Mr Jones Dining

Someone from this business manages this listing.

#11 of 344 Restaurants in Ballarat$$$$, Asian, Thai, Vegetarian friendly

+61 3 5331 5248+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

8:30 am - 2:00 pm

Tue

11:30 am - 2:00 pm

Wed

11:30 am - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Thu

11:30 am - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Fri

11:30 am - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Sat

8:30 am - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

225 reviews

#11 of 344 Restaurants in Ballarat

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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PRICE RANGE

$16.00 – $29.00

CUISINES

Asian, Thai

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

meals, features

Location and contact

42-44 Main Rd Bakery Hill, Ballarat, Victoria 3350 Australia

+61 3 5331 5248

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Is this an Asian restaurant?

Yes

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About

From the people who brought you the multi award wining Catfish Thai, Mr Jones is the next step in quality relaxed Asian food. Open Wednesday to Saturday for dinner and lunch on Fridays - dine in, takeaway or just grab something quick at the bar

PRICE RANGE

$16.00 – $29.00

CUISINES

Asian, Thai

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Dinner, Drinks

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Seating, Street Parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.5

225 reviews

Excellent

145

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Karen R

Ballarat13 contributions

Catch up with friends after lockdown

July 2020 • friends

We have been here before and food was and is always great. My only comment from more recent visit was we as a group felt like we were in Masterchief. Happy for waiter to ask for feedback on dishes but when we had to give feedback on each individual dish it was getting abit over the top. Especially during these times when dining time is limited having the waiter state”excuse me ladies it is my turn to talk” was not received well.

Written 25 July 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ert53

412 contributions

Pretty good but could improve

Dec 2022 • none

This restaurant was quite nice but could so easily be much better. The web site doesn't explain the menu to you (and doesn't provide a price) and even when a menu is handed to you (one per table!!) it's incomprehensible. Basically, just so you know, there is a set menu, which they call a 'banquet', and each course has several dishes within it, which appear in some pattern that only the staff seem to know! We were greeted and shown to a table by possibly the rudest staff member I have ever come across in a restaurant, but the waiter assigned to us after that was very pleasant and attentive. We were upstairs which was good, as downstairs was very crowded and noisy, with very strong cooking smells. The food was very nice, well above usual Ballarat standards, but although there was a set menu, we had to wait a long period both before the 'mains' and before the dessert. I don't know why, as most places with a set menu bring out the courses quickly. One of our party doesn't like fish, and when we mentioned this on arrival, the rude greeter told us we should have put it on our booking. Actually the booking site says 'Please alert us to any food allergies or intolerances'; and when you go to book there is a section for 'comments and dietaries'. The problem is that unless you know there are no choices you wouldn't have thought to mention preferences, as normally in a restaurant you can avoid things you don’t like. So, unless the web site becomes more informative, best to say what you don’t like. Anyway, to be fair, after we had been rebuked by the initial staff member, alternatives to fish were in fact brought to the relevant person for every fish-related dish (of which there were many – too many for me, personally, although I do eat fish). Our appreciation for this thoughtfulness waned, though, when we were charged for five meals instead of four. I don't think that was deliberate, but if we hadn’t picked it up when looking at the receipt, we would have been very much overcharged - and the prices are not low. The ambience is nice (upstairs) but the restaurant is perhaps over-rated and could provide more explanation to guests. And a menu per person would be nice, especially as you need the menu to hand all the way through, to interpret what is being put in front of you. The menu consists of one printed sheet; it wouldn’t cost a fortune!

Written 8 December 2022

ClockmakersWife

Ballarat136 contributions

Oh Mr Jones, what a journey, full of flavour

Nov 2020 • friends

After months of lock down our first dinner at Mr Jones was excellent. Wednesday night is a tasting night so for $45 we had 4 savoury and a dessert. Excellent. An Asian taco wirh a shaved coconut was brilliant, a stuffed chicken breast/ wing, a betel leaf with a fish salad, and my favourite, a delightful sticky pork. The super dessert taster was a perfect end. We had the restaurant suggest wine matching and they nailed it. Excellent evening.

