After ten years of London life before I moved to the North East, I can’t believe I’d never visited Eccleston Yards – a quaint courtyard just a short walk from Victoria station. Here, independent businesses and creative outlets are thriving, while wellness and restaurants are also high on the agenda. The Jones Family Kitchen occupies a prime space and has a great al fresco area to take in the gorgeous surroundings.
This charming independent restaurant and bar focuses heavily on a sharer concept menu. With Barry’s Bootcamp right next door, there’s some nice healthy choices like the superfood salad, garden plates and salmon, but there’s also an incredible steak menu with cuts sourced from brilliant British butchers like The Ginger Pig and Aubrey Allen. Their commitment to excellence even earned them the prestigious title of Top Steakhouse in London (2019) by the Steak Society – testament to the high quality! Of course prep is key and each steak is cooked to perfection on the Josper charcoal oven – resulting in a deep smoky and earthy flavour to the meat.
Head chef Daniel Rodrigues is at the helm in The Jones Family Kitchen bringing a wealth of skill with him from across the world having worked across Asia, USA and Europe.
We start with gooey cheddar beignet balls (fried choux pastry) with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese on top. To follow such a tasty appetizer, we decide to go for the Jones fillet tartare served with truffle and beef dripping toast. It’s a bold choice and probably wouldn’t be to everyone’s tasting due to the rare meat and the very strong flavours, but we loved the peppery spice and the contrasting earthy truffly notes. Pan fried scallop were delicate and delicious with pickled fennel and juicy apple, topped with crispy Parma ham and a salsa verde.
With The Jones Family Kitchen offering a classic roast on Sundays (and given that it was a Sunday), we were in the mood for a comforting plate of deliciousness despite the sunshine. With this in mind we asked the Assistant Manger Ersin for a good red wine recommendation and he came back with the perfect bottle – a Chateaus Lary-Tagot from Bordeaux which was surprisingly easy drinking for an earthy oaky number!
Being from the North East the perfect roast is a plate brimming with far more than you can eat, a massive Yorkshire pud, plenty of gravy and a generous amount of meat. Well lucky for us, that’s exactly what we got. From the veggie welly with its beautifully flaky pastry to the pork belly, we’re pleased to report it ticked every box!
Of course food coma set in after all those veggies (did I mention the mac n cheese side?!), but wanting to keep the good vibes going and extend our lovely afternoon in the sunshine a little bit longer, we ordered dessert. Coconut panna cotta with rhubarb and ginger crumb was the icing on the cake and the perfect end to a lovely meal. Almost a deconstructed cheesecake in a balloon glass with the crumb on the top, the creamy coconut panna cotta was balanced perfectly against the tartness of rhubarb with the subtle warmth of the ginger coming through.
If you don’t manage to visit when the sun is shining, The Jones Family Kitchen boasts beautiful interiors inside, too. Rustic with modern accents, industrial lighting and a stunning long bar make it the perfect setting in which to enjoy really high quality food. Book your table here.
