Keeping up with Jones the Grocer

Posted by Kath

Tucked away in the north corner of Westfield Sydney's Level 5 food court, Jones the Grocer has been in its expansive restaurant space for over a year now, and recently re-vamped its menu offering with a new attitude: good food, served fast.

Shopping aisle at Jones the Grocer, Level 5, Westfield Sydney

One might have thought that a focus on speedy delivery would mean the need to condense the menu, but this is far from the case.

Jones the Grocer has a wide variety of breakfast options (available until 3pm on weekends), while the lunch and dinner menu offers a range from antipasto boards and salads to heartier options like burgers, pasta and steaks.

Cheese cabinet

On entry into Jones the Grocer diners are greeted by a designer shopping aisle with rows of prettily bottled beverages, pasta and condiments to the left, and further on in, a magnificent cheese and cured meat filled cabinet.

Front counter patisserie selection

There's more temptation of the sweet variety from the patisserie counter where diners can choose a quick pick-me-up to have with a coffee in the front lounge and waiting area.

Beloka water still mineral water

The dining space out the back is the real haven from the hustle and bustle of the food court outside.

A cruisey weekend lunch started with mineral water from Beloka Water, sourced from Kosciuszko National Park in our own state backyard.

Black forest double smoked ham, spinach, two free-range poached eggs,truffled hollandaise, house baked muffin

Being a lover of breakfast I couldn't go past the eggs Benedict from the breakfast menu, especially when it involved a truffled hollandaise sauce.

True to their new motto, the glorious English muffin tower of eggs, thinly-shaved ham, gooey hollandaise and wilted spinach was brought out in a flash.

The eggs were perfectly soft poached, spilling a river of orange-gold yolk goodness all over the plate. The house-baked English muffins were soft and fluffy, and the ham smokily tasty but the promised truffle infusion in the sauce could have been a little more generous.

Premium 100% Australian wagyu patty, bacon, melted Swiss cheese, truffled mayonnaise, pickles, yellow mustard, caramelised onions, house made bun, rustic chips

With a burger lover amongst us, the signature Jones Burger was ordered and is definitely one we'd return for. A lot of burgers these days tend towards brioche buns, but we found the house-made white bun to be pleasantly savoury and soft.

The wagyu beef patty was well seasoned, tender and not at all greasy, which made the act of eating a lot neater than expected. The pickles were a great, balanced addition, not being overly tart, while the truffle intensity in the mayonnaise was spot on.

Twice cooked pork belly, caramel apple, prune puree, pickled fennel and walnut salad

Our lovely maitre d' Macey also recommended the twice-cooked pork belly - a dish worth foregoing dinner for.

Topped with golden, crisp crackling, the sticky chewiness of the pork belly and the fact that it wasn't too fatty made this a real joy to eat. The caramelised half apple on the side complemented the dish well, as did the fennel and walnut salad which offered respite from the rich flavours.

Confit Atlantic salmon, roast beetroot, baked tomato, baby spinach, goat's feta, honey mustard vinaigrette

In an attempt at looking at least a little healthy, we also had a salad of beautifully soft confit Atlantic salmon with sweet roasted beetroot, goat's cheese and crunchy walnuts in a vinaigrette dressing.

Lemon verbena pana cotta with granita, strawberries and almonds

To a necessarily shared dessert, but never have I seen a panna cotta with a wobble so gloriously mesmerising that we almost forgot to dig in to dessert as we played, granita melting away.

The simple refreshing flavours of lemon verbena, strawberries and the silky smooth texture of the milky pudding made this a delightful way to end our meal.

Jones the Grocer's varied menu manages to achieve their new goal of "good food, served fast" with aplomb. With customers seated closer to the kitchen and an increased pool of chefs to meet the demand of hungry shoppers, Jones the Grocer is certainly keeping up with clean modern Australian fare, fast.

Food, booze and shoes dined at Jones the Grocer as a guest, with thanks to CavCon.

