Me & Mrs Jones, Kingston – trying a couple lunch salads

Me & Mrs Jones is a one of the best places in Kingston for lunch.

It’s open everyday, has a broad ranging menu and offers two meals for the price of one if you have a Canberra Entertainment Card.

The salads make a good lunch choice, especially sharing a couple between two, or sharing one with another dish.

The SMOKED CHICKEN $18 with Treacle smoked chicken, crispy speck lardons, garden peas, mint, marinated feta, shredded baby cos, white balsamic reduction w/ brioche crisps is full of flavour but quite rich.

The SPRING LAMB $21 with Rare spring lamb, mixed seeds & nuts, currants,kale, pomegranate, mint & a fresh yoghurt dressing is perhaps the better choice, being a little lighter, with good textures and garnishes and full of colour.

If you want an even broader choice for lunch, get there before noon on weekday to be able to order from the breakfast menu too. (Lunch menu starts at noon).
Do book as it gets busy and if you’d like to BYO wine it’s $5.50 corkage per person.

Urban Pantry – trying the wishlist!

Urban Pantry may be the top spot in Manuka for lunch. It offers both indoor and outdoor seating….

….good service, an interesting and reasonably priced menu, BYO wine at $5.50 per person and two for one meals for Canberra Entertainment Book holders.

The salads are a great choice.

The Grilled Halloumi with smoked tomatoes, pickled zucchini, wild roquette, chickpea puree, labneh, za’atar $21 is excellent.

It has lovely flavours and textures.

The Seafood Lasagne with sand lobster, Crystal Bay prawns, barramundi, crustacea butter, saffron, concise tomato $32 is very beautiful and generous with its seafood, but very rich and best shared between about four people.

Manuka’s Public – some excellent lunch salads!

The Public Bar and Dining Rooms in Manuka has secured a great spot on the corner of Franklin and Flinders.

It’s menu offers something to suit everyone. At lunch on a weekday, that might well be one of the main meal salads that are well sized and perfect for sharing.

Two of the best include the Poached Chicken and roast root vegetables $22…

…and the Slow cooked lamb shoulder with quinoa $23.

Both are delicious. The lamb salad is richer and the chicken salad more subtly flavoured so it’s great to share both for balance.

If you have a Canberra Entertainment Card then you only pay for the more expensive salad making it great value as well.

Not BYO but wine by the glass his reasonable.

Monday is two for one pizzas.

Another very handy spot to have on your list of ‘go to’ eateries in the inner south of Canberra.

Maple & Clove – another look at lunch

Maple and Clove is tucked away in the Realm precinct overlooking a lovely grassed space between the Burbury and Realm Hotels.

Very helpfully it is open 7 days for breakfast and lunch although it does pay to book as it’s popular.

The menu on-line does differ to the one available in house, but similar dishes are offered.

It’s a perfect place for sharing dishes and the dishes are designed to be a little lighter, yet tasty so they leave you feeling satisfied but comfortable.

A good combination is a small Maple Raw Green Salad $12 – Baby kale, avocado, baby spinach, broccoli, asparagus, activated almonds + lemon, sesame dressing.

A meal size is also available for $18 and you can add a slow cooked egg for $4 extra.

It has a nice crunch from the nuts and a good balance to the Turkey and Zucchini Burger $19 -Lean turkey mince and zucchini patty, served with sumac yogurt dressing on a polenta roll with sweet potato wedges. This is a very good choice with good flavours and textures. The polenta bread is particularly good.

Maple and Clove is an excellent spot for a week day lunch in the Barton area and offers an interesting menu suited to sharing, good value, good service and a very lovely setting and atmosphere.

Bookplate, National Library, Barton

Bookplate is a popular spot for lunch (served 12-2pm) that’s close to major Canberra tourist attractions.

While it gets busy on the weekends, weekdays it’s quieter (although parking can be tight).

Choose between a shaded table outside with a great view of the lake or an indoor table where you can admire the Leonard French stained glass windows.

The full menu has a range of interesting choices.

These include the BBQ Beef Bao’s $19.80 – chinese soft buns filled with texan style pulled beef with housemade BBQ sauce and coleslaw…good flavoured beef, but the coleslaw is fairly plain and the bun a little tough.

The specials board includes a nice looking Chargrilled Atlantic Salmon $24.50 with Asian style red rice, mango and peanut salad …

…and a Cold Zucchini Soup $12.50 with mustard seed and mint (but also a bit too much cream).

Wine by the glasses starts at a reasonable $7.

There are still some very tempting, made in house, cakes and slices on offer….

…but just before Christmas you could also combine a dessert with the Salmon in a very good Christmas Lunch Special for $29 (good for sharing between two with an extra glass of wine).

And don’t forget to check out options on the breakfast menu that are served until 2pm.

Opening Hours

Mon – Thurs 7:30am – 5pm

Fri 7:30am – 4pm

Sat – Sun 9am – 4pm

Public Holidays 10am – 3pm

Bicicletta, New Acton – always open!

Because Bicicletta is the restaurant for the Peppers Gallery Hotel in Acton it is very helpfully open for three meals a day, seven days a week.

It has a good Italian menu and a specials board… (the salmon fillet and the marinated sirloin both looked excellent!).

If you are a group ordering together, it can be good to share the Pan Di Pizza to start followed by a mix of salad, pasta and pizza.

