Delicious! We've eaten out many times in Cape May and Freda's Cafe is always outstanding. The BEST crab cakes, great seafood dishes, amazingly tender beef. We love it and and will definitely be back! read more

Dropped by Freda's for an early bday lunch with my little family. This restaurant looks and feels like an old house that was converted into a dining room with about 12 tables or so. The service was fast and friendly. The restroom is located outside of the restaurant in another building, not sure where since I didn't use it. For lunch we ordered: Lobster bisque w/ crab - hubby ALWAYS orders anything lobster or crab lol he enjoyed this soup very much. From my side of the table it smelled a little strong (fishy). I didn't have a taste bc bisques are not my thing. Grilled chicken pita w/ garlic hummus - this pita was very tasty. It was filled w/ chicken, mixed greens, olives, strawberries, and hummus. It also came w/ a small side of cole slaw. The slaw was nice and light, not overpoweringly tangy or mayo-y. Blackened fish "tacos" which was more like a burrito/wrap - was filled w/ a corn bean salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, & mixed greens. Hubby said he wasn't impressed and that the flavor was bland and the fish didn't seem blackened enough.It was definitely a little sloppy to eat, too. I tasted the fish and it was a little fishy. Meh. This also came w/ a side of cole slaw. Both of these dishes were their specials of the day. Side of fries - $4.95 what?! I thought it was a little pricey for a small bowl of fries. Thankfully it came out hot & crispy. Hubby said these were the saving grace to our meal. Hehe Overall, we weren't that impressed with our meal. Maybe bc it was lunch? Not sure. The chicken pita was good to me, but I'm not sure if it's that good to have a second visit. All of the raving reviews were for dinner. Maybe we should try them again for dinner? The space is charming and reminds of you dining at your grandma's house. You try it out and see if it's worth a try or even another try. read more

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My sister made reservations at Freda's Cafe, a BYOB, based off of the reviews on Yelp. Luckily, they squeezed us in at 7:30 on a Sunday, but the woman on the phone was a bit abrupt. She told my sister "your reservations are at 7:30. not 7:45, not 8, but 7:30, be there on time". We showed up at exactly 7:30, and then had to wait about 20 minutes for our table. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but the restaurant was too small to wait in, and it was really humid outside. So by the time we sat down, we were all a tiny bit hot and grumpy. The restaurant is very small- maybe 6 small tables and 2 large ones. It is a bit cramped, and I would have had trouble getting in and out of some of the seats, because tables were so close together. Luckily, we got a big table in the back, and it was probably the best table in the place. The menu is pretty ambitious, especially for such a small place. Warning- there weren't too many food choices without meat or cheese (although I'm sure they could have modified some of the meals if I had asked). I ended up picking out crab-spinach rangoons for my appetizer, a ginger-soy dressing sauce for my salad, and a scallop/shrimp pasta with basil pesto sauce for my entree. For dessert, I had figs and berries. Everything was delicious and I cleaned all my plates! Nobody had any complaints about anything they ate. The food was amazing- definitely one of my best meals in Cape May. The restaurant did get a bit loud, especially later on in the meal. The bathroom was outside- you had to get a key and go around the building, and the bathroom wasn't too well marked, I was a tiny bit confused but eventually found the right place! Aside from these few tiny complaints, the meal was great! I'd definitely go back again- definitely check out Freda's if you are spending some time in Cape May! read more

Great selection of sandwiches, cheese and meats. You can have them make you a picnic lunch and take it to the beach or the bird sanctuary. Good selection of beverages as well and all reasonable priced. read more

Loved our takeout from Freda's! Everything was delicious and the service from the staff member was the nicest and friendliest ever! My husband had the Chicken Encroute from the regular menu which was really really good, I had a Snapper special also really good. Both meals were piping hot and had nice vegetable sides and we also got desserts- wow! Bread pudding and key lime cheesecake were soooo good! This was one of the best takeout meals we have ever gotten. I can't wait to try more of the items on their menu especially their crabcakes and love supporting a small business with very caring employees. read more