Written 26 November 2020

Julsa55

Ballarat105 contributions

Pleasant lunch

Mar 2020 • none

We ate here last week after being told that this is the new 'in' place for Asian fusion food. This is the restaurant previously run as Catfish and has the same chef and staff. We started with two of the betel leaf entrees which were light and refreshing. We then had a further two entrees, bao buns with crispy pork belly and butterfly fish. The fish was close to overcooked and had not enough sauce and flavour. The bao buns were a bit dry but the pork belly was well cooked. We then had the fruit and vegetable salad based on the comment from a nearby table and the fact that this dish has always remained on the menu due to its popularity. We found the dressing bland and the salad ingredients too much the same as each other. We ate it as it was healthy food and we were going to have to pay for it but I cannot say we enjoyed it. The drinks list is good and the waiter was attentive, however we felt a bit rushed with not enough break between dishes. Food is expensive for what it is and serves are on the small side, particularly the mains. Four entrees (two were just one mouthful) a main and two beers were $84.

Written 7 March 2020

BzzBzzBees

2 contributions

Fabulous food - APPALLING service

Feb 2021 • none

I'm sad to leave this review, because the food is AMAZING. We splurged for a night out. We booked for 7:30pm. We waited in a very noisy dining room for 40 minutes before our drink order was taken. The menu is confusing in its layout and it was at 8:30pm (1 hr after arrival) before a waiter came to explain it .The entrees began to arrive at approx 9:00pm (90 mins after arrival). A couple seated next to us commented to us how bad the service was; we agreed. The next-door couple complained to the waiter, who we overheard say there were 2 new floor staff which was delaying things, plus a very unprofessional comment about the chef. We finally got mains around 9:40, by which stage we were so hungry, but totally over the awful service. We left immediately after dessert at 10:40pm. This was really disappointing because the food is probably the best I have ever eaten in my life. I guess if you have 4 hrs, a few hundred to spare and noise cancelling headphones, you'll love Mr Jones.

Written 6 February 2021

Polachoc

Bendigo17 contributions

Polachoc

Jan 2020 • couples

1st visit to mr Jones in Ballarat. Can’t fault the flavours. Flavour bombs all the way. Beautiful presentation etc. had the tasting plate option x 2 with partner. Four dishes but just 1 bite each. 48.00. That’s expensive. So ordered the pork belly curry. Again, totally delicious, but for 38.00 with rice, there was only 6 pieces of pork, 1 being a piece of pork belly fat only. So that works out at 6.00 per mouthful. Ouch. Does anyone else think this is too expensive???

Written 3 January 2020

dani4342013

Thank you for dining with us, we're glad you enjoyed your experience! To answer your question, No, $43.00 per person for 5 hand made dishes plus rice is NOT expensive. Especially as we offer table service in a beautiful restaurant. For a cheaper option check out our Breakfast and Lunch menu

Written 5 January 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

DT-Vic

Ballarat18 contributions

Absolutely Delicious!!!

Mar 2021 • couples

We finally got to have dinner here after having it recommended by everyone from our Uber drivers to Wait staff in other restaurants! Mr Jones did not disappoint. We were warmly greeted and quickly seated. The restaurant has a slightly industrial and busy ambience but it is still comfortable and inviting. Whilst we initially found the set menu a little confusing, our Waiter explained it all so we understood what was going on. There were more than enough courses to fully satisfy a hungry soul and I personally enjoyed the fact that we got to try some things that we wouldn't normally choose. Standouts for us was the Ma hor (what a taste sensation!), Savoury Cupcakes and a (to die for) grilled Peking duck. Lucky for me, I got two serves of Mushrooms because my husband doesn't eat them and I was very happy about that. But all the courses were seriously good. Everything was well spaced out and made for a proper night out. We were really well looked after. All the Wait staff were very friendly and attentive. Plates were cleared quickly at the end of each course and wine and water glasses were constantly refilled. Sadly, it had to come to an end and we both left muttering "that was bloody delicious". We will definitely be back and look forward to a full a la carte menu returning. As a side, this part of town has the bones to become a little foodie enclave away from the hustle and bustle so let's hope that is the case...

