I had lunch at Fred's--specifically, the seasonal salad, which sounded good from the menu description (with spinach, cheese,arugula, apples, jicama, radishes and brussel sprouts). If there were brussel sprouts, they must have been microscopic, and the jicama and apples were a few very thin pieces. Arugula was sparse, as was the cheese. It was mainly a bunch of spinach with a few shreds of this and that. Plus it is $13, which is a lot for a bunch of spinach and not much else. I was very disappointed. The area between Evanston and Highland Park is not a great one when it comes to restaurants, but there must be better than this! Boring, overpriced food. Will not go back and do not recommend. read more

I went to Fred's Garage for dinner with my daughter about a month ago and we had a great time! We had the cheese curds and we thought they were yummy (less breaded than others I've had). She had the chicken and thought it was great. I had the salmon and it was unique and delicious. Our server was absolutely outstanding and recommended the apple tart dessert and it was yummy. Love the decor and had a terrific experience overall! read more

No idea how this place gets a 4/5 Star from anyone. Food is Medicore at best...over priced...drink pours are very weak. Burger was ok..fries were undercooked. Friend had shrimp tacos..bland no taste. A few drinks total bill over $100. Included 2 apps. Cheese curds were terrible...wings were ok. read more

Excellent food, service & atmosphere. The outdoor patio is very pleasant. My wife had the salmon and I had the hamburger and we were both extremely satisfied with our meals. This is a welcome addition to Winnetka. read more

Went here for lunch and was presently surprised. Don't be fooled by the name, the food was delicious and the outdoor patio is adorable. I got the grilled cheese with avocado and bacon added. It has a thin layer of grilled, crispy cheese around the sourdough bread which made it even more delicious. We also had the spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer, which also was amazing. Would definitely recommend! read more

Great time at Fred's. It was our families first time at the new place and the place was packed. Server was super nice. The burger was a hit with my teen and my daughter gave the pasta a "10"-which never happens. This place is a game changer for the community. And since we live so close-we will be regulars for sure! read more

I have to say I was so dissapointed in Fred's Garage. We were excited to see it open and raced over there for dinner. We walked in and it was freezing cold and not lighted for dinner but rather a school room. Needless to say, there was no ambience. It got worse from there. Our server was disinterested and seemed frustrated when I asked him questions about the menu choices. We were his only table. My salad for 12.95 approx. was a bowl of lettuce with a few beans. There are 2 or 3 dressings to choose from. It was a bad experience. read more

We were thrilled with our first dining experience at Fred's garage. The kids love the kids menu items, our waiter Patrick R was very friendly and helpful, the food was all delicious, the drinks were great. Definitely will be regulars. Has a nice big open bar with TVs. Nice outdoor sitting area with bags and fire pits. read more

Been back several times since my last review and Fred's definitely deserves an update! The patio is so great; don't miss an opportunity to dine out there while the weather is nice. Menu has been tweaked and servers welcome changes to standard options. Service was excellent last night even though the place was packed! read more

This place is awesome. I've been to Ten Mile in Evanston many times so I had high expectations of Fred's. Fred's totally hit the mark. The food is high quality and the drinks too. The space is unique and the outdoor area is amazing--can't wait till it's warm enough to enjoy it. What a great addition to the area. read more

Man, what happened? First time I went I had the burger and I was impressed. For Winnetka (where the food is mediocre at best) it was clear they were trying to imitate good griddle burgers like Au Cheval downtown. It was no au cheval burger but I'll take a cheap knockoff- still really good! And the fries were also real good- crispy, salty, and hot. And then I went tonight. Maybe they hired a C-grade chef on weeknights? I ordered a banh mi and it was laughable. It looked gross. I gave it the benefit of the doubt. it tasted gross. And it had elementary school-grade cafeteria soggy French fries. What a bummer- hoping this place can step it up and this was an off night. read more