What a fantastic place. For it being in a popular area it was not very busy and service was great! I had their lunch cheesesteak quesadilla it was delicious. It was a nice and homey style place that I would love to eat at again. Also very good for a small family due to it being small and quiet. read more

Freda's Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

Freda's is a small place with a changing menu. BYO so bring a bottle. Server was the best part of the night. The food overall was underwhelming. We went to have a good seafood meal and found oursleves leaving with no particular good words about our meal. I had the Chilean sea bass and guacamole egg rolls. The sea bass was super dry and did not taste like sea bass at all. The sauce was ok. The egg rolls were slightly better but pretty greasy. Price was fine but I am always willing to pay a little more for good food. You get what you pay for here. read more

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Ambience is a little dated, but the service and food are both excellent. Went for dinner around 5pm on a Sunday, and we were the only people in the restaurant, which was both nice and creepy. But seriously the food is amazing... I had the cracked pepper tuna and my boyfriend got the filet mignon (which initially came out too rare, and the waiter noticed and took it back and fixed it no problem). Our appetizer of Thai Fried Mussels was delicious as well. read more

Freda's Cafe - Cracked Pepper Tuna and Filet Mignon in the back - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

Hurricane Laura came crashing down on us as we were eating outside, so I don't think that I'll ever forget my dinner here--crazy yet kind of fun. The crab cakes, as you'll see many people say on here, are excellent, especially with the mango sauce. The baby ribs are a solid option too. The menu was limited because of CDC guidelines, but that is the standard everywhere right now. There is a spot next to the restaurant where patrons currently eat outside. Just make sure that you call ahead--the reservations are same day. But more importantly, make sure you check the weather, seriously. read more

Cozy place with delicious food. I had the New England clam chowder and it was less chowder and more soup than I prefer but, the flavors were spot on. I then had the salad special of the day: salmon on a bed of arugula with roasted beets, cucumbers, apples, walnuts and goat cheese. I enjoyed that salad and ate every bit. I'd recommend Freda's. read more

Freda's Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

The best crab cakes I ever had! The sauce is heavenly. The service was also top notch and very family friendly. I would recommend it to all and cannot wait to go back! read more

Freda's Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

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I've been going here for years. The process to get a reservation can be a big turn off. Just bite the bullet and try it atleast once. I enjoyed eating Indoors and outdoors. read more

What a mistake. $18 children's meals when they clearly do not want families in their restaurant. Ordered the ahi tuna, which tasted frozen, unseasoned, and barely cooked. Everything we ordered was doused in soy sauce and barely edible. Very confused by the 5 star ratings. PASS on this place. read more

Has unique sandwiches and variety of menu choices. Good ambiance. seating is a bit tight, but did not interfere with our conversation. Loved my cappuccino. read more

Freda's Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

We make it a point to eat at Freda's when we're in Cape May and always enjoy the experience. It's an unassuming, crowded space with small tables but has great food. We ate here over the Labor Day weekend and each of our entries was delicious (salmon for my wife and the halibut special for me). read more

We chose Freda's last night among the exceptional restaurants here in Cape May. I particularly like the seasonal changes in the menu and the traditional bistro feel of the room and the service. Their current winter menu includes classics like Beef Wellington. Four of us chose from the $65 prix fix menu which included Freda's memorable crab cakes. Appetizers included crab mericks (mussels topped with crabmeat) and spring rolls reminiscent of Mike Colemeco when he ran the pioneering Globe down here. Attentive service, a friendly and not particularly noisy crowd. Thanks for a great evening. read more

