Fred's — Restaurant in West Vancouver

I rarely leave a negative review, and I a doing so, hoping the owners of the restaurant reads it to be aware of how their business is being handled. We have been going to this restaurant for any years and we always loved the food and services they offered. Unfortunately the last time we made a reservation, the person at the entrance whom was a young lady and mentioned she was their NEW manager, was extremely rude, unprofessional and impolite. She made us wait for 10 minutes while being on the phone and not even acknowledging we were standing and waiting for her, after she finished her phone call, she did not even apologise for making us wait. Then she offered us a table at the Café Crema, We mentioned that we made a reservation at Freds and we like to be seated there please, she stated we don't have any tables! Even though there were 6 tables empty! When we pointed out to her that there are 6 tables empty, she stated they made a booking and reservation for those! When we pointed out that we also made a reservation 3 weeks ago as well, she stated we can not offer a table to you here and only can offer you a table at the other section, while being very rude in her tone. So we decided to leave and never go there. It is such a shame that such a wonderful restaurant, with good food, hires such an unprofessional and inexperienced person to manage their business which treats their local and loyal customers in such horrible way. We will never go there again, neither any of our friends, until this new socalled manager...

Food was okay. We ordered three appetizers and four mains. Our server (Anton) was so kind, accommodating, and overall excellent. The tall blonde woman who seemed to be overseeing things was not.

We asked our waiter if it was possible to do 3 affogatos for dessert; just a small scoop of vanilla ice cream with an espresso shot. We were happy to pay whatever it may cost. After checking, we were told the serving would be a large size each. We didn’t want large bowls of ice cream and asked if it was possible for a single order to then just be portioned into 3 small cups as affogato is normally small in size. Again our server was so kind to do this for us. However the blonde woman stood with him at a station about 5ft from our table and we heard her telling him off not to do this/split a dessert again. She came to our table visibly annoyed and condescendingly told us that they don’t split things (other desserts I of course understand… but a scoop of ice cream? lol…) and that it was our “lucky day.” Wow. She held out three spoons at face level and I awkwardly took them from her hand. She could have easily just told us they don’t do affogato and left it at that, instead of this supremely weird interaction.

Our bill including tip was nearly $250. There are many places to eat in Vancouver, so providing a positive and comfortable experience should be priority for a business. The sour and hateful attitude left a bad taste and we won’t be back for this reason.

Again… servers were great!...

West Van needed a spot like this for the better part of 25 years. It's tight and cozy, music is every tune you love to hear...., conversations are everywhere, service is warm and consistent, all employees are knowledgable, Italian menu bistro style and just killer- have tried every single item except the Duck. (that goes for the pizza too- mushroom/ arugula is my fav! ) New mgmt started about 6 weeks ago and although a bumpy first couple days - I would say things are right back to the vibe prior to the change- less turbulent, more consistent and even flowed evenings. I'll be transparent and say my husband is the bartender--- which means I'm there a lot, 2/3 times per week. It's a cozy, noisy, energetic place with fantastic food and wine. The bar is a smattering of locals and visitors and EVERYONE talks to EVERYONE! Are there sometimes whoopsies? Of course, but most, if not all are met with grace and let's fix that.... New manager David is one of my beloved favs from 'West', if any of you went there before a performance at The Stanley theatre, or read his articles on Mixology- he's Vancouver's restaurant Guru He's working is operational magic and ensuring Fred's is here for the long haul. January is busy and that is saying a lot! I'm personally a fussy patron of the restaurant industry. I want an experience, not just Cache Pepe and a glass of Cab/Sav.... and this place delivers!...