Morris Jones: A Morning Person

From the front, a thin strip of street side tables and a small room, open to the street through drawn back concertina doors, is all that’s visible of Morris Jones & Co.

It’s one of those Chapel Street hubs you may have passed now and again with momentary curiosity as you rushed onwards, most probably to one of its many nearby competitors (the likes of Dukes Coffee, Market Lane and Tall Timber Eatery). Yet, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, two rows of windows set high in the ceiling splash natural light over bouquets of flowers blossoming on the bar. The bartender is replaced by a barista, cocktails now coffee, and breakfast is on the menu.

Two years after opening, Morris Jones & Co, with Matthew Butcher at the helm (Gordon Ramsey, Vue de Monde), have ventured into the realm of weekend breakfasts. Shaking off their night owl image and letting the light in, the space itself seems made for breakfasts with tall ceilings, crisscrossing timber beams, courtyard benches, and a laidback vibe.

With the intention to serve “a good brekky in Windsor” rather than aspiring to the near-impossible “best breakfast in Melbourne”, Morris Jones satisfies. Whether you’re after a health kick of bircher museli with appleslaw and passionfruit honey mascarpone ($10.50), or a hangover remedy of poached eggs on crispy hash browns, corn chilli relish and lashings of avocado (15.50), the menu abounds in tempting options. The coffee is good ($4), and the fruit juice is fresh ($7.40).

Although the Morris Jones centrepiece remains Butcher’s theatrical and quirky dinner designs, the restaurant-bar-cum-café may just steal some hungry eyes away from next door’s line for Dukes. The bohemian Windsor end of Chapel Street plays host to an abundance of good food, yet next time, before you rush away down the road, Morris Jones could just be worth that second glance.

MORRIS JONES & CO.
163 Chapel Street, Windsor
Saturday-Sunday 9am-3pm
www.morrisjones.com.au