My husband and I dined here last night. This restaurant was recommended to me by a few people, so I was looking forward to going. Unfortunately, our experience was not very good. I called and got a 7:45 reservation on a Saturday night. We walked in right at 7:45 and the restaurant was a little less than half full. We were seated at an awkward table pushed against a corner, where you and your date have to stare directly at a wall. I ordered the scallop and mushroom pasta and my husband ordered the seared ahi tuna. We split the goat cheese appetizer and both had desserts. The goat cheese wound up being over a salad, but didn't have any dressing on it, overall disappointing and not what was expected. My dinner was very bland, but they did go heavy on the scallops which were cooked well. The sauce was milky and virtually tasteless. I don't think the mushrooms were fresh because they barely had any taste to them. My husband's tuna was okay, quality of tuna was good, sides were not done very well. The tempura vegetables were really soggy, not crispy. We had bread pudding (below par) and flourless chocolate cake (very good) for dessert. The real disappointment came with the end of our meal. Just as we ordered our dessert, and were finishing our wine, the other two tables that remained left the restaurant and we were alone and very clearly unwanted. The waitress gave us our check while we were still eating, they started cleaning around us and were dimming the lights. This was at 9:00 PM, our reservation was for 7:45, so I don't think we spent an exorbitant amount of time lingering. The staff started getting loud and it was really uncomfortable for us, as they clearly wanted us to get out. The price point is similar to Washington Inn, Peter Shields, Ebbitt Room, and the other higher-end restaurants in Cape May. The food fell short and the service, particularly rushing us out at the end was very disappointing. I'll never be returning and will stick to the classics in Cape May, as they would never make guests feel so unwanted. It's a BYO and our bill was over $100 for two people and we were treated like that, I'm very disappointed in this experience. read more

Best dish in Cape May. Beef Wellington. Great app of fried oysters. Small quiet place with cheerful , helpful service. read more

Freda's Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

The staff and our waitress at Fred's was top notch! They made my son feel so special for his birthday celebration. We will definitely be returning. read more

Absolutely one of the best dinners we have ever had. Apricot glazed salmon Crab cakes Perfection Pleasant staff Cozy inside, kind of a West Village vibe. You cannot go wrong here! read more

We went to dinner at Freda's based on their Yelp reviews and loved our meal! The staff was all very kind and was happy to guide us through the menu. The food was absolutely delicious. The environment was cozy and romantic . Definitely will be back read more

I have to say we were not pleased with the restaurant at all. First of all they sit families with children at a communal table in the center of the restaurant and when you ask to be seated in a different location they make up a poor excuse- we have a table of 8 coming in and we will need both of those tables! Completely untrue. When we saw the table of 5 guests arrive for their reservation and get seated at the table that we asked to be sat in. The bread was hard and dry- the salad dressing was terrible- salty soy! Yuk! My husband had a pesto shrimp dish- it was tasty and I had the stuffed chicken dish which was pretty good- on the smaller side and nothing special- our 2 year old Granddaughter got buttered pasta- appallingly at the cost of $18- I was not happy with the woman that sat us ( she is the same one that created the story about having a table of 8 guests that weren't) however our server was sweet and attentive. I will not ever return to this restaurant or ever recommend it! read more

The food is absolutely fantastic but it is very very pricey. It's BYOB which is nice too. I got the crab cakes based on everyone's reviews about them and I was not disappointed. They were phenomenal. The potatoes they were served over were very good and I even enjoyed the mango sauce on it too - I was hesitant about that but it paired nicely. The sweet potato and coconut crusted scallops as an appetizer were amazing. You have to try them. I really enjoyed my meal here, but it's definitely a special occasion type of place because of the price. read more

Freda's Cafe - Mmmm so delicious! Gotta try them! - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

The best way to describe Freda's cafe is that it is a hidden gem in Cape May. Don't let the simple storefront fool you like it fooled us for years. We first tried Freda's during the Cape May Food Tour (thanks Mary!) and it was wonderful. We highly recommend the baked brie and the flour less chocolate cake. If you're a dessert person or love chocolate you need to order the flour-less chocolate cake! Its perfect in every way and the pool of raspberry sauce is indescribably amazing. All in all, Freda's is a must if you are in Cape May- we can't wait to go back again! read more

Ordered a wrap for lunch takeout and it was ready within minutes (granted it was only for 1 person, but still, impressive!) The wrap was very good. Staff was great also. Definitely a place to check out if you're in Cape May. read more

