Paddington's living room — At Fred’s you enter an elegant French country house transplanted into the heart of Paddington: wood, open kitchen, retro details, and a sophisticated shabby chic that manages to look lived-in while being very studied. It is the kind of place where you perfectly imagine a lunch of very well-to-do Sydney ladies, very elegant, free from their husbands for a few hours. But it would be unfair to dismiss Fred’s as a simple exercise in style. The philosophy remains the one that built its reputation: great attention to raw materials, seasonality, and an apparently simple cuisine, a legacy of the mark left by Danielle Alvarez and her experience at Chez Panisse. You start well with the warm bread, accompanied by high-standard butter and oil: few elements, chosen with care, that immediately declare the kitchen's intentions. Fresh pasta has always been one of the house's strong points and the handmade tagliatelle confirm its fame: good consistency, precise cooking, and a dish built without useless virtuosity. The real plot twist, however, comes at the end: the cooked pear wrapped in puff pastry and accompanied by ice cream and caramel. Technique, balance, and above all an almost French deliciousness: a dessert that, on its own, is worth the visit. Fred’s is elegant without being stiff, expensive without showing it off too much, and just worldly enough. A living room for well-to-do Paddington, with a kitchen that fortunately doesn't just serve as decor.
Fred's
Claimed318 reviews
Don't miss out! — A wonderful experience, dining in the middle of a kitchen was fantastic, a delicious meal and a moment enhanced by Malou the sommelier who guided and advised us. To be repeated again and again! (The menu changes every week!)
Outstanding meal — We had an incredible meal at this very cool restaurant. The kitchen is open and in full view of the restaurant. Some of the cooking is on an open fire which added atmosphere. We had the bread service to start, which was so good we ordered it again to accompany the terrine. For mains we had chicken and goat (served with honeyed figs) respectively. Everything was flavour packed. Service was exceptional.
Good..with caveats — Good….with caveats. As long term locals we’ve been multiple times to Fred’s and other Merivale venues. Here’s the good and bad of this visit. Wonderful sommelier Jamal, he made our night! Katie the waitress from Dorset also divine. Food very good, however the lamb shoulder was dry. Service overall, great! The big let down was the maitre de and arrival process. We encountered a crazy sort of Spanish Inquisition on the Merivale ‘January email offer/free bottle of Moet’ - unfortunately to the point of confrontation. We’d booked Freds after receiving the campaign marketing email . However when my husband asked how to redeem the offer he was firmly told he hadn’t clicked on the right button/or adhered to the ‘correct process etc etc’. Even after my husband (who’s older) showed the email, and his booking confirmation - the debate went on. It was boring and confusing. Especially for repeat clients. Overall we enjoyed the night in the end , and as locals we want to support Merivale and the Hemmes family, who live locally and we know and respect. However we’d like to say to Merivale overall…please make the CX journey far easier! That way we will continue to support you as we always have.
Impeccable — Impeccable service, creative and superb cuisine, oustanding wine list, beautiful interior design, a top quality restaurant with ambience
So poor. — Booking 230 for family of 6 adults 3 children. Delayed until 3 pm to be seated. Offered nothing but gave a seat in bar n wait for table. Not served until 330. Then asked to move to bar at 430 for next evening sitting. Bill $1300. No coffee. Food/wine great but for father’s day total disappointment with total disregard and arrogance. I certainly won’t return with this attitude where they stuffed up not moving early service.
Top Class, not cheap, but worth every dollar — Went here for lunch with my wife and we are pretty hard to please, but Fred's is another level, just faultless food and service. Loved the open kitchen, casual atmosphere, everyone there knew what they were doing , it's just so hard to find this type of food together with professional service in Australia, we will certainly be back next time we are here in Sydney.
A disappointing experience — The atmosphere at Fred’s is great. However the food was surprisingly average. We had the tasting menu which started well- the bread and vegetables were great. It was disappointing from there. The tuna was bland, the lamb was very mediocre and the potatoes unseasoned. The desert was particularly disappointing. Unfortunately a very disappointing experience and I wouldn’t go back.
Sensational Fresh produce perfect flavours — Went for lunch today. Had the winter set menu. Super service and atmosphere. Open kitchen where you can see that everything is made from start with fresh produce. You can see all the pre prep, the protein being cooked over coals. Pasty made from scratch. Two stand out dishes was the raw tuna. And the duck. Everything was good. The purl sausage paste to peppery. The pear tart pastry was a little off the mark. Wines we great. Chablis too chilled. The sommelier was awesome. ANU trained. At $140 set winter menu spectacular value considering the quality of produce, the atmosphere and perfect service. I’d go again for next special occasion. .
