Fred's — Restaurant in Sydney

Fred's x Max Coen | Vivid Chef Series: A Culinary Symphony in Sydney

Nestled in the heart of Sydney, Fred's collaborates with Max Coen to present the Vivid Chef Series, an extraordinary culinary experience that dances between innovative flavors and sophisticated presentation. This review delves into the multi-course journey that promises to tantalize every sense.

The evening commenced with a delightful crab, pumpkin & sea urchin rosti. The rosti was perfectly crisp, contrasting beautifully with the delicate sweetness of the pumpkin and the rich, briny notes of sea urchin—a harmonious start to the meal.

Following this was the lettuce heart, bonito crudo, quince & pine nut. The freshness of the lettuce heart paired seamlessly with the delicate bonito crudo, while the quince added a subtle tartness, and the pine nuts brought a satisfying crunch, elevating this dish to a refreshing palate cleanser.

The venison tartare, celeriac & smoked eel was a revelation. The tartare was expertly seasoned, with the celeriac providing a crisp texture and the smoked eel adding a smoky depth that lingered pleasantly on the palate.

One of the evening's highlights was the smoked Living Earth Farm vegetables, sheep's milk labneh & herbs. The vegetables were vibrant and smoky, complemented by the creamy, tangy labneh and fresh herbs, creating a dish that was both rustic and refined.

The southern calamari, chestnut hot sauce & barley ponzu was a masterclass in balance. The calamari was tender, the chestnut hot sauce offered a unique, earthy heat, and the barley ponzu provided a touch of umami that tied everything together.

The fried rock lobster, game broth & wild mushrooms was an indulgent delight. The lobster was perfectly fried, maintaining its succulent texture, while the game broth added a rich, savory depth, and the wild mushrooms contributed an earthy complexity.

Moving to the mains, the wood fire grilled wagyu beef was a triumph. Cooked to perfection, the beef was juicy and tender, with a smoky char that highlighted its natural flavors.

The Skull Island tiger prawns & lobster béarnaise was a luxurious treat. The prawns were plump and succulent, while the lobster béarnaise was rich and buttery, creating a dish that was nothing short of decadent.

The puntarelle, bitter leaves & winter citrus provided a refreshing interlude, with the bitterness of the greens balanced by the bright, zesty notes of winter citrus—a perfect segue into the final courses.

The Dorian potatoes were a comforting side, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, providing a satisfying contrast to the more complex dishes.

Dessert was a sublime feijoa gelato, passionfruit & marigold. The feijoa gelato was refreshingly tangy, the passionfruit added a tropical sweetness, and the marigold petals offered a floral finish that left a lasting impression.

In conclusion, Fred's x Max Coen's Vivid Chef Series is an exquisite culinary journey that showcases the brilliance of seasonal ingredients and innovative pairings. Each dish is meticulously crafted, offering a symphony of flavors that are sure to leave diners enchanted. This is a dining experience not to be missed for any food...

5* doesn't have to be a perfect experience, and Fred's isn't perfect (at the super high level). But it is damn good. On the imperfect side; the arrival team were a little less than totally "on it", but well meaning. The stools in the bar are way more comfy than those in the kitchen table. The fish dishes were very simply created. Now, honouring these 2 great fish, John dory and Murray cod simply is a good thing. But clarified butter with a few tiny capers and even fewer lemon fillets could really use a wow herb, or essence, or vegetable. The dory cooked whole in a cage, gets evenly cooked, but doesn't get the full flavour value of the wood fired oven. Also, the crowd here may be as precious as "legally blonde", which is why the fish is filleted for you. Problem is, to get it to the stage where the kitchen can cleanly pull it from that which helps it swim, they have to cook it fully to the bone. This means that this grand fish, cannot possibly get the deft treatment it deserves, and the sublime Murray cod gets. Sublime as the cod was, serving it in a pool of buerre blanc (sake? Spill it next time ;) and simple tatsoi and kohlrabi is good..I mean, it's lovely. And I'm not saying take it to long chim powerhouse flavours, but a bit more complexity would take it to the level deserved. Danielle needs to eat the salad greens next door at saint Peter; they leave hers at the starting line, with a flooded engine. Speaking of the positives, they are many and varied. The mignonette with the oysters would make bocuse resurrect. The tagliatelle is literally perfect; complex and wipe the plate tasty. Similarly the quince salad is a triumph of imagination and execution. The bread is even somehow as good as the oil and butter it comes with. The potatoes make me want to go and build an oven that puts out twice the heat of my euro-perior bog standard box at home. The advantage of the kitchen seats is that you can see what a bucket of clarified butter can do for the Dutch cream spud. They're as well matched as Charles and Camilla, but with loads more personality. In fact, the spuds as monarchs would re-establish the global monarchy. The chocolate tart has the texture of gently gelatinous silk, and just enough scalded cream profile for interest. The shell is card like, but likely needed for the cradling of said gel silk. The wine list is as flexible as a circus contortionist. The team seem like the people you wished you'd had as neighbours, until you ask a question, upon which they reveal super human knowledge and care. The room is just bliss to be in. Danielle is another example of what Justin gets so right. Somehow he lured her from chez panisse to our little town, and treats her so well that she stays....

the worst service ever. we arrived 45 min before our reservation we knew we would have to wait at the bar. it was our first time at Fred’s. so we walked in and continued on our way we didn’t see any host so we were passing the bar and the bartender stops us and instead of greeting us he says – do you have a reservation? the host or the manager arrives and in the same situation instead of a nice greeting he talks to a waitress first about some problem in front of us, she serves us and we waited at the bar for our table to be ready we ordered two hot chocolates which took a while to arrive and when they arrived they were lukewarm not hot, we called the waitress to please change them and she was very busy no one came to the table so I had to take them to the bar and ask for some hot chocolates again after 45 minutes the table was ready and when we sat down we received our hot chocolates so to get our hot chocolates we had to wait more than 40 minutes. Already at the table the waitress who served us was very good at explaining the menu and giving her recommendations (by the way, the tables were very close to each other, I had to enter very carefully so as not to touch the tables of the people next to us with my butt) we placed our food and drink order, the food arrived on time and again the drinks took a long time, we wanted to wait to eat the oysters along with our Chandon but we had to ask the waitress why our drinks hadn't arrived? We had ordered a while ago and when they arrived I found it very strange why the bubbles we ordered were served in a Riesling glass which looked exaggeratedly little, anyway the food was very tasty. We had already pre-ordered a special dessert, it was my 30th birthday and my husband put a note on the reservation for the dessert to arrive with a candle and/or written happy birthday, but we were totally ignored. My husband is a pastry chef and we wanted to see the dessert menu to order something else, which was never offered to us by anyone. We had no more table service, we had to ask for more water and get up to ask for our bill and pay. We didn't even receive a "thank you" or a "how was everything?" It was a really bad experience, I don't recommend it, I would never go back to that place. I left there very disappointed, and being my birthday you expect a good experience and it was...