Excellent. Appetizers: seafood bisque, crab in mussel shells, salad with ginger-sesame-soy dressing; Entree: filet with shrimp, dessert: flourless chocolate cake. Everything from start to finish was fantastic. We have visited many restaurants (25+) in Cape May and this ranks at the top. The server was very friendly and knowledgable. We will recommend to friends and family and will return during future visits. read more

*3.5 Stars* My wife and I decided to try this place at the suggestion of the B&B we were staying at. Reservations are required if you want to be seated. BYOB but I knew beforehand and purchased wine up north rather than hit a liquor store in the area (Extra $$$). Early reservations meant we were seated quickly and the place wasn't overly packed. Thankfully so since the place is small and they really cram you in. So much so you can be sharing a table with another couple. Food - It started out poorly. The mussels were not edible for my standards. My wife enjoyed them though. I was getting nervous that this was a sign of things to come. For entrees, she ordered there new chicken dish (Coconut, Thai spiced with Indian influence), I ordered the crab cakes. A little story about the crab cakes, they are supposedly the best "ever". As usual my expectations were not met when something is hyped. They were good, don't get me wrong, but the best ever...not quite. Yes they were full of crab meat and had a good flavor but I have had better down in Baltimore. The mashed potatoes, which I generally don't care for, were the best part of the meal. Getting back to the chicken...my wife and I both agree that it was outstanding. Even so much so that it was probably the best chicken dish we have had in a very long time! I don't want to hype it but I urge you to try it yourself. Service - I have heard from other people who were staying at the B&B along with Yelp reviews that the service isn't very good. I had no problems. It was even Valentines Day and the service was still good. So no complaints here. Ambiance - As I mentioned before, very tight quarters. Nothing really stood out otherwise. Overall - Moderately expensive. The food was good but the prices didn't make up for it other than the chicken dish. Great chicken dish, average crab cakes and not so good mussels (although I have been spoiled by better spots up north). ENJOY! read more

Whenever we come to Cape May, we like to try new or different restaurants, but the one constant we always include in our visits is Freda's Cafe, and they didn't disappoint again! My wife and I both tried the French Onion soup which is one of our favorites. It was nothing short of perfection, with rich broth covered with a French bread and melted cheese. For entrees I chose the filet mignon, best I ever had, with garlic mashed and asparagus. My wife had BBQ Baby-back ribs which she loved. The atmosphere is always relaxed, accent lighting, mellow music and friendly staff. Absolutely don't miss eating here when you visit, and BYOB. You'll return over and over like we do. read more

Freda's Cafe - Ribs - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

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Oh my God, oh my God...Oh. My. God. I almost had a "When Harry Met Sally" diner moment at Freda's...except I wasn't faking it. The food here is delicious, fresh and creative. For starters we ordered the stuffed mushrooms (heaven!), then two seperate entries: chicken en croute (I can't attest to how delicious this was, but my dining partner was pleased, if you know what I'm saying) and a chilean sea bass special (ecstasy!). The whipped sweet potatoes were seriously one of the best things I have ever tasted. We skipped dessert but not because it didn't sound promising...the portions were generous and we pretty much scraped the plates clean. (I know you're surprised by this last statement. This review hardly sounds as if I was impressed.) Service was good (not great), the atmosphere warm and welcoming. Be sure to make reservations because this place is tiny, tiny, tiny and was full, full, full when we arrived for our 8:30pm reservation. BYOB. read more

Small byo with excellent, innovative dishes. Be sure to make reservations. Easily the best restaurant I ever been to which only had a bathroom next door (in the very good coffee/deli shop). Nice staff. Not inexpensive, but high quality and byo. read more

The restaurant itself is very nice and homey. It reminds me of a B&B. The food was also very good. Three of us ordered the Seared Salmon Salad, one of us ordered the focaccia with crab and one of us ordered the tacos. The focaccia was delicious and definitely worth having. But I would definitely NOT recommend this restaurant to anyone. Although our server was polite, two of the five meals arrived extremely late. By the time two of the seared salmon salads arrived everyone else was done eating. To top it off, one of the salads, which comes with a bed of rice, had a extremely long hair. When we told our waitress she proceeded to ask us the color of the hair, which I think was an absurd question. The person eating the plate immediately asked our waitress to remove the plate as she could no longer eat any of the food. Lastly, I was appalled that if we had paid with a credit card she would have had to pay for the meal. read more

