Mrs. Jones

The Verdict

Meet Mrs Jones. She’ nestled on top of one of the city’s oldest pubs. She’s not the most obvious find so you’ll want to take the first doorway on the right in Sydney’s historic Kendall Lane and follow the stairs all the way to her entrance. Oh yes, Mrs. Jones is a serious looker.

This gem has an open-air space overlooking a tree-shaded sandstone courtyard that once belonged to Jane Jones, the licensee of The Orient Hotel in 1897, famous amongst locals and visiting ships’ crews for running the liveliest pub in the Rocks. Think a heap of lush greenery, big contemporary glass windows and décor that merges the old and the new flawlessly. 

Menu-wise, these legends are keeping the paddock-to-plate tradition alive with hearty classics like crispy pork belly and fried potatoes, lamb croquettes with truffle honey, and share plates for the squad such as Peking duck spring rolls and cured meat plates with prosciutto, sharp cheddar and charred grissini.

The carefully curated list of cocktails is very much reflective of the venue, a mixture of traditional and contemporary. The team here offers all the classics featuring OG’s like negroni’s, sidecars and martini’s as well as apple and cinnamon sours (featuring fireballs, yes please), oh-so-Aussie espresso martinis, and a gin, basil and passionfruit concoction called the ‘Chelsea smile’.

Image credit: Mrs. Jones