Good but not great — This is an expensive restaurant so you expect a special experience. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The food was ok but not great. Service was sometimes slow. Tables for couples were far too close together. We won’t go back.
Huge menu, very ample seating, the staff are pleasant and friendly, ole time down home country cooking Huge parking lot. Really makes me feel at home. As far as ambiance, this is just like you walk in the door and you have came back home. This is my second time here, did breakfast then with friends. Wish I lived here I would eat here every day
Second time was a big miss! — Well, we ate here twice and the first was okay and second was not okay. It was a Sunday evening so it seemed the secondary staff was in operation unfortunately. Everything was a bit off. The server was not attentive, and seemed as if she was possibly new and distracted. The two lamb chops as a main were ridiculously small, and over half was fat. I asked her if people eat the fat and she was rather vague in her answer. If the fat was meant to be eaten, at least it could have been grilled a bit, not raw fat! It wasn’t even close to a $60 main. She forgot to order our chocolate fondant and it took 25 minutes to come after we told her we didn’t want it, just please give us the check. She wasn’t apologetic at all nor did any manager acknowledge the mishap to us. She did take it off the bill as she obviously should have and claimed that was also because the lamb was underwhelming, LOL. The place is beautiful and nice menu but sadly missed the mark on our visit. Not sure I would return or confidently recommend. For a $300, it should have been perfect! Seems it is more about the money there than making sure the customers leave happy!
Wonderful restaurant and bar in Paddington — We had a great evening here. A pre-dinner drink in the bar; then some wonderful fougasse to start the meal; followed by excellent ceviche, good fish and two great desserts. Oh - and some lovely wine. When we go next time (and we will certainly return) we might eat in the bar, as the "Bar snack" menu looked to have some interesting choices.
Great place for good food and friendly staff — Our hotel recommended this restaurant, as we wanted to avoid the tourist places in Sydney. Very nice atmosphere with friendly staff. The staff was very helpful with the selection of the various menu options. It is recommendable to share the disches so that you can have a good taste of various nice dishes this restaurant offer. Very good food and wines, made this a fantastic visit to Fred’s.
A fantastic experience! — The food is fantastic, the envirnoment fabulous and the completely open kitchen is impressive! The staff was very friendly and attentive too. One of my best dinning experiences!
Enjoyed a huge meal — Enjoyed a huge meal, multiple plates, with a cote du rhone on the chef’s table to mark my birthday. All the staff were excellent while the food was a bit up and down. Pork chops were great, like I had never experienced. Beef tartare was explosive in a good way. Was my second time and looking forward to next year already!
A fabulous find in Paddington — I was recommended Fred’s by a friend and when reading on the website the slogan “from farmer to table” I was expecting something extremely rustic and, dare I say, a bit basic. But it exceeded all expectations! The decor is fabulous, very chic but incredibly welcoming with a lot of candles that make the atmosphere really warm and glowy. The star is the food though: freshly prepared in three open stations: the salad bar, grill and oven. When a dish is ready the chefs clap their hands, which I thought was such a nice touch. Friendly, smiley staff and not long to wait. Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone.
Average at best! — Freds has been one of our favourite restaurants for a long time, however, when we recently came here for dinner, we were sadly disappointed. When we arrived, we were put on the bar table next to the Pizza oven, which at first, we thought was a special table. It was boiling hot, to the point, we had to ask to be moved after we finished our main meal. We were told it was a special favour to be moved to another table?! I couldn't recommend enough to avoid sitting here. It's awful. Additionally, the calibre of food has slipped significantly. From a memorable meal to simply food on a plate - the prices do not match what's being served. Interestingly, we were told that the restaurant was not close to capacity - a telltale sign of a disappointing change in the experience..
The moment you walk in to this charming spot, there is something about Fred that you immediately like. Maybe it is the rustic wooden counters separate the open kitchen with the pizza and wood burning open fire cooking. We were told that the half chicken is a signature dish and yes, it is moist and cooked perfectly. The spanner crab omelette with lobster bisque on top is rich and decadent. There are many wine by the glass options, which we gladly took advantage of to try different glass side by side. The service is impeccable: friendly, knowledgeable and attentive- that id why this restaurant gets booked out weeks in advance!
Good coffee and food this morning. — Coffee at Fred’s this morning and full of locals enjoying great food. Clean and beautifully presented. Food large and looks scrumptious. Hard to choose. Small but fabulous. Great staff and good service.