![Gnocchi gorgonzola. Picture by Elesa Kurtz
Gnocchi gorgonzola. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/5de3ad1c-c045-4290-beff-609e82546cdd.jpg/r0_0_3997_2656_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It says it right there on the website. "Warning. This is a bad place for a diet." And boy did they nail it in one.
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If I am anything to go by, Chez Freds' warning just makes people want to dine there more.
It's a rainy evening in Canberra - a sign that winter is just around the corner - so what better way to cosy up and settle in with a couple of bowls of pasta?
That's what we knew we wanted heading into the Braddon Italian restaurant, but maybe we shouldn't have been so set in our ways. As you're about to find out, as delicious as everything was at Chez Freds, we did order more than our fair share of carbs.
I have to say, it felt like a sign that I should come to Chez Freds for this week's review. In the past month, I've had plenty of people telling me how good their dinner was there, and of course, I wanted to be part of the action.
Just one look at the Chez Freds menu and I'm intrigued. There's enough of the classics to indicate they knew their way around Italian cuisine, but also a few little extras to get you excited and to set them apart from everyone else.
One such dish is something we're kicking off this evening's meal with - crab-loaded fries with melted cheddar, celery salt and chives ($16). And what a way to start. The crab had a beautiful saltiness to it - which I love from good seafood - and was super flakey and packed full of flavour. Mixed in with queso-type melted cheddar, it was everything I want loaded fries to be from now on. It's a fairly casual style of meal, but I love what Chez Freds did with it here - kicking it up a notch with the crab.
![Jalepeno garlic bread. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Jalepeno garlic bread. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/3cafdcc3-4971-4230-840f-4503d7636798.jpg/r0_215_4210_2582_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
We pair this great start with the burrata with garlic roasted olives, fresh herbs and toasted bread ($27.50). There are restaurants everywhere putting burrata on their menu but no two burrata dishes are the same. Here, we've got it paired with one of my favourite foods, olives, which were - in this case - warmed. I think the warmth was key to going some ways in melding what are two quite salty foods together and it not becoming overpowering. That being said, I think if we had some sort of acidity, or sweetness in the mix, it might have just taken it up a notch.
For mains, we stay with our intention of having pasta for dinner by ordering the gnocchi gorgonzola ($25) and the chicken and chilli jam meatballs ($25.50). And remember when I said we honed in on the carbs when ordering? Well, we also order a side of jalapeno garlic bread ($5).
When we ordered jalapeno garlic bread, I was expecting a token slice of jalapeno placed on top of some garlic bread, but I was happy to see the team at Chez Freds had finely diced the chilli and incorporated it into the bread. It's such a simple addition to a fan favourite, but I liked it so much that I will be trying to recreate it at home.
![Chicken and chilli jam meatballs. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Chicken and chilli jam meatballs. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/14298061-0cd5-4285-b979-2f95b32ff431.jpg/r0_0_4251_2740_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The pasta comes out and the first thing that gets me is just how generous the portions are. They are not skimping on anything here.
The potato gnocchi, with creamy mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese, are these quite large pillows of perfection. They have this brilliant resistance to each bite - not too hard, not too soft and soggy. And if the gnocchi wasn't enough potato for you, then there were these fried slivers of potatoes - think elongated gourmet chips - that garnished which I thought added a nice crunch to the dish overall. The creamy sauce with the gorgonzola is light and not too strong on the blue cheese flavour - which is good news for those who see the divisive cheese as a sometimes food.
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The three large meatballs sit proudly on top of the creamy herb pesto and house-made, herb-infused tagliatelle. The meatballs themselves are undoubtedly the hero of the dish and are packed full of the flavour of the unexpected kind. Yes, there is the chilli jam - which gives a subtle heat to the meatball - but it's the inclusion of the dried currants that give them this delightful sweetness. The pasta itself is cooked beautifully, and I love the creamy herb pesto, so much so that I would have loved a little extra drizzled over the meatballs. Not because the meatballs needed a sauce - they could stand on their own - but because I think it would have tied everything nicely together.
![Tiramisu. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Tiramisu. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/aad04690-51e4-44c7-8807-b4a35e95d7c5.png/r0_0_7508_4221_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It's halfway through this course that we start to admit defeat - the carbs had won. We ask for takeaway containers for the remainder of our pasta, partly because it means we can have Chez Freds for lunch the next day, and partly because the idea of missing out on dessert is not one we want to entertain. We can at least share the tiramisu ($13) we eyed in the cabinet when we first arrived.
As with everything this evening, it is generous in size and fairly traditional in style, with espresso-soaked lady fingers, mascarpone and creme anglaise. When I order a tiramisu, I order it because I want a coffee-flavoured dessert - not one that hints at coffee but relies on the cocoa powder on top for flavour. And this one has the perfect amount of coffee - not too strong and overbearing but one that a coffee lover will be satisfied with.
It's a great ending to what has been a great evening. Are we a little too full - with leftovers in hand for tomorrow - as we leave? Yes. And we admit to our waiter that maybe we overdid it.
"Never! You should come and enjoy everything," he responds. And that sums up everything you should know about any night out. Food is meant to be enjoyed, no matter how many carbs you decide to choose that evening.
And if there is anywhere in Canberra where you should ruin your diet, Chez Freds is a good place to do just that.
![Chef Ash Baldwin and owner/chef Sara Poguet. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Chef Ash Baldwin and owner/chef Sara Poguet. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/64c77b4f-56fa-463c-ba76-4498d6046741.jpg/r0_292_3757_2404_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Chez Freds
Address: 4, 14 Lonsdale Street, Braddon
Phone: 6248 0044
Website: chezfreds.com.au
Hours: Lunch, Wednesday to Sunday. Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday.
Chefs: Ash Baldwin and Sara Poguet.
Noise: No problem
Dietary: Options available
Score: 14/20
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