In this post we on a tour of Kitsilano, and it ended at Fred’s newest location. Originating in Sechelt, the have since moved to the mainland with one restaurant in West Vancouver and now this one on West 4th.
The decor is dressed up with a black and white marble bar and matching tiles under foot. We grabbed a seat within their “hot tub” shaped booth with leather cushions. This allowed us to fully engage in one another’s company and gave us a great view of their art deco light piece that centred the space.
We made it just in time for aperitivo hour with special pricing from 3-5pm daily, so started with some classic cocktails at $12 each. Spritz, margarita, and negroni. Wine and Lambrusco was also $12 a glass.
The following cocktails are what our group of six ordered.
The Fred’s Spritz with Aperol, Prosecco, Limoncello, and an orange wheel.
The Optimist with Bombay Sapphire gin, orange, lemon, egg white, orgeat, and orange blossom water.
Paloma with Cazadores tequila, grapefruit, lime, and soda.
Espresso Martini with Northern Keep vodka, Kahlua, and Cafe Orema espresso.
Negroni with Bombay Sapphire gin, Campari, and Noilly Prat Rouge.
As for food it was $5 off pizza and a couple of dollars off select appetizers for happy hour. Admittedly we all weren’t too hungry, so was happy to share.
The Burrata came with their house focaccia, salsa verde, pistachio, black pepper honey, and pickled summer squash salad. The creamy Burrata was delicious over the herbed bread. However, it was the Pickled summer squash that the table enjoyed most. It is also available as its own dish. Long strands of zucchini and yellow squash peeled into noodles. It was fun to eat all in one piece, with a sweet pickling seasoned with honey and pesto.
Their sandwiches are only available until 3pm so we snuck one in. The Prosciutto sandwich is prosciutto di parma, thinly sliced red onion, stracciatella, arugula, and olive oil; all sandwich neatly between two slices of their house focaccia. A mouthful best eaten fresh as served.
It was easier to share one of their pizzas, that Fred’s is known for. The Mortadella pizza is mortadella, leek cream sauce, roasted pistachio, balsamic, stracciatella, olive oil, and black pepper. A little on the soggy side due to the weight of it all. I appreciated the unique mix of texture and tastes that was mostly salty from the meat and sweet from the caramelized leeks.
Out of all that we had, the Mafaldine Zozzona was the most memorable with Italian sausage, guanciale, carbone crema, and tomato. This high in acid, tangy tomato based pasta is that I typically gravitate towards. All of it smothered in a heavy sauce for a texture closer to risotto.
Truthfully, we visited on a full stomach and didn’t really get an accurate feel of their food, so will have to go back hungry.
Fred’s West 4th Kitsilano
1873 W 4th Ave, Kitsilano, BC V6J 1M4
(604) 336-6269
fredsrestaurant.com
