Restaurant review: Miss Jones cafe in New Farm

EXPECT to queue on the footpath for a table and then play musical chairs as the young, bumbling staff try to seat diners with a distinct lack of common sense.

Miss Jones Cafe in New Farm. Picture: Claudia Baxter, AAP

WHEN word broke that New Farm’s hugely popular Little Loco was opening a second venture just an avocado toss down the road, it’s fair to say fans of the breakfast hotspot from Brisbane Roar defender Daniel Bowles were more excited than a 20-something on payday.

Miss Jones cafe occupies a compact space fronting busy Brunswick St and is all millennial chic with polished concrete floors, dusty pink walls and a row of quirky framed artworks, each heroing a single breakfast staple like coffee or milk.

Banquet seating lines one wall with mostly tables of two, while a generous communal table slots in next to the counter giving the eatery the compulsory Instagram factor, as well as making it louder than rain on a tin roof when busy. Oh, and it’s always busy.

Miss Jones Cafe in New Farm. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

Expect to queue on the footpath for a table and then play musical chairs as the young, bumbling staff try to seat diners with a distinct lack of common sense.

Drawing the crowds is the inventive all-day breakfast menu where classics are given a gourmet spin and pimped up with on-trend ingredients. Think a brekkie burger of bacon, egg, rocket, onion jam, vintage cheddar and chipotle mayo on a brioche bun, or granola with a chai panna cotta, fruit, Bee One Third honey and vanilla coconut yoghurt. And, of course, there’s the compulsory smashed avo – this version with beetroot “hummus”, peas and goats cheese on sourdough.

Ordering is done at the counter and despite the place being as packed as a Tokyo subway station, food and drinks come out of the kitchen at reasonable pace.

Roast pumpkin bruschetta. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

One of the numerous vegetarian options is the roast pumpkin bruschetta ($18) with a lightly toasted slice of sourdough overflowing with roughly mashed sweet pumpkin, two perfectly poached eggs, the odd bit of kale for greenery, and smears of goats cheese and hummus, before being dusted with dukkah and drizzled with balsamic. More generous than an Italian nonna at dinner time in portion, it’s a filling dish that feels nourishing.

Eggs benedict from Miss Jones in New Farm. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

Conversely, the eggs benedict ($19.50) is a little on the stingy side, with just two quarter-sized hash and cheddar waffles supporting avocado, chunks of chorizo, poached eggs and a chipotle hollandaise. Thankfully what the dish lacks in size it makes up for in flavour, with the waffles’ ridges deeply tanned and crisp, while the centres remain light and fluffy, and the chorizo and chipotle work in unity to provide a punchy chilli kick.

Unfortunately, our small Single O/Paradox blend coffee ($3.80) is ordinary and arrives lukewarm, but a coffee and caramel shake ($8.50) is a surprise delight.

Miss Jones is a good cafe and with some more staff training and work on the coffee, it could be great. 

MISS JONES

Address 1/599 Brunswick St, New Farm

Phone [phone]

Open Mon-Fri 6.30am-3pm, Sat-Sun 7am-2.30pm

Owner Daniel Bowles 

VERDICT

Food 7.5

Service 7

Ambience 7

Value 8