Bistro Freddie is a bit like a beautiful old vintage car fitted with a cutting-edge electric engine.
With its handsome starched white linen tablecloths and candles on every table, it exudes an old-school elegance and has the feel of a thoroughly old-fashioned bistro. But the open kitchen dominating the back of the space – that is, the engine – tells a different story. Here, everything feels fresh, modern, and creative.
That innovation comes as no surprise given that the whole endeavour is the work of the gang behind Crispin & Bar Crispin, both of which helped to uncork the city’s booming natural wine scene and reinvent the modern wine bar while doing so. And now, a year after opening, they have a stellar new chef at the helm, too.
Bistro Freddie sits in a teeny corner plot on the backstreets of Shoreditch. The place is stunningly kitted out, all geared towards simple intimacy and low-lit, classic charm. There are plump banquettes hugging the two outer walls, a cluster of cosy tables in the centre, and some striking geometric stools lining the open kitchen.
Now running that kitchen is Bistro Freddie’s latest recruit, former Eline chef Alexandre Laforce Reynolds. His mouthwatering, hand-written menu is a paean to British ingredients using French recipes, washed down with an all-French wine list (after all, they still do that better).
You might – or rather, should – start with one of the day’s flatbreads, which might be topped with slow-cooked beef cheek, garlicky snails, or perfectly charred marinated kale. The texture of the bread is really something else, and it’ll be hard not to fill up on this alone – make sure you get some of the pig’s head croquette, or the smoked mackerel on toast, too.
The larger dishes include a rosy-pink bavette steak with peppercorn sauce; confit pork belly with black pudding; and cod schnitzel, which feels like a grown-up chippy tea swimming in a tartare beurre blanc (and those chips, by the way, are amazing). Then there’s the show-stopper: a gorgeous-looking chicken, girolles and liver pie for two, which goes nicely with the comté polenta (pure cheesy, creamy gluttony).
The best part, however, might just be the puddings. All three are equally indulgent: a crumbly Mayan red chocolate tart; a brick-sized cube of sticky toffee pudding in a thick, amber sauce; and an île flottante (poached meringue floating on a pool of crème anglaise).
And that wine list? It’s all been curated by Crispin sommelier Alex Price, who has scoured the Gallic countryside for all manner of natural, low-intervention, and biodynamic vintages. Old World, new styles.
Perfect for a forward-thinking bistro.
NOTE: Bistro Freddie is open Mon-Sat for dinner, and Tues-Sat for lunch. You can find out more, and make a booking on the Bistro Freddie website.
Bistro Freddie | 74 Luke St, EC2A 4PY
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