Freda's Cafe - Sitting area - Cafes Near Me - Cape May, New Jersey

We found this place on Yelp and it had some good reviews so why not give it a try. Well, it wasn't my biggest mistake but none the less a mistake. The service here was horrible. Now I can see if the place was packed, service might be slower but we were the only couple there. It took almost fifteen minutes for them too take our order and even longer to get our food to us, and it was just plain old sandwiches, nothing crazy. Now if you want to use their restroom you have to get a key from your server like your at a gas station. You then exit the restaurant, walk around the corner, find some other doorway and through there you'll find the bathroom. WTF.... Let it be known that if you change the description of your meal in any way, you will be charged extra. We requested onions on our sandwiches and they charged a dollar extra per sandwich to do it. Again, WTF... Anyway, this town us full of eateries and its not hard to find one better than this place. read more

I love a great sandwich and Freda's has them mastered! I ordered the special which was a wrap with brisket, chocolate fried onions and brie. I couldn't believe how flavorful and perfect this tasted. Incredible. My husband ordered a simple chicken salad sandwich on a croissant, yet again, it was perfect. The croissant was just the right texture, the chicken salad was tasty. When my husband choose the Russian dressing on his sandwich, I didn't say anything, but I thought that would ruin it. Nope - they made it work. It was delicious. The next time we go to Cape May, we're definitely having lunch at Freda's again. read more

Horrible service ruined our evening. After reading all the great reviews of this place we decided to make it our biggest evening in Cape May. We arrived at 7:59 pm for our 8 pm reservation for two. I knew something was awry when we arrived and saw a line out the door with at least 10 people. Its a small dining room - not the kind of place people without reservations just stand around hoping that a table opens up. As I was waiting for the hostess to check us in, I saw the guy next to me was visibly unhappy. I asked what was going on, and he said, "I have a reservation for 9 people, and that hostess just gave away our table to another party of four people. I only made the reservations a week ago." I saw what he meant: there was only one string of tables in the restaurant long enough to accommodate a party his size, and the hostess seated a party of 4 at it rather than clean off a different empty table and seat the party of four there. When the fellow with the party of 9 pointed out to the hostess her mistake, she ignored him and said, "you'll just have to wait until some other tables leave and we can move some tables around." The problem could have easily been resolved by simply re-seating the party of 4. As for my reservation, the hostess kept saying, "it will just be one minute." At 8:15, I told her firmly but politely we would like to be seated. There were at least 10 empty chairs in the restaurant. She finally offered to seat us - at a table next to other people, sort of "family style" seating at one of the pricier restaurants in town. I don't mean the tables were close...I mean our table abutted another party's table! I told the hosted we would like to be seated at our own table, so she pointed at one along the wall and said, "if you go wait there I'll clean it off and you can have that one." Imagine our surprise when, after waiting several minutes, a couple returned to that table and said, "what do you mean they've given away our table...we were just in the bathroom. We haven't even gotten our check yet!" I asked to talk to the manager, but one of the waitresses said he was too busy in the kitchen and couldn't be bothered to come out. I expressed our concerns, so she went to talk to him in the kitchen, came back, and said, "he said we're really busy tonight and if you don't like the [family-style] table we offered you then that's too bad." Never mind the fact that the table they'd offered us hadn't even been cleaned yet! So, we left at 8:25 pm. The party of 9 with an 8 pm reservation hadn't been seated yet, the owner couldn't be bothered to see what was going on, and no one apologized for anything. There are plenty of good restaurants in Cape May. Skip this one. read more

