Jones & Sons

4 Reviews on “Jones & Sons”

• Lisa

  Drinking in a morning tends to be reserved for special occasions weddings, Christmas and the like, but recently it seems that boozy brunches have become the ‘it’ thing in London and I can’t wake up on a weekend scroll through my Instagram or Twitter feed without seeing several photos of some early bird who has woken up, got themselves dressed and presentable and out of the house to order brunch accompanied by a glass of prosecco all before I’ve managed to stumble to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. I’m not one to watch a bandwagon go by without me though, especially a bandwagon with booze and eggs benedict, and so I knew I had to become part of the new brunch culture.I’m a big fan of Jones and Sons’ outpost at Trip Bar and Kitchen in Haggerston but until last week hadn’t been to their original restaurant in Dalston. An invitation to sample the new bottomless brunch at Jones at Sons was the perfect opportunity to pay their first home a visit. Located in Arcola Street just off the main road, the frontage is unassuming and you could almost walk straight past it (which would definitely be a mistake). The building itself was originally a textile factory before playing host to a theatre. It’s now flooded with natural light thanks to a large full-height window and doors (a blogger’s dream for photographing food) and an open kitchen is housed (literally, it’s in a house) in the corner so you can, if you like, watch the chefs at work.We arrived at 11.30am and although we weren’t the first there, it was still quiet at that point. There are two options for the bottomless brunch – on the wagon (20) or off the wagon (27). Either way you get an unlimited amount of food, the difference is the drinks. On the wagon and you have the choice of soft drinks including Monmouth coffee, tea, orange and grapefruit juice, lemonade or a Virgin Mary. Off the wagon and you can choose between a Bloody Mary, Bucks Fizz, Bellini or prosecco.We were off the wagon. I chose a Bellini and my boyfriend went all Made in Chelsea and for the first time ever decided to try a Bloody Mary. He always used to mock me for watching Made in Chelsea and refused to watch it, until I made him watch the Bachelor on Channel 5 with me (remember that? No? Just me?), the first season featured Gavin Henson, the second season had Spencer Matthews. After that he got lured into watching Made in Chelsea and he quickly became hooked. Given their penchant for a Bloody Mary, he decided to join the club and have brunch with a Bloody Mary. Served with not only a stick of celery but also lemon and a cooling slice of cucumber it provided a punchy kick that, if you weren’t fully awake already would certainly get you well on your way to being alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic. By coincidence it was Jones and Sons’ second birthday and so we raised our first glass to them.We browsed the menu and chose our first dishes, Eggs Royale with perfectly poached eggs for him and pancakes, blueberries, crispy bacon and maple syrup for me. Both great solid breakfast/brunch dishes.There’s something about brunching on a Saturday morning that feels particularly indulgent and lazy and we tucked into our food to a soundtrack laced heavy with Beyonce unhurried by the pressures of either a busy day ahead or any pressure to move on. The emphasis seemed very much on enjoying a leisurely morning, with attentive and charming service from all the staff. Even when the place started to fill up around 12.30pm service remained quick and responsive, once we had finished our drinks another round of drinks was offered without any need to ask for them, which always makes you feel that little bit better about ordering a third Bellini.Although it’s unlimited food over the course of a two hour period, deciding is actually much tougher than you might think as everything on the menu sounded amazing. The menu covers all bases from the traditional full English to lighter dishes like avocado on toast.For his second dish my boyfriend chose the French toast with maple syrup. I’m not sure why but I have never been one for French toast, I think a poor experience of soggy French toast when I was younger put me off. This was the chance for French toast to redeem itself to me and it definitely did that. Fluffy and sweet and, lets be honest, more pillowy cake than the soggy, eggy bread I had always shied away from before. No more will I eschew French toast. Or at least not at Jones and Sons. It’ll be top of my list when we return.Having had food envy over my boyfriend’s Eggs Royale (if only I could poach eggs and make hollandaise…) I ordered Eggs Benedict for my second round dish. With lightly grilled lean ham it was perfect and pretty damn photogenic too.Before we had ordered and consumed our second dish we’d contemplated sharing a third dish, the yoghurt, granola, berries and honey as a kind of breakfasty dessert, but by the time we’d finished our French toast and Eggs Benedict, we were too full to even consider it.It turns out that, in the absence of Spanish style half racins that allow you to try a bit of everything, the key to a bottomless brunch is to pick well and pace yourself. Based on the dishes we tried, it’s hard at Jones and Sons not to pick well. Pacing yourself might be more tricky though!So, get yourself over to Dalston in East London from 11am-4pm on Saturdays and 11am-1pm on Sundays for a wonderful bottomless brunch.Bottoms up! notquiteenough.co.uk

