Freddie’s Tavern

It’s been a few years since we’d been to this place. But the memory of this place beckoned us back, even on a Saturday evening. The place, however, was half empty.
There’s a reason why the average age of the customers are upwards of 50. The place could use some updating, especially for the prices they charge. It feels more like an upscale cafeteria in which to eat sandwiches and such. It seems that the bar side of the place is fine for hanging out.
The bread basket held few dinner rolls which were hard and a stack of slices bread. It would’ve been nice if they’d warmed up the bread a little before bringing it out.
The salad was fine. The spring mix was fresh and had no wilting pieces which is common.
We waited a long time before the entrees came out.
We had several dishes of seafood, Seafood Scampi, Seafood Combo (or something like that)…lobster was slightly undercooked. The steak was grilled only on one side. I guess that’s one way of making it medium? Top half was pink and the bottom half was gray brown. My husband did not finish it. He later told me it was too salty.
The pasta that comes with the entrees are just doused with marinara which was utterly tasteless. Did they forget to season their marinara sauce? Maybe it just would’ve been better to get fries.
I had Chicken a la Freddie which was flattened chicken breast covered with a sauce consisting of asparagus, mushrooms, and maybe some other vegetables, and then covered with cheese. It was so salty that I craved rice.
The parts of this meal that I enjoyed the most were my salad and my baked potato.
I’m giving three stars because of the service which was better than the food itself.
We will not be returning to this restaurant again.

What a fun atmosphere this place has! The bartenders and servers are very friendly! The NEW head chef is amazing and makes delicious specials. I love that they have live music on Friday nights. I believe it’s the only place in ewing that has that! I will def def keep on coming back!

I just LOVE this place. Great food! Great service! Great atmosphere! I went in to eat there the other night and enjoyed my entire meal! I sat at the bar on a Sunday and was pleasantly surprised with how busy it was on a Sunday night! Despite having a full bar, the bartender Nicole was quick and attentive! I love how they offer prime rib every night now! My prime rib was cooked perfectly. My friend had their bar pie with some toppings and she loved it as well. It seemed like there were a lot of regulars there and they simply make you feel even more welcomed! Everyone on the staff that I interacted with was very friendly and the new owner seems like he has great ideas for this place! While I didn’t try any of their specials, they all sounded amazing. I will definitely be back and need to try it out on a Friday night, I hear they have great live music on Fridays. One of the regulars also told me Wednesday nights are a great night too. They have prime rib on special for something around 16 bucks? and they said the two bartenders on are very fun. CANT WAIT TO GO BACK!

If you’re looking for a place to relax and have a great time this is a place you must try! I’ve been here a few times and I must say they really deserve 10 stars! The food is delicious and the staff is great, up to beat and very quick to serve. Amanda was my bartender each time I was there and she is fantastic. You can tell she enjoys doing what she does and loves making her customers happy. My drink was always full and my food order was out quick. The place is clean, smoke free, and not only are the employees great but all the customers are as well. Without second thought I’ll defiantly be back with some company to have a great time! They also have live music on some nights and it is out of this world! Great job staff, keep up the hard work!

Everything looks like it came out of the freezer. Nothing seemed house-​made.
I would even say it’s overpriced for the quality of the food that they serve.
This restaurant is probably one of the older restaurants in town, and a lot of local people go here for meals. I went during lunch time and people were all dressed in business casual. The crowd is definitely all over 40−50s.
The restaurant probably has not been updated for decades and they are probably not attracting new customers. I didn’t mind the ambiance knowing that it was an old restaurant, but I did mind the quality of food.
I ordered fish and chips and it was literally all out of the bag. It was freshly fried, but I definitely could’ve gone to my local supermarket and got those from the freezer section. They also had cole slaw with it. I’m sure they bought that from somewhere. My co-​worker had a burger and according to her, they make their own patties. But it wasn’t too impressive. They have a lot items on the menu but none seemed very appetizing and lacking in flavor.

After delivering flowers for a wedding at the Trenton Country Club we decided to check out Freddie’s for dinner. We are glad we did. It was the first day for our waiter but he was attentive & friendly. My husband ordered the chicken Parmesan which was so big half went home for lunch. I ordered the chicken & shrimp pasta with asparagus, artichoke & tomatoes in a basil cream sauce. It was so delicious. Kudos to the chef. We like to support family type restaurants. We will be back !