Jonesing for Jones the Grocer, Westfield Sydney

The breadth of the Level 5 food offerings at Westfield Sydney means that there's always something I haven't yet tried.

Jones the Grocer took over the prime restaurant spot on Level 5 about a year ago with a luxury grocery offering, bakery and restaurant – and I've been jonesing to get there to see how the space has changed.

Restaurant dining area at Jones the Grocer, Level 5, Westfield Sydney

I visited for a pre-Christmas dinner last year when the shopping centre was filled with retail frenzy and the dining space at Jones the Grocer was a haven from most of it; a frazzled staff member aside.

The well-spaced restaurant area behind the food "emporium" is a particularly warm and inviting setting with the feeling of a posh home highlighted by a long open kitchen and dark timber furniture.

Seats by the window have the added benefit, or distraction, of looking across into a gym where classes take place while you eat and drink.

Shiraz and Pipsqueak apple cider

Maybe it's just all in my head but I think wine always looks and tastes better out of Plumm wine glasses, especially when it’s a bold Aussie shiraz.

There are, rightfully, a lot of Australian options on the drinks list and the food menu follows with a modern Australian bent (read: a bit of Asian, a bit of Mediterranean, a bit of this and that – all tempting and delicious-sounding).

Angel hair pasta with blue swimmer crab, chilli, rocket, garlic and grana padano

A popular starter is surprisingly a pasta entrée, with its promise of picked blue swimmer crab in a classic and fresh combination of rocket, garlic, chilli and parmesan cheese.

The thin angel hair pasta noodles, almost resembling vermicelli, were a good, light carrier for the quintessentially Australian yet Italian flavours.

Salt and pepper squid, yuzu mayonnaise, Thai herb salad dressed
with tamarind, chilli and lime sauce

I went for Sydney’s ubiquitous salt and pepper squid with south-east Asian influences. Crumbed curls of a dark, deep fried squid were plentiful among a Thai-inspired salad with plenty of green herbs, bean sprouts and a light dressing of sweet tamarind, chilli and lime.

Both entrées were very generous in size and at the height of freshness; embracing a modern Australian ethos with flavours from around the world.

Duck leg confit with French lentils, apple and spinach salad with grape seed dressing

To France for my main with the most perfect confit duck Maryland, hidden beneath a pile of spinach and apple salad.

The duck was probably one of the best renditions of confit I've had: crisp skin, perfectly rendered, and soft, yielding flesh that was not too salty, paired classically with braised lentils.

The leafy, dressed salad with apple matchsticks – admittedly, presented all over the top of the duck – added a required sweet and tart lightness to the overall dish.

Free-range slow roasted pork cutlet with carrot puree, poached prune and shaved cabbage pangrattato salad

An impressively-sized pork cutlet was our other main, served with a creamy carrot puree, a few plumply poached prunes and a salad of shaved cabbage, fresh herbs and toasted breadcrumbs. Presentation seemed to follow a somewhat haphazard philosophy, with the salad again all over the top.

There was a sad lack of crackling, with a rubbery, fatty rind of skin attached to the thick pork cutlet instead although the pork was at least juicy and tender.

Stir fried broccolini

While the main dishes are quite complete with vegetable additions, we upped the green count with broccolini stems, stir fried with simply with oil.

Glazed lemon tart with confit citrus and creme fraiche

Dessert was probably not necessary following the big meals but we were tempted enough to try the glazed lemon tart. With burnished lemon curd top in a short pastry crust, the tart wedge was served with a variety of citrus segments and a quenelle of crème fraiche.

We also had a trio of sorbets as another dessert with refreshing renditions of each passionfruit, raspberry and mango sorbets.

I'm not sure if it is intended, but there's an air of 'something for everyone' at Jones the Grocer. Even the kids menu was impressive and clearly not an afterthought; hence, quite a few tables of families with young children.

And then there's food for take-home purchase, the bakery offerings and an impressive cheese cabinet that has me jonesing to get back for more.

Food, booze and shoes dined at Jones the Grocer as a guest, with thanks to Cav Con.