  October 25, 2015, 10:17 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Angloyankophile

  A lovely little restaurant in Dalston that serves up a delicious brunch menu on weekends. I visited on Saturday and tried their blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup – a real winner. Pancakes were fluffy and generous in serving size (you get three, thick slices) and the bacon was perfectly sizzled. We chatted away the morning over flat whites and fresh orange juice … The perfect way to begin a Saturday. Friendly service as well, which is always important in my books! angloyankophile.com

  July 20, 2015, 8:06 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Becks Dobson

  Haggerston: the No Man’s Land between Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. More of a ‘passing through’ kind of place than a real destination, it’s being snapped up by property developers as the next area to throw up luxury flats. The real charm though is under the railway arches and next to the canal. Tonkotsu East’s cottoned on to this and it seems as if Jones&Sons have now too.This is Jones&Sons’ second outpost – the first being up the road in Dalston – and they’ve taken up residency in Trip Space, a cultural hangout where you can yoga one minute and hot desk the next. Ella, Ashley and I were invited down to check it out last week and were promised great British food in a contemporary setting.We weren’t disappointed. Initial impressions were welcoming – warm light glows from the glass frontage showcasing the exposed brickwork and bustling bar within – second impressions were slightly less so as it took quite a while for us to be acknowledged but we’ll be generous and put it down to opening jitters.Onto the food and drink. There’s a nice selection of draught and bottled beer (although Ashley chose Estrella) but being a girl, I headed straight for the cocktail menu and went for an easy choice of the Joan Collins – a zesty combination of gin, elderflower, lemon and fizz, a sharp but sweet boozy lemonade. Ella went for something involving egg white – I realise that’s a pretty exhaustive list of potential options but for someone who’s previously steered clear of any with it in, I wasn’t paying much attention. Having said that, it won me over. Success.Then it was onto the food. Jones&Sons have forgone every date night dilemma of not choosing the most expensive dish on the menu by standardising the pricing – starters are all 7, mains 11, sides are 2 for 7. And desserts? Who cares how much they cost. We were spoilt for choice and could practically have eaten one of everything on offer but waistlines and professionalism considered, we decided to swap and share.First up, my salmon tartare. Served with crisp toasts (more please though), the perfectly diced fish was achingly good. Clean flavours were complemented by dill and capers, and the slided cucumber haphazardly presented on top added a good bit of crunch. Ashley had the battered courgette flower with goats curd and tomato – I’m a total fiend for goats cheese and the classic combination of textures on the plate were pulled off well with the tart tomatoes cutting through the smooth, salty curd and the crisp batter. My only gripe would be that 7 seems a little steep for just one stem. Ella’s grilled squid with morcilla and parsley crumb was stand out though; the tender seafood griddled rather than deep fried to maintain a nice bounce whilst the meaty sausage crumb added another level of flavour. This I’d order again. And again.Onto the mains. Ashley and I both had the Butcher’s steak with Bearnaise. More commonly known as ‘Hanger steak’, it’s from the diaphragm of the cow and one of those cuts that are having a resurgence in popularity. I like my steaks so rare it’s almost still mooing, this was cooked to perfection and served with the moreish Bearnaise for dipping. Ella went for the lamb belly with lentils and beetroot (and I failed to get a snap) but she declared it a masterpiece so further props right here. Beefing up our mains, we shared two sides between us – the mac and cheese, obviously (not bad), and the kale (underseasoned and a bit soggy) – and discussed whether the standardised pricing works for mains or not.Of course, we had to continue with little needed but much wanted desserts – I went for the treacle tart with clotted cream and Ash and Ella went for the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream. Nicely executed, if widely varying in portion control, but I probably would have gone for something chocolatey or fruity given the opportunity seeing as I could now practically roll myself out of the restaurant.Jones&Sons is a great little place that’s unassuming, friendly and open all day so you can start and finish the day (in a food coma) in one laidback location. The staff are really friendly, if a little rushed off their feet when busy, but always on hand to persuade you that yes, you really do need that last bite of saccharine sweetness. Four out of five from me. thenotsosecretdiary.com

  February 11, 2015, 6:54 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Sandy N16

  Fantastic – food, service, and a great evening. Six of us ate here last night (25th Oct 2014). Our 4 friends – it was their first time – for us our third time. Everyone loved it, most of all the menu, food, quality and great service. Not the cheapest place in Stoke Newington to eat but definitely the best by a long way. And quality always cost. So have no problem paying that bit more. Only minor issue was it was a bit noisy – there was a large table of friends celebrating a birthday – but they were enjoying themselves – as we were as well! – So give it a try and enjoy great food.

  January 26, 2015, 4:22 pm

  Log in to Reply