I’m writing this review with my last visit in mind.
First off the service was very quick, we were seated immediately, and the food came out almost too quickly to comprehend– just as the salad plates were being taken away the entrees were set down. Our waitress was extremely nice and attentive.
The food has always been consistently decent. The chicken parm was fried so it was looked beautiful but lacked crispiness I was hoping for. I found the sauce to be a bit acidic. My dad claims it’s the best chicken parm around, but I’m not too sure of that. The fries were the best I’ve had in possibly the past year, super crisp till the end. And finally the long, hots which are basically sautéed peppers in oil. They’re not for the faint of heart but you can’t find anything else like them, super spicy.
It did irk me that the coke was served in cans, but I guess that’s a personal preference.
I’ve had some really bad experiences here in the past and many decent ones such as this review reflects. Service and wait time has varied, but my most recent experience was pleasant.

The best Bolognese pasta in the area. Prime rib just delish for the price. Service just wonderful and great atmosphere.

It was my Mother’s 80^th B-​day, so she had her choice of places and she picked Freddie’s. I was not to happy because last time about 10 years ago, I was not impressed. We got there early to make sure we were not waiting forever, which we did anyway, but we were not in a rush. We went into the bar and had a drink. Service was fine. We were some of the youngest customers there and I can say I have been coming to Freddie’s for 40 years! When we finally seated and ordered, we got our drinks and salad. But then we waited for a long time for the main course. Everyone’s food was good and fresh, and my Mom was happy. I am glad that Freddie’s food was better then the last time I was there. It has been a staple in the area for 80 years, just like my lovely Mom!

Wednesday night prime rib. Sandwich. OM goodness. Check it out. Freddie makes everyone feel welcome. My friends and I love this place. It’s so popular, I never thought to post before. Thanks Fred!

Good service. Bartender doesn’t take food order which was fine. Waitress was pleasant to deal with. Food is so so. Really watered down French onion soup and they messed up my order of side vegetable. Good atmosphere.

For a loud and lively sports bar — it’s really good food guys! Everyone said the flank steak was awesome (I saw it and wish I’d ordered it), the Ribeye — same thing! I ordered the burger which is definitely better than most places!
I recommend you stop here, whether you are a sports fan or just need a bite when you are staying at a nearby hotel. Service was good and things were clean and orderly. No regrets at all and actually glad I came.
Enjoy.

I’m not quite sure why there is a preponderance of negative reviews for this fine, consistent restaurant, but I have a feeling that Freddie’s demographic has something to do with it. No disrespect intended, but their regular, faithful clientele are now older than dirt, and half of them will be deceased in another hour. And Dead Men Don’t Unilocal!
Here’s the scoop: I can’t speak to the bad service experienced by some of the reviewers, but I’ve not had a bad meal here in a long, long time. Worst thing that has happened to me in the last couple of years was probably the mushy broccoli I sent back the other day when I was here celebrating my birthday with my family.
Want some hints? 1) the specials are actually fairly interesting these days 2) clams casino are real good — not the chopped-​up kind, but the whole clam kind, with proper bacon, pepper and onion bits. 3) blue cheese dressing is home made and delicious, worth the up-​charge, and keep the extra to dip your French fries in. 4) veal saltimbocca
5) Filet Mignon 6) Wine list is modest and unpretentious but quite reasonably priced.
These are nice people. If you have a problem, ask nicely, and if the waiter happens to be gruff (it happens to the best places) then ask for Freddie or his son (forget his name) and let them know, they’ll make it right.
ps — I checked not good for kids because I don’t want to hear your little brats screaming while I’m trying to enjoy a quiet meal with my wife. If they’re good kids they’ll be right at home, though. (notice the question is «good for kids?», not «good for brats?» :)
Enjoy!