I had been looking forward to trying this place for about a year because the setting looked cool. Just went there with a party of three at about 2 or 230 pm on a Saturday and were seated outside. We were given waters and menus. Then we waited at least 15 minutes while approximately 10 employees (seemed to be a combination of servers, bussers, "hosts", and maybe the owner) walked around without anyone ever approaching us for even a drink order. The guy that had given us waters was sitting at the bar eating his own meal. It's really hard to wrap my head around why on earth we weren't taken care of, seeing as how there was probably about a 1:1 staff to customer ratio at the time. We finally decided to just get up and leave and while my wife and daughter went to the car, I walked inside for a moment hoping to tell someone, ideally the host /manager/owner why we were leaving. There were about 6 employees walking around around me without any customers in the immediate vacinity, yet none could be bothered to even make eye contact with me. I walked back outside and one guy bussing tables I think realized I was trying to look for someone (maybe he had noticed that we weren't being served) and he sort of pointed to the far interior corner (perhaps indicating that the manager was over there). I asked him rhetorically if they were open for business, said we had been waiting over 15 min and hadn't even been offered a drink while they had 10 people walking around. He and the other staff members who only now paid any attention to me just sort of all stood in silent stupidity as I walked away to my car. And they wanted $16 for a grilled cheese sandwich haha. They wish in a million years I'd come back. Never again. I give them til next summer til they're out of business after reading some of these other reviews. Truly ridiculous. What really sucked is that we drove over 20 minutes each way from Highland Park skipping our local favorites while very hungry to finally try this place, and thus had to go back home to a reliable restaurant that treats people with hospitality and respect. read more

The salad Niçoise is the version; salad put together haphazardly and missing key ingredients like eggs. Do not buy it if you want a salad Niçoises. Ambiance and service gets the 2 stars but do not make feel that I had a good meal. read more

Meh. We were so excited to have a new restaurant in Winnetka. The outdoor area is fabulous, and the overall concept is clever. But while the four of us loved our appetizers, the entrees left a lot to be desired. Only the chicken and biscuits were good, and the pasta was terrible. Very odd flavors. Probably best to come for apps and a drink or a burger. Too bad! read more

Boy, am I rooting for this place. Great layout, great cocktails and wine and beer selection, eager and helpful staff. We have been here twice and found the food underwhelming. The problem is SEASONING!!! (I am a trained chef so I know something about this) The meatballs, shishito peppers and gem salad were very good but almost everything else we tried needed something. All my life, I have avoided putting additional salt on food, but I was doing the shaky shake on almost everything. My wife's steak, though perfectly cooked at medium rare, (an accomplishment since places around here seem to have trouble with this,) was apparently taken directly from the package and plopped on the grill. Some kind of rub, simple sauce or even herb butter would have rescued this orphaned piece of meat. The chicken and biscuit had good flavor but was kind of gloppy. On staff recommendation, I ordered the gnocchi with vegetables and bolognese sauce. Again, everything was perfectly cooked, but the sauce added nothing to the dish, prompting another shaky shake. Making a flavorful bolognese sauce is easy, and absolutely critical to something like this. Overall, I think the menu is a little all over the place. They need to tweak the menu and focus on the food if they don't want to become another "bar food" restaurant. I think they are aiming higher than that--good for them. On a positive note, the place was packed on both visits, which shows that folks around here are hungry for good places. As I said, I really am rooting for them to succeed. To be fair, it is a new place that needs some time to work things out and we did not have some of the things others liked, so our experience was limited. I would also add that we liked the environment very much and will certainly go back. read more

It's a nice Monday night and we thought we'd go to Fred's to sit outdoors. We were just seated when a bigger table opened up behind us. My husband asked the hostess if we could switch to give us more room. She informed us she could not to reserve bigger tables for bigger parties. It's 7:30 pm on a Monday night. We decided to leave due to her unwillingness to accommodate or offer another option. I will always think about this when choosing where to dine. We will never be back! It's unfortunate since we've been there before and enjoyed the food but I'll always remember how she made me feel! read more

