocchi Bolognese.

Jasmine (306 S. 16th St.): The three-course choice at this Thai sleeper near the Kimmel Center includes a papaya salad, spring rolls, or green curry mussels for first, plus a second course including seared salmon, bourbon beef, or shrimp pad kee mao as entrée, and coconut custard for dessert. Most food can be prepared vegetarian and gluten-free.

Jomon (1310 Walnut St.): Cook your own lunch, will you? The $20 lunch sets at this Japanese tabletop-barbecue house include meats, chicken, and seafood, along with vegetables, rice, and dessert.

Malbec (400 S. Second St.): This handsome Argentinian steak house across from Head House Square serves brunch from 1 to 3 p.m. Empanada (beef, chicken, or spinach and cheese) is the starter, followed by a choice of four omelets or a choripan (sausage sandwich) or hamburguesa, plus flan or tres leches for dessert.

Picanha (1111 Locust St.): This Brazilian steak house’s buffet, which includes salads and such dishes as braised beef, feijoada, and lasagna, is on the special; you can pay $45 for the full churrasco experience with the tableside meat carving.

Restaurant Aleksandar (126 S. 19th St.): There’s plenty of variety on the menu at this bistro near Rittenhouse Square: miso squash soup, green salad with apples, candied walnuts, and blue cheese, or pierogies for first, followed by a choice of braised short rib, King Atlantic salmon, butternut squash polenta, or BLT Texas toast for a main course.

Veda (1920 Chestnut St.): This modern Indian bistro near Rittenhouse Square offers three courses, with vegan and gluten-free options. Among starters: bacon cheese naan, hara bhara kebabs, the tater-tot-like sabu vada, and spicy corn soup. For mains, the options are kale moti biryani, kadai paneer, chicken curry with baby spinach, and fish moilee. Desserts are rasmalai tres leches (a Mexican-Indian fusion of sponge cake soaked in saffron and cardamom-flavored milks) and the more traditional gajar ka halwa.