Review from 2 separate occasions eating at Freddie’s.
Freddie’s. The way that my GF had spoken about it (being a landmark in West Trenton) had me extremely excited. I thought that I was going to a hidden gem. Unfortunately, my gem turned out to be nothing more than a large Cubic Zirconia!
I am going to start with the most recent night (3÷11÷14) otherwise known as Mexican Night. Since my PKT days at Rider I have always called it «Taco Tuesday» so I was excited to try their «highly touted» Mexican menu. I ordered the Shrimp Burrito with a Napa slaw and chipotle mayo. My GF then proceeded to ask about the Tacos and was told that the $ 8 order was for two tacos and that they could be either beef, chicken or shrimp. She asked if she could have one of each and the surly waitress ABRULTLY said «NO»! Ok, she decided to go with the beef. The waitress than asked if she wanted hard or soft shell. My GF again asked if she could have one of each and AGAIN the waitress said «NO»!
Ok, REALLY!!! I can BARELY see a place having an issue of giving a customer one beef and one chicken taco but it would really be THAT much trouble to make one beef hard taco and one beef soft taco?!? To me that just reeks of arrogance by ownership. This was really a huge turnoff to me prior to my meal even coming.
Ok, it can’t get worse can it? Yes, yes it can. I got my HUGE burrito and was thoroughly impressed with the size. However size does NOT equal quality. I cut into my shrimp taco to see that it was filled with rock shrimp (you know the iddy biddy small ones that come places put on their salad). To me, rock shrimp is just COMPLETELY unacceptable. I would rather have less shrimp but a better quality in there. Had I known that they were rock shrimp I would have ordered the beef.
Oh, the beef. Yes, my GF ordered the beef tacos. How can I put this mildly… it had NO seasonings in it. I mean not even salt or pepper. To say that this was bland would be an understatement. Again, a HUGE portion of food but food that I really didn’t want to eat.
To sum it up, Mexican Night was a disaster when it came to our food.
The other time that I ate here I had the Veal Parmesan with pencil points. Again, huge portion, low on the flavor. The sauce was nice and thick but also lacked flavor. I wish they would have had SOME basil or oregano or something in there to kick it up a little bit.
I DO like the bartenders that work at Freddies though. Each time I had an older gentleman watching/​tending the bar and they were attentive, funny and engaging. The bartenders make this place tolerable.
Oh and do you want the cherry on top! We were watching the Flyers v. Devils at the bar and it got turned off… FOR THE HOME SHOPPING CLUB NETWORK! I am saying nothing more than that as I will leave you to draw your OWN conclusions as to the clientele that are there.
How do I sum up Freddie’s? Huge, bland portions with surly waitresses and great bartenders and the risk of having Philly sports turned off/​over to the HSN.

Always excellent food, been coming here since I was a kid. Great, friendly service too!

I don’t know why they say this place is kid friendly. Although my kids are well behaved and I am able to take my anywhere, The sign on the way into the dining room that smelled like urine, said please keep your children seated and behaved at all times, really turned us off. But we promised my daughter a steak for her 15^th birthday. We ordered two prime ribs that were so over cooked, that when we tapped our fork on them you could actually hear it. Could not even chew through it without tearing it with your hands. When we told the waitress, she said, «It’s an end cut, what do you want, thats what happens.» I have eaten dozens of end cut prime ribs in my life and never could you hear me eat and chew it. I was shocked. My other daughter and I ordered the chicken parm with spaghetti. The sauce tasted straight from a can of tomato paste, and he flat, flat, flat piece of chicken, tasted like fish. Like they use the same fryer. Thank God we don’t have fish allergies. They seriously needed to clean their oil. And yes, I know what bad oil tastes like I run a fryer for 9 months out of the year. The chicken fingers my nine yr old order, also tasted like fish and he only ate one. I can’t believe I brought a $ 28.95 London broil home for my dog to eat. He enjoyed it, but he also eats hair scrunchies and sticks. The service was so lousy and the waitress reaked of cigarette. There wasn’t anyone, but us, under the age of 75 and the restaurant was so out dated and the have some sort of air purifier in the middle of the entrance was very loud and strange. From the extremely poor greeting, we waited for almost five minutes in the entrance for a man to come up. To people that arrive after us, eating and leaving before us. To people staring at us even if my 8 yr old laughed at a conversation we were having, to the horrible smell of adult urine in diapers, it was bad, really bad. I was there five yrs ago. For a shower and had the chicken park an it wasn’t bad. Oh, I forgot, the spaghetti and angel hair pasta was so water logged that it actually had no flavor. The only thing that was good, and I refused to taste it, was my sons chicken with veggies in a wine sauce. My husband tasted it and he said it was just OK. There was Noone under 75 in there. So, if you have a child, or want to go to a restaurant where your child won’t be treated like garbage, or stared at, don’t go there. The night actually ruined my 15 yr olds birthday and she cried. Thanks. If I could give Freddie’s lower than a one star, I would. I am shocked that it is actually still opened. Would never, ever, ever go there again.