Kind of meh. I'm a huge fan of Ten Mile House and have been very happy with everything there. I really like the environment here and the service was great. The food? It was like the dumbed down version of TMH fare. Among the three of us, we had the pork meatballs, the shishedo peppers, the fried chicken, the meatloaf and the gnocchi. Everything was well prepared and totally bland. Underseasoned. Unremarkable. Boring. I'll give it a month or so and go back to see if it changes, but at this point it's my third or fourth favorite restaurant in a town with one good restaurant. read more

Really cool place. Even better in the summer-great patio. Grilled cheese was really good, not quite as good as Ten Mile House. Ahi appetizer very good. Will go back! read more

Cheese curds fantastic. Cheese steak fantastic. Chicken and biscuits fantastic. Server was wonderful. Even brought my husband a dessert on the house after finding out it was his birthday. Warm and friendly atmosphere which was great on a cold, Sunday evening. I can imagine this place is hopping in the summer. Really neat looking outdoor space. Would definitely recommend and in fact, I already have. read more

Fantastic! Perfect for a casual dinner. The wings are the best and the double burger is colossal. Great choice for outside dining as well.

We had a wonderful dinner at Fred's Garage last night. The food was delicious. Fried Chicken, Meatloaf, Chicken Torta Sandwich were all outstanding. The Artichoke and Goat cheese appetizer was very tasty too. We loved the new additions to the menu. Our previous visit we had the Egg Rolls, Tacos and Salmon, all were delicious too. Great atmosphere! Fun place! read more

Such a fantastic rosee wine list and great/interesting food. Plus ambience can't be beat on a nice warm day!

The food was bland and expensive for what it was. Also, the service wasn't great. It might have been a bad day because I have friends who have gone before and loved it. But based on my experience today, I would not go back. read more

We wanted to like this place, but they're not ready to run a restaurant (maybe they never will be?). Poor service. Inattentive and pretty much unconcerned about it. We struggled to get a menu and to get them to take our drink order. No one ever came back to get our food order (45 min). When I finally stood up in hopes of getting the check, I had to get another wait staff to get it. Maybe the staff is not trained; not really their fault. But we quietly and politely told the manager about it as we left. His response only was that they're busy. Well, I thought, this is a restaurant, there are open seats and no waiting, and frankly serving customers is what you're supposed to do (I've worked at restaurants). We will never go back and we don't recommend it. There are plenty of other restaurants that would love to have business. Do not waste your time or money on Fred's. read more

I had an excellent experience at Fred's! The waiter was extremely courteous and accommodating. Had the cheese curds for an app. Ordered the cheese steak and my friend had the meatloaf. Thank you for a wonderful meal and an awesome ambiance! read more

A wonderful addition to Winnetka! We have been a few times now and every experience has been better than the last. Our first experience was opening night, when you expect a hiccup or two, BUT the service was impeccable and friendly, food was delicious and vibe was energetic! The Tuna poke is a must! The salmon, burger and chicken sandwich were all delicious! Have been back several times for Tuna poke and burger! read more

Welcome addition to the neighborhood! After 4 visits, I highly recommend for a casual spot to get together with friends. The shrimp tacos are my favorite, although I have noticed variation in preparation depending on who's in the kitchen - three times excellent, once much less robust and felt a bit skimpy on the contents. Staff have all been consistently friendly and attentive. Can't wait for the outdoor seating to be opened. Kid-friendly. read more

Tasty food, great service and my kids even liked it! Nice beer selection. Has a lively atmosphere, especially for a suburban restaurant.

