Fred's Downtown Philly — Restaurant in Carrollton

My wife and I tried this location three times in 8 years and I must say, I am always disappointed, so I think this is it for us in Carrollton. Three strikes and you are out. We first tried Fred’s Downtown Philly at the Plano Store at 2229 W 15th St. My wife is Vietnamese and is a bread lover (Banh Mi). She fell in love with Philly cheesesteaks that day in 2015. We walked in and the cook is singing Opera. The place is done in Green and White for the Philadelphia Eagles, and you get the only real Philly Cheesesteak in the entire metro area, and we have tried them all. My wife asked why is this so much different than anyone else’s Philly? And the lady behind the counter said, “Griddled beef with cheese is easy to do. But a true Philly, is all about the bread. We have our bread flown in from Philadelphia. It is that important.” We became fans big time that day. But there is something about this location in Carrollton that always is eschewed. The first time we tried it the AC was out, and the Ice Machine was out of service. So, no cold drinks, the restaurant was not clean, and it was very hot. They had a bad day, I will give them that one, but a smart manager would have stayed closed. The second time we tried it the place was cleaner, but not clean. Even the sidewalk going into the place is nasty. The ice machine was working but the fountain drink server was not and there was no brewed tea. So, no drinks again. Today we walked in, the drink box was completely empty with only bottled water and Sprite left cold. The ice machine / fountain seemed to work but there was a mountain of drinks piled in front of it at Lunch Time, which made it hard to access the fountain at all. And still no iced tea. I don’t care if you are trying to duplicate a Philly Restaurant, this is Texas. The next thing to water is Brewed Iced Tea. So inexpensive to have and you make about 98% profit on the sale of it. Worse to me is the fact you are given this big sandwich and fries, and you are issued one napkin per person. There are no napkins / paper towels to be had in the whole Restaurant unless you ask for more at the order pickup counter. Then to add the icing on the cake, the Bread has been changed. My wife tasted it the minute she bit into the Philly Cheesesteak. Even I noticed the difference. They now taste like every other place in town that makes Philly’s. I have not tried the old location again in a while. It is not convenient for me since I retired. I will see if they have forsaken the original Philly, by changing the bread. But this location is officially off my list of places to go. It is always a disaster to go here. Three stars, only for the food. Until further notice I recommend the...

This is by far the best Philly cheesesteak in the DFW area, & really the best one you’ll find from Lubbock to Shreveport & every place in between. Cheesesteaks are my favorite food & I’ve literally tried every place that serves one in that area, & there’s nowhere that even comes close to being on the same level as Fred’s. It may very well be the best in Texas & probably surrounding states. There used to be a hole in the wall place in SE Houston that was comparable, which is the place that originally got me hooked on cheesesteaks, but it’s been 30 years or so since I’ve been there & I don’t know if it’s still open. I’ve had the ones in Philadelphia too, Geno’s and the other place. That’s been 15-20 years ago, but I honestly think Fred’s is better. I hear those “original” places in Philly have turned corporate since then and they aren’t as good as they used to be.

Can’t go wrong with beef or chicken, but we usually prefer the beef because it tastes so good it’s hard to describe. They use high quality ingredients, import a special bread, meat, cheese & onions, cooked to perfection, steamed with the cheese, grease soaks into the bread, wrapped in a foil paper that keeps it steaming hot for over an hour. The way they cook them captures all of the flavor and the thing literally just melts in your mouth. It’s as tender as can be, not chewy or tough like most other places, seasoning is spot on and it’s definitely not dry.

On top of the excellent food, Fred is a really nice guy, still works the store in Carrollton pretty much every day (which is the one I usually make a point to visit when I’m in the DFW area). If it’s not during the rush, he will usually take the time to sit down and talk with you. It’s a really interesting story about how he got started and grew his business into what it is now. I highly recommend introducing yourself and asking him about it if you have the opportunity, and again if they’re not too busy.

Bottom line, if you like Philly cheesesteaks, I can guarantee you will love this place and will not be disappointed. It’s so hard to find great food nowadays, with most restaurants being corporate stores serving low quality food from a commissary that’s pre-prepared so be they just throw it in a pot of boiling water or microwave it. This place is not that and is really a breath...

I've been going to this location for a while now and all I can say is deliciousness. I can't thank my friend enough for recommending this place to me. Been a few years that I've been looking for good Philly cheesesteaks around the Dallas area and it was nothing but disappointment after disappointment until I came to Fred's.

I've heard that not all Fred's are legitimate Fred's, but this one is supposed to be one of two legitimate Fred's locations. But on to my thoughts.

The Food

Tried both the cheesesteak and cheesesteak with mushrooms (on different occasions). Very well cooked and tasty. Even better with a bit of the house sauce. For my taste, the best cheesesteak I've had so far in Dallas. But don't forget about the fries. Crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside. And they are the thin fries which I prefer.

My friend had the pizza cheesesteak and he really enjoyed it. I must admit it looked really good and will be my next order when I go there next time.

Also I must add that their "real" sugar fountain drinks are icing on the cake. Don't order bottled drinks, you'd be doing yourself a disservice.

Service

You order, pick up your food, and you clean after yourself. So really it's not a full service restaurant. Where they do shine is how friendly the staff is. They're more than happy to chat with you and of course love hearing that you enjoyed their food. Nice people.

Overall

Best cheesesteaks I've had in Dallas so far and I'll be going there regularly for as long as...