Hate to say it, but honestly: Freda's was a pretty big disappointment. Freda's came highly recommended, both from friends/fam and on Yelp, so we were very excited for our first dinner there. I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty to give them their first less-than-excellent review here, but I have to do my Yelp-y duty to strive for honest, personal assessment. The atmosphere, frankly, just plain stinks. The walls are covered in your grandmother's 1950s-era wallpaper (and NOT with an ironic retro intention), with a mis-matched and theme-less array of perfunctory doctor's office quality "framed prints" and factory-made "yard sale finds" on top of that. Worse, diners are also bathed in truly horrid elevator "Muzak" that makes one wish they were listening to Kenny G's Greatest Hits instead. Yes, it's that bad. The service was attentive but "canned" and not at all personal: We heard our waitress crack the exact same jokes to each and every one of her tables, us included, to the point that we could perfectly predict the next thing she was about to say to us. As for the food, it was okay. Sorry, and maybe this is me being jaded thanks to the incredible quality of Philly's restaurant scene a mere 90 minutes away, but my fiancee and I agreed that the apps and entrees we ordered were all well-short of the "excellent" or "memorable" mark. Flavors were blunt and lacked any nuance, but also fell short of being classify-able as simple high-quality comfort food. I'm a pretty good cook, nothing earth-shattering or professional, and the first litmus test we apply to any restaurant's menu is, simply, "is this better than Brendan can make at home?". Sadly, the truthful answer re Freda's was: No. read more

The food here is absolutely fantastic!! Both owners are graduates of Johnson and Wales and have worked in some of the top kitchens in NYC. Boy does that menu showcase their talents!! Bravo!! We ordered the ahi tuna & salmon with lump crab cake on top. We both enjoyed the meal so much. It's a tiny, cozy restaurant. It can become a bit noisy with lively chatter from the patrons. I did not find it too loud to enjoy conversation with my partner at our table. read more

I chose Freda's Cafe for my Birthday dinner last nite, even though we'd not eaten there before. The Spring Roll appetizer was Sooo very good! The bisque soup was..different, not the best for my taste..(we like to compare soups at fine restaurants)... My husband ordered the sea bass, Excellent & beautifully served, i had fried oysters that were Wonderful....The Chocolate flourless cake!! my husband ordered decaf coffee, asked the very nice waiter..fresh brewed if possible, .he did, but when I drank 1 small cup ($3.50)..so i said I'd take a togo cup for my walk..apparently the manager said to charge extra $2... Our bill was over $90... I'll eat there again, just wish he'd let the coffee go... read more

Beautiful corner cafe close to the mall in Cape May. I shared a Kobe burger w/ mushrooms and Havarti cheese. Seasoned fries with the burger and a beautiful Jersey tomato. Super yummy. Large portions and should split if you not a big eater. read more

We've been vacationing in Cape May for decades, always saw Freda's Cafe, even heard it was good, but for one reason or another we never tried it. Until last night. It's still early in the season so we had no difficulty in getting a 7:30 reservation. The food was excellent! I had a plate of short ribs with mashed potatoes and a house salad with Russian dressing. The ribs were excellent and the barbecue sauce was even better! The mashed potatoes were also good, very creamy. I wasn't crazy about the salad. It was an average mixed greens salad, nothing special, nothing at all. And I had read online that the Russian dressing tasted like ketchup, well mine didn't but like the salad it was just average, nothing special, nothing at all. My wife had the salmon stuffed with crabmeat. She eats salmon at just about every restaurant we go to and she commented that Freda's was just about the best she'd ever had. Like me she was disappointed in the salad and it's dressing. Time for desert and coffee. There were at least three deserts I wanted to try. Mine was a chocolate cake with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. The deserts were fabulous! The coffee wasn't. It was weak, very weak. A disappointing ending to a spectacular meal. But since the good far outweighed the disappointing I can safely say that we will be back! read more

Taking advantage of a early spring night and the not crowded yet Frida's is a plus.. all fresh ingredients from soups to desserts made in house ..you got to try the scallops wrapped in bacon for an appetizer .. the beef wellington also the caramel crunch cake is a must expect about $100 a head in this small BYOB but the food and service are well worth it read more