We really enjoyed the meatloaf (never thought I would be uttering or writing those words). The service was good and our friendly busser, Andrew, made helpful menu recommendations and was especially suave throughout the evening. read more

I ordered a salad here and it was the worst salad I have ever tasted. They used a dressing with no flavor and a bitter flavor, so I could only taste leaves. Not good. However, I did return my meal and got a new meal and they did not charge me for my salad. They have great service. So I ended up getting a cheese burger and it was outstanding delicious. I recommend getting the cheese burger. The fries were not the best, they were okay. read more

I've been waiting forever for a new fun place to open in Winnetka! Fred's is exactly what I've been waiting for! The food is amazing, the service is fantastic, and the place is adorable!! I sat at the bar and was served by Brad. He was fun and witty, and was very attentive to my husband and me. The poke appetizer is one of the best things I've ever eaten! Overall it was a wonderful experience, and I will absolutely be back again! read more

Very disappointing. I ordered a beer which the server told me they ran out of so she suggested two others and I picked one. Unfortunately, I really disliked it so when she came back I told her I'd like to order something else. She said fine but they wouldn't take it off the bill. I ordered another beer and waited a long time for food. We ordered the fried chicken because is was written up in North Shore Magazine feast issue as an amazing dish. Sadly, the chicken was dry and the coating was so hard it was like chicken coated in rock candy. Your could not bite it or stab it with a fork. The salad was tasty, the fried chicken wasn't great but I couldn't get over the fact that the management cared more about $8.00 than having a customer be happy with their restaurant experience and want to come back. This isn't a destination restaurant. It's a local place and without creating an environment where people want to return they are really doing themselves a disservice. read more

The service here was pretty good. The beer selection was really good. First place in a while that I have seen them carry three Flyods Zombie dust so I was really happy. but that is pretty much where the good ended. I took my mom out for her birthday, and she got the chicken club sandwich, and the chicken wasn't sliced, it was just a chicken breast and could have been sliced thinner. I had the fried chicken, and the breast was cooked pretty well. but i sliced into the chicken thigh and it was RAW. It was disgusting.The server was nice, and took it back to the kitchen, and they cooked up a new one for me. the one thing that was not that good about how they handle it was they did not comp it. I know when I've been to a restaurant, and something goes wrong they will comp the dish or at least a dessert or something. We also ordered the brownie, and the brownie was really good, but they gave you the smallest scoop of ice cream ever. the last thing i would say was, we went to dinner around 6:00 so they were only open for about 1.5 hours and they were already out of the pasta dish.. Living in town, so close to this restaurant, I wish it was better, so I would visit it more often. read more

So disappointed in the service at Fred's. Food has been great and we have been super loyal once a week customers. But I'm absolutely done going there, due to their infuriating "reservation" system. This is the second time I've tried to make a reservation on a Friday night. I call, and am told that they aren't taking reservations. I then go over with my family to wait first come first serve. Tonight, there were four complete open tables that could have accommodated my family. I was told there was a 40 minute wait to sit. No one appeared to me waiting in front of us. I asked about the empty tables and I was told they were for "reservations." I told them I TRIED to make a reservation and was told they weren't taking any. Just blank stares from the hostess. Either have a reservation system or don't, but they seem to flip flop back and forth. Needless to say we walked out. They make a good burger and cocktails, but I will be bringing my business to other establishments who treat their loyal customers more fairly. read more

We Had never been so we went for lunch. I believe tat the server was doing his best but the obvious lack of training and the snails pace of service for simple dishes was an annoyance. Ordered cream of chicken and rice soup which lacked the ingredients to live up to it's name and had lemon juice that tasted peculiar. I ordered the shrimp roll which was a profound disappointment. A decent bun cut in three with a dissected shrimp in each section. No celery or scallion at all. Roulade sauce not enough to be tasted inside the role. Are you kidding me? as well have had a slice of wonder bread. Fries not bad but ketchup on the table would be better than flagging the server. They can keep the slaw with cilantro. My friend had the shrimp taco and there was a shrimp in each taco. I recognize that the rents aren't cheap but these items were very overpriced given the less than pedestrian nature of the food. We only had $20's and had to go. The server never returned and we had to leave an extra $8 over the 20% for something that your 10 year old could have done. Won't be back with so many good places in the area. Train the staff and get a chef. read more