Fred's Shanty Restaurant — Restaurant in New London

I’m a lifelong New Londoner who’s been coming to Fred’s Shanty for as long as I can remember. It used to be the spot with the best fries in town, high quality seafood, and reasonable prices. Since coming under new management in 2023, the quality of food and service has suffered significantly. I paid $10.50 today for the Monday Lunch Special…it was a thin, plain, frozen burger on an oversized bun—came with absolutely nothing on it—a handful of fries, and a small fountain drink. The owner says that they have not changed the original menu, including the distributor of their famous French fries…today was the first time they’ve had the OG fries in the last year, and they were dry, overcooked, and bland. They always ask how you want your burger cooked, but it legitimately does not matter because the patty is so thin and freezer burnt, they all come out overcooked and dry. I have tried most things on their menu, from the lobster roll to clam strips, fried pickles, all of their sandwiches and specials…nothing is good or of good quality. Everything is frozen, nothing is fresh, and the fry cooks have clearly not been trained properly.

In the last 8 months, they’ve added a TON of food to the menu—pizza, calzones, wings, burgers, seafood, sandwiches, so many different appetizers (which again are all frozen). When a menu is this large…the quality of the food truly suffers. Not only that, but it takes away from the atmosphere of the restaurant and dilutes its focus on quality ingredients.

Service and cleanliness is a whole other issue. In my time sitting at Fred’s today, I saw a cook put his fingers in his mouth and then continue to touch food and cooking surfaces, the “assistant manager” did not know how to work the register and left a line of people waiting to order until the ice cream counter worker could step in (which is now in a separate building), and even just looking through the order window…the floors are dirty, the walls are dirty, the cooking surfaces are caked in grease.

I am not one to complain, and I don’t think I’ve ever left a review on this platform—certainly not a negative one. But as a hometown patron, someone who has frequented this establishment since childhood, I am so sad to say that I will not be going back. My experiences at Fred’s have been nothing but disappointing since Spring of 2023. I hope it improves…but I’m not...

I have came to this location for years now that’s it’s under new owners it definitely went downhill. Me and my family went to eat here my sisters chicken sandwich was half way frozen… the worst was we went to have ice cream that they own right next to it that you to be a pizza spot …the owners wife as i was told her name is Tulley was the rudest ever!! I asked if she could please change her gloves because she cleaned the counter with the gloves went to the sink n ran the disposable gloves under the water(with no soap)….she then told me her hands was clean she washed them i said “ no u ran the gloves under water only that’s why your gloves are wet “we literally watched her the sink is in clear view she took the gloves off and took her small child from the back and walked out. She did make part of our order before and it was wrong the guy realized and told her and she argued with him it was fine …i was skeptical about even getting ice cream because how dirty it was in there the toppings was everywhere all out and the floor was disgusting. I expressed to the guy in there how rude and unsanitary that is he said sorry and he agreed and stated that’s his wife (who i found out is the owner afterward named azul not sure of spelling ) we then was over charged by one ice cream which he had to fix when i realized it. He went and sat in the back as we ate our ice cream. I can’t believe how she reacted we had 3 kids with us so i don’t think it’s a issue to asked her to change gloves when u literally are wiping counters down with the same gloves that’s...

Used to stop here daily especially on our way to and from Ocean Beach to grab food and ice cream.

We still stop for the ice cream. It's still delicious and still affordable! Food wise, I've tried to like it; I want to like it but prices have gone up and quality has gone down and the new food they offer isn't any better. The french fries are thin and hard, their chicken tenders are thin and hard. The burgers & chicken sandwich is okay. They have scallops now but they are saturated in oil to the point they're soggy. The potatoes salad comes in a tiny 3oz cup and is like $3. Straws, forks, spoons and napkins are never stocked and we always have to ask for them. Condiment table looks unkempt. Tables are oddly cramed together making it difficult to walk through and it's a uncomfortable. The whole experience is disappointing.

The staff is very nice and friendly which makes this review hard. Although the young girl with dark hair is nice as well, she looks and acts like she doesn't even really want to be there. She slides you her tray like she hates her job and I've watched her grab ice cream cones and just crumble them in her hands like she hates life. Unfortunately at this time I can't recommend Fred's Shanty and would rather go to...