Jones the Grocer
Strange that my sister and brother-in-law worked here before yet I’ve never dined at this restaurant until last Saturday. Jones the Grocer is an Australian home-grown restaurant and has several branches in New Zealand, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand and UAE. Here in UAE, their stores are located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and we visited the one in Sheikh Zayed Road opposite Times Square Centre.
I know how crazy the queue at this restaurant can get and I guess our visit was just perfect. For a Saturday lunchtime, we just waited for around 10 minutes and we’re seated in no time.
They were offering free taste for waiting diners.
There’s no designated waiting area but you can easily pass time going through their grocery isles and check-out the different artisan and gourmet food available on display.
Roasted Garlic & Chili Linguine? Yes, please!
Different condiments and sauces
Chocolates!
They also have non-food items
I wasn’t even finished going through all the display items when we were called to be seated. We immediately scanned the menu.
They have the chef’s specials until 16th August
As usual, they served the drinks first. I ordered lemonade and Gibson had iced tea
I started with their spiced lentil soup with crusty brown bread. It’s really good and already filling by itself.
This prawn, garlic and chili linguine satisfied my craving for weeks now. With fresh basil and shaved Grana Padano cheese, it’s just PERFECT! It’s served with two slices of garlic bread.
Gibson ordered their battered fish and chips with tomato and avocado salad. The dip was roasted garlic aioli (a type of mayo) and paprika salt. I had a taste of his meal and it’s very nice. And the dip was just the perfect partner to fries.
We were with my two kids and nephew and they chose something from the kid’s menu.
My son, Cole, ordered the linguine with tomato sauce that comes with garlic bread. He finished it all and said both the bread and pasta were delicious.
I am the one who ordered for Biel but it seems it’s too gourmet for her. She instead had the fries and some of Cole’s pasta. Me and the hubby shared the burger and if only the restaurant will allow me, I will order this next time I dine. The salad and burger were really yummy.
Lance, my nephew, ordered the pancake with whipped cream, syrup and banana.
We had an extra order of fries for the kids. By the way, they provided crayons and papers which is a good way to entertain the children while waiting for their food. Jones didn’t scrimp on the crayons as they’ve given them the basic 8-pack color set. Some restaurants provides 2 or 3 colors only.
We didn’t order any desert as we’re already full but here’s some of the photos I took. I will try some of their pie next time.
Here’s our bill. They are offering one complimentary kid’s meal for every two adults ordering both main dishes.
It’s a very good meal overall and will try other dishes on their menu next time. Have a good day peeps! 🙂