For a group of five or six good choices are……

ANTIPASTI

Pan di pizza Rosemary & extra virgin olive oil or garlic & chilli $13

PASTA

Tortellini di yucca – Homemade tortellini stuffed with roasted pumpkin in a creamy gorgonzola sauce finished with toasted pine nuts & parmesan scales $26….

….but it may have been better to order the very good Fusilli alla bolognese – Traditional pasta with Nonna’s 3 meat bolognaise sauce $23
Pappardelle al rage d’agnello – House made pasta with braised lamb in balsamic, thyme & grated pecorino cheese $27 (delicious)

INSALATE + CONTORNI

Arugula e parmigiana – Baby rocket leaves, corella pears, beetroot chips, shaved parmesan in a mustard & balsamic dressing – $16…..

……But maybe next time it would be good to try the

Insalata al salmone – Smoked king salmon with crispy mesclun, potato rosti, Spanish onion, cherry tomato in a seeded mustard dressing $18….

PIZZA

Campanula – Buffalo mozzarella, Italian pork sausage, potato, wild mushrooms & basil $24

There’s pleasant seating both inside and out as well as a very cozy and stylish bar area.

Service is efficient and helpful.
Prices are reasonable and Canberra Entertainment Book holders are offered a 25% discount.

There’s not a BYO wine option but wine by the glass is around. $8.50 and you can order a bottle for around $38.
There’s a regular 10% service charge added to the bill.
Open public holidays there is also a 10% surcharge.

OPENING HOURS

Dine in or take away

Breakfast

Mon – Sun: 7am – 11am

Lunch

Mon – Sun: 12noon – 3pm

Pizza Window

Mon – Fri: 12noon – 3pm

Dinner

Mon – Sun: 5pm – 10pm

1/15 Edinburgh Avenue

Canberra ACT 2601

02 6262 8683

Me & Mrs Jones, Kingston – a look at dinner

Me & Mrs Jones on the corner of Giles and Kennedy Streets in Kingston is a very versatile eatery – open often and late.

Monday 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Tuesday 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Thursday 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Sunday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

It’s especially good for breakfast or lunch but also serves dinner. dinner. (The sister eatery, Urban Pantry in Manuka is probably a better choice for dinner, but it’s not open Mondays.)

The inside decor is described as ‘industrial chic’ and it is indeed inviting and relaxed.

However, in summer it’s lovely to sit outside and enjoy the warm evening.

Offering BYO wine at $5.50 per person and two for one mains for Canberra Entertainment Book holders, it’s also good value.

The Confit Duck Legs are delicious for dinner, but very rich, so best shared. There’s plenty of meat on the legs so up to four people could use this as a share dish.

CONFIT DUCK LEGS – Twice cooked w/sesame coated sticky rice, apricot tamarind relish, chinese broccoli & chili soy caramel $34

The Linguini with Squid is popular and the pasts is lovely. Another good dish to share in a group.

LINGUINI – Shaved squid, black mussels, young leeks, asparagus, white wine, heirloom tomatoes & fresh herbs $28

The Banofee Bowl is pleasant, but lacks the special touch of some of the other peanut butter desserts around town.

BANOFEE BOWL – Butterscotch mousse, caramelised banana, banana custard, waffle crunch & dehydrated peanut butter $14

Bentspoke Brewery, Braddon – so much more than beer!

Bentspoke is one of Canberra’ s very own boutique breweries.

Fairly new to Braddon, it’s been immensely popular for both beer and good food to go with beer.

It’s a great spot for beer lovers, but also excellent for newbies to discover the subtle flavours of boutique beers like the light and lovely Barley Griffin – an easy drinking pale ale with a subtle hop flavour…

…or the richly orange coloured Crankshaft…

….the Big Nut dark ale with a roasty coffee, nutty and hoppy flavour and aroma…

…or a vey good, sweeter Brindabella Cider a house blend of Batlow grown Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples.

But don’t underestimate the food…it’s far more than just pub grub.

Pick a range to share to get the best from the menu…

Perhaps try the..
Warm olives and spiced nuts $8

GFG steamed mussels made with 1/2 kg South Australian Boston Bay mussels steamed with Bentspoke GFG ginger beer, lemongrass, chilli, lime leaf served with garlic crustini $18

Ploughman’s Board – pork rillet with gherkin relish and confit garlic, salami and proscuitto, two assorted cheeses, olives, assorted cider-pickled vegetables, with crusty croutons and lavosh $24

Big Nut Texas Chilli – spicy big nut beef brisket chilli served with sour cream, diced onions, cheese, fresh jalapeños and a flour tortilla ( small $11, large $16)

Chilli salt roasted blue eye cod – with saffron and green pea risotto and lemon mascarpone $25

Cheesesteak Ciabatta – beef slices grilled with capsicum, onion and rocket on a warm ciabatta with Pedal Pale cheese sauce and chilli jam $19

Drunken Prawns – beer boiled prawns with Thai spiced vermicelli salad and Nam Jim $18

Red Quinoa and Lentil Salad – roast pumpkin, red onion, mint, chilli, coriander, feta with a buttermilk dressing $14

And for dessert, rich but delicious, so do share…
Fuggacino – fuggs infused chocolate mousse with hazelnut sponge, salted caramel and Mousseline cream $10