Written 19 April 2021

TwoSheds57

Melbourne9160 contributions

Nice modern Asian

Mar 2024 • friends

We enjoyed Mr Jones. The food is good sometimes very good but not as good perhaps as some of the reviews would have us believe. I really enjoyed some of the dishes. The house made mung bean noodles were my favourite. Loved the presentation, flavour and texture. I also thought the optional charcoal grilled duck was delicious as was the red curry of pork belly and scallops. Numbers of the other dishes were OK but without hitting it out of the park including the optional oysters and the mussels. The service was a bit muted and rushed at the start but it improved markedly during the night when the server sommelier realised that we loved our wines. He made some outstanding recommendations with only one fail. We had a good night here but not a great night. This is a very nice restaurant but overall the feeling from the table was that the experience didn’t quite equal the price point

Written 11 March 2024

Karen R

2 contributions

Disappointed

May 2023 • couples

We’ve been here a few times over the past few years and it’s always been great, but tonight it was very disappointing. The food was average at best and the service was clumsy and inattentive, even inappropriate at times. The wine list is extremely restricted and overpriced. We won’t be back on a Thursday again, if at all.

Written 25 May 2023

GeorgieB

3 contributions

Standards appear to be falling

Nov 2023 • friends

Our latest visit to Mr Jones was a bit of a disappointment. We felt as a group that the standard of food being offered on the night we were there had definitely dropped off, which is quite disappointing when you consider the cost of the meal. Perhaps it was just one night, but I honestly don't think we'll be back. That said, the service and friendliness of the staff was as good as we've experienced in the past.

Written 10 December 2023

DW@Ballarat

Ballarat1281 contributions

Best Ballarat Dinner

Apr 2023 • friends

We were privileged to attend the inaugural BYO wines dinner at Mr Jones, a concept Damian Jones plans to continue on the first Monday of each month. The meal was sensational from the outset with rock oyster, wagyu beef and a duck liver profiterole starting the nine dish dinner. All appetisers delivered both in presentation and taste. Next came the two skull island prawns that were cooked to perfection - so tasty and easy to ask for half a dozen more. Perfectly cooked grill aged duck breast was accompanied by the pomelo, watercress and mustard leaf salad. This was followed by an excellent duck neck sausage. A cleansing whole mandarin sorbet preceded the flavoursome twin serve of strawberry and rose icecream. I can't wait to repeat this dining experience if it continues to deliver what I thought was the best dinner I've had in 8 years dining in Ballarat.

Written 16 April 2023

CarolineVicAU

Kew125 contributions

Delicious meal, faultless service, superb decor... what more could you want?

Sept 2023 • friends

Absolutely wonderful evening at Mr. Jones. The good was delicious. We let the chef decide on the menu for the evening, and he provided a range of flavours and codes that were all sensational. The decor is interesting yet relaxing. Service was faultless. I will look forward to retiring here soon.

Written 10 September 2023

Cme80

Zeals128 contributions

Working lunch

Feb 2024 • business

I told the gentleman in the restaurant I would write a review as it was so lovely. So this is me keeping my word 😁 We had the lunchtime set menu, every course was a delight to the palette, so many flavours, got to try things I never would of chosen for myself usually. Good portion sizes and such lovely staff that made you feel very welcome

Written 2 February 2024

Julsa55

Ballarat105 contributions

Amazing lunch

Mar 2024 • couples

Ate here last Friday and we were thrilled with the food, wine and service. The food was beautifully presented and each course a delight. We selected a French blanc de blanc sparkling which accompanied the Asian fusion food so well. We finished with the dessert which was so good I was tempted to order another one! Highly recommended.

Written 12 March 2024

Rick P

Adelaide42 contributions

Me and Mrs Jones? Wrong. Me and Mr Jones.

Dec 2024 • family

ExcellentThai food and an interesting wine list. However, the wines were very expensive commensurate for the meal. Still,well worth going to. Used to be called Catfish and we came here a number of years ago so we obviously enjoyed the restaurant enough to return.

Written 14 December 2024

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