I heard this place used to be good but not anymore. To many other places around to bother going to Freddie’s. food was bad, service was worse.

Solid Italian food, enjoyed by regulars who were probably there for the Grand Opening.
The bar room is a treasure. The flat-​panel TVs represent the only nod to modern times; otherwise, you are in a time capsule from the early 60s. Just a great place to sit back and have a few.
All of the standard dishes are represented, and they will fill you up right. I’m a human trash disposal, and I can get at least two meals out of the Fettuccine Bolognese. The tomato pies are only available during the dinner hours, and are just a slight cut below the best Trenton has (or, sadly, had) to offer. You will not be disappointed.
Note: Bartenders do not take food orders. They will give you a menu and place setting, and a server will come around to take your order. You will also get two checks, one for bar, one for kitchen. I guess this is the way they did it in 1933. You can avoid this by getting a table in the bar area.

After living in Ewing for 10+ years and hearing all the rave about Freddies having great food, reasonable prices and being a good family place I decided I wanted to try it. We usually head over to Hamilton or near Oxford Valley Mall to eat because lets face it, most of Ewing Township is fast food or a bunch of Pizza Shops that call themselves «Italian Restaurants» My wife went to Freddies for a work retirement party a few years ago and said it was good, but she was never there as a restaurant patron. We did not realize they had specific «dinner hours» as it is not advertised and noted anywhere, we were shooting for a early dinner as we were out all day and our kids were hungry, we got there around 4:30 not realizing the restaurant part opened at 5pm, but they had seating in the bar area. Our waitress was a sweetheart but the place is ridiculously overpriced and the service was very slow (not our server’s fault she was great but was taking care of food service for the entire bar area while others stood around) Anyone who says the place is reasonable is smoking something, (even their bar menu looked overpriced.) The cheapest item on the kids menu is Spaghetti and meatballs for $ 9.50 and even if we could have gotten away with (1) order there is a $ 3.00 sharing charge. My wife and I looked at the menu with nothing under $ 20 (most items around $ 25 — $ 27)and both agreed we were not going to pay close to $ 100 for our family of 4 (2 small children) to eat in a bar that looks like 1974 with college football blaring in the background. We decided to order their «Amazing» Tomato Pie with Bruchetta and Onion Rings as appetizers since the Tomato Pie takes 20 – 25 mins to cook and there was no way we could get a hungry 3 and 6 yr old to sit for 25 mins. The Onion Rings were home made and fantastic, the Bruchetta was good, their «Amazing» Tomato Pie was ok, but the crust was rolled out uneven and not worth the $ 20 they charge for it. In the end the bill was around $ 35.00 ($ 42 with tip) with no booze, both kids each had a chocolate milk, my wife and I drank Ice water. For around half that price I could have gotten a similar meal at any of the 20+ pizza shops in Ewing.
In the end, I might go back if I am alone or with a buddy and feel like having a beer and burger or something from their bar menu for lunch one day. My wife and I said we may one day try it again together, but if so, not with the kids. A «Family Restaurant» it is not. I do not know many «Working Class people that would pay $ 9.50 for spaghetti and meatballs for a 3 year old.

how can i be first to review this place!!! another family favorite — used to come here with the grandparents, who also converted my dad into a fan (even after my parents divorced, my dad and stepmom would go there, run into my grandparents and wind up having dinner altogether. dysfunctional families, unite!)
Their fried chicken is AWESOME — they bill it as «honey dipped», but it doesn’t taste sweet — i think the honey just makes the batter crispier. The Prime rib is also great — always cooked perfectly, not overly salty or tough. Another little thing is the cinnamon apples they serve as a side — i can’t explain it, but they are maybe baked and SO TASTY! i’ve had almost everything on the menu at this point, and I can’t think of one thing that wasn’t good.
Freddie’s is also great for larger groups — a few years back my dad decided to take the whole family there for Christmas — a total of 12 people — and the staff was so accomodating and nice, even though we felt like a big group of loud noisy jerks (cause we are, i guess).