Casual take on fine dining – Eat Drink West

Outdoor fun at Main Road’s Mr Jones

COMPLIMENTING their modern Asian set menu service, Mr Jones are joining in on Visit Ballarat’s Summer of Fun campaign by offering casual nights of cocktails and skewers on their deck.

Including a selection of grilled skewers, small plates packed with flavour along with cocktails, wines and beers, the nightly program is set to be served on the venue’s front deck overlooking Main Road.

Mr Jones’ owner and head chef Damien Jones said patrons don’t need to book for a space out the front but to instead come down,

find a space, and have a casual glass of wine with a bite to eat.

“We were approached to do something for the Visit Ballarat Summer of Fun campaign and we have this beautiful decking which doesn’t get used enough,” he said.

“It’s nice to have people out here having a bit of food and a drink, but it’s very casual compared to inside where we’re still doing the set menu.

“It’s a good opportunity for people to come down who haven’t been here before and it is beautiful here, the street is truly one of Ballarat’s best streets.”

In conjunction with the Skewers on Deck initiative, Mr Jones have also put together their very own sweet and tart Mo Jo cocktail as part of the City of Ballarat’s Balmy Nights Cocktail Series.

“The special cocktail we have going at the moment is a lychee mojito, a classic cocktail but our version of it,” Jones said.

“It’s nice to offer small bite sized food and access to great wine and cocktails on our deck space.”

Having completed round one of the food and drink event last weekend, Jones said it was great to see customers interacting with the venues offerings in a more casual way.

“It’s a nice way to eat, you get around four or five plates of different flavours, that’s how I like to eat, rather than having a whole thing,” he said.

“The usual banquet is a bit of a journey through a range of textures and flavours, the start is a range of shared entrees, then the last part is more bigger dishes such as curries and there’s an option for dessert.

“It’s about enjoying the space, the service and of course the food.

“This is more of my interpretation of modern Asian, and it has changed a bit the food has changed a lot since it was Catfish and I’m very pleased with the direction it’s going in, it’s a bit lighter.”

It’s first in best dressed for Mr Jones’ Skewers on the Deck and the program will be running from 5.30pm till late every Wednesday to Sunday until the weather permits.