Bistro Freddie
Anna Søgaard put Dorset snails on a flatbread with garlic and tarragon butter and chicken skin, then left in 2024, and the dish stayed on as the thing the restaurant is known for.
Why go
The kitchen belongs to Alexandre Laforce Reynolds, who ran Eline in Shoreditch as owner and head chef before taking over here in September 2024 (Restaurant). He grew up in the Cévennes and moved to England at 11, and the menu he inherited suits that: French technique applied to British produce, pies built to share, and larger cuts of meat cooked over fire. The Good Food Guide rates it Good and describes British ingredients and French ideas in harmony
in a room like walking into a Parisian bistro,
with white tablecloths, bentwood chairs and candles (Good Food Guide). It is one of four sites in the HAM Restaurants group, which also runs Crispin in Spitalfields and Bar Crispin in Soho. Forty five seats, six days a week, closed Sunday.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Dorset snails flatbread, £13.50, which Hot Dinners called the top of its hit list on the strength of
that amazing tarragon butter.
2 Then the chicken and tarragon pie, and the apple-glazed pork chop that arriveswith so much bacon jus they give you a spoon so you don't miss any.
2 - Avoid: the steak tartare. Tim Hayward in The Times found it "an aggregate-heavy dry mix," and flagged duck served with the tendons left in.
What locals & experts say
- The Good Food Guide: rated Good, with the chicken liver parfait with candied quince and Guinness bread praised and the flatbread judged
not quite so elegant
; one main is calleda darn good pie.
1 - Harden's (2026 guide): food 3, service 2, ambience 4, £83 a head. Survey respondents cite
great, imaginative food
and recommend the bar for watchingbrilliant chefs in action,
while others find ita bit too cool for school.
3 - Evening Standard, via Harden's: the room reads as
a measure of Casse-Croûte with a pint of Andrew Edmunds poured in.
3 - Local rec: Lynch, a local, sent Jeff here for the snail flatbread and the pies. REAL.
Good to know
- Timing: Monday to Saturday, lunch noon to 3pm and dinner 6pm to 11pm. Closed Sunday.
- Booking: recommended, online or on 020 8050 0374. Parties of eight or more go through the private events form.
- Price: £83 a head in the 2026 Harden's survey, three courses with wine, coffee and service.
- Room: 45 seated, up to 80 standing. Sit at the bar if you want the pass in view. A Good Food Guide reader complained of "appalling acoustics" at lunch.
- Dietary: the venue publishes no allergen, gluten-free, celiac or vegan statement, so ask when you book.
- Location: 74 Luke Street, a short walk from Old Street and Liverpool Street.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Local lynch recommended. Snail flatbread and pies" REAL.
- Rec via: Lynch, a local on his list. REAL.
Verdict
should-visit — Make the detour for the snail flatbread and the pie, less so for a special occasion. The Good Food Guide rates it Good and finds 'British ingredients and French ideas in harmony', and Harden's survey calls the food 'great, imaginative'. Against that, Harden's rates service 2 out of 5 and The Times found real execution faults on the tartare and the duck. It does one thing very well, a French bistro repertoire cooked with British produce and some of it over fire, and it costs £83 a head to find out.