Jack’s Wife Freda
“The two baked eggs submerged in a green shakshuka served with challah toast was very light and clean to the taste with a tad of spiciness.”
“After so long of wanting to check out JWF, I finally went about two weeks ago.”
“The eggs Benny is on point, don't be alarmed at the color of the hollandaise sauce.”
Jack’s Wife Freda
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Jack's Wife Freda is a smokin' 10 compared to all the other basic brunches out there. Its Mediterranean dishes are on a league of their own. The fish a la plancha came with a delicious grilled salmon atop a bed of tasty kale salad. I'm not a kale person. I think kale is dumb. But this salad made a believer out of me. The real star here should be the chicken kebab–the moistest chicken kebab I've ever had. It teeters on the thin line between overly dry white meat and undercooked white meat–it's perfect. The only time I ever get chicken breast this moist is if I sous vide it myself for three days, but this is even better because someone else is doing it for me and I get it in 20 mins. The couscous it comes with is so fluffy and flavorful, while the green sauce is spicy but SO DARN ADDICTIVE.
If breakfast food is more of your thing, no worries. The avocado toast and pretty much any dish featuring eggs–like the Eggs Benedict with Beets are solid here. Yes, the wait is long and it can get very crowded, but if you try going on off-peak hours–I've never had a problem getting a table!
It was with no small amount of trepidation that I went to Jack's Wife Freda on Carmine. Despite the legendary status of this brunch spot my experience at the branch on Lafayette had been uncomfortable at best (the food was great though) so I was worried about another ear splitting experience.
I am happy to report that this experience was much better than my previous one. First off, my party was told we'd have about a 30-45 minute wait ahead of us, but thanks to some fast turnaround we were seated in 15 minutes! The hostess was very nice and seemed on point as she juggled no less than six parties waiting outside the restaurant.
We were seated in a comfortable table that was part booth and part chair. Looking around I think I prefer the layout of this branch much more. There are several booths for comfortable group seating. There are some small tables that are put together (necessitating the entire table moving to get up) but overall it felt more open. The decor was very similar with white walls, art on the wall and tasteful lighting.
Our waitress was very nice and answered questions without missing a beat. She even recommended an amazing cilantro/habanero based hot sauce to have with our meal that was *amazing* (think Pio Pio green sauce).
So what about the food? This time out I wanted to try something different so here's the rundown:
PERI-PERI CHICKEN WINGS
This was the perfect appetizer serving. Six wings fried perfectly and covered in a wonderful peri peri sauce (made of crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano, and tarragon). The wings were juicy and tasty, a perfect start.
MUSTARD SEED CRUSTED TOFU WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH
I wanted to go vegetarian for my entree and this was the perfect choice. Don't let the name fool you. There is a powerhouse of flavor in this dish! The tofu is nice and crisp on the outside and firm on the inside. The squash was seasoned perfectly. Each mouthful was filled with flavor. Even better the texture was perfect, not too squishy and not raw either.
MADAME FREDA (Pressed sandwich with duck prosciutto, cheddar béchamel,
gruyere & a sunny side up egg)
Comfort food, thy nam eis Madame Freda. This sandwich kind of has it all. The bread is crisp, but the center has a wonderful chew. The prosciutto and gruyere give you some serious salt but the egg and cheddar balance them out. From mouth feel to flavor this is one incredible powerhouse of awesome.
Of the two branches, this is the one I'll be sure to visit again in the future!
Fun girlie brunch spot
Quaint little place for brunch. We arrived at 12:30 prime brunch time on Sunday over Memorial Day wknd and the place was packed. We were aware of the horrendous waits but surprisingly there was no wait for two.
We had the Mediterranean breakfast, love the labneh cheese with pita bread although I wish the pita portions were bigger. Scrambled eggs were a-okay and the salad was very refreshing. Also tried the Orange blossom pancakes which were stacked three high and also very tasty. Would come back I were in the area!
We were seated pretty quickly for brunch on a Saturday afternoon. We were quoted a 30-40 min wait time, but I think it was only 20-ish mins.
The eggs Benedict were quite small, but the orange blossom pancakes were big and fluffy. The pancakes sounded more interesting than they were. Pancakes with orange marmalade and honey, instead of syrup. Filling, but not amazing.
I came here with two friends after they recommended we try this place. I had heard a few things about it, so I was excited to try it. I really didn't care for the food here at all. The only tasty thing I had was the mint lemonade, which was zesty and very fresh. I started off with the matzo ball soup, which was terrible. I normally LOVE matzo ball soup, but this version had so much dill in it, I literally couldn't taste anything else. It was almost as if they dumped dill into the soup and called it a recipe. For the table, we ordered the roasted cauliflower and the salt and pepper eggplant. Both were just OK, I wasn't really a fan of either dish. For dinner, I ordered the daily pasta, which was fettuccine in a tomato sauce with eggplant. This pasta dish was SO bland, it tasted like nothing. I didn't even see a speck of eggplant in the dish either. It was literally just pasta with a bland tomato sauce. The dessert menu is pretty small, so we decided to go elsewhere for dessert. After the disappointing food here, I wasn't about to spend more money on a lousy dessert. I was very unimpressed with this place and probably won't return- not worth the hype!
I'm not sure what took me so long to check out Jack's Wife Freda; however, I finally enjoyed a lovely brunch there this morning. The whole menu is filled with tempting options. I ordered their green shakshuka – it was refreshingly delicious. Although, I have to admit it's a little small (only two eggs – wish it came with three). Since I suspected it wouldn't be big enough, I ordered a side of duck bacon to go along with it. The duck bacon was incredible – a must try! My friend ordered the Madame Freda – which was also very good. In addition to tasty food, the service was friendly and the atmosphere was positive (the only downside was that it was loud!).
I am definitely looking forward to coming back for brunch – and I'd also like to check them out for dinner.
I've dined at Jack's Wife Freda on Lafayette a couple of times over the last few years. Although the food has been pretty good, it was never on the top of my list. We decided to try the Carmine Street location this past Saturday. After a 40 minute wait, we were seated in a back booth. It was extremely loud (high pitched sounds) and there were nats flying everywhere – not pleasant at all!
After taking our orders, our waitress completely forgot she took them and had come back a few minutes later to ask what we wanted again. One of the water glasses also had something floating in it, and when we had asked the waitress to replace it, she completely forgot and needed a second reminder.
My brother and I both got the Mediterranean breakfasts and an order of the grilled Haloumi. The labneh wasn't as creamy and cold as it should be and the Israel salad lacked flavor/dressing/color (an Israeli salad is usually colorfully vibrant with its green cucumbers and red cherry tomatoes). I do have to say that the Haloumi was thankfully very tasty – I liked the combination of the grilled cheese and warm sweet grapes.
I won't be going back to Jack's Wife Freda again – it just isn't good enough for a 40 minute wait! If you want a delicious Israeli inspired meal, head over to 12 Chairs nearby!