Freddy’s Place

I recently visited this fantastic Latin bistro with my family. My father had eaten here a couple days earlier and said we had to try it.
We started off with a mouthwatering guacamole dip, fruit salsa and homemade chips. I ordered a chicken dish, (can’t remember the name of it because I got lost in the taste of the filet), with a seasoned rice and beans. The chicken was cooked to perfection, still juicy and tasteful! The rice and beans, very well prepared!
The building is big enough for a good size group or for a romantic evening out. The service is excellent and the aroma’s circulating in the air is enough to get you to stay and have a bite!
The décor is very classy and warm looking with red walls and black trim. The artwork complements the look nicely! If you’re ever in Bolivar MO, this place definitely needs to be on your list of stops!

This establishment formerly housed the Main St. Bakery and Bistro, so now Freddy’s is a Latin Cuisine bistro and it is what the word bistro denotes: «a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting, defined mostly by the home cooked, robust earthy dishes, and a good wine list and a simple bar. Such was our first encounter here.
This storefront’s atmosphere was very homey and warm. The staff was welcoming and right away we were made to feel as friends.
Our hostess Stacy explained that Freddy’s is serving Latin cusine, and IS NOT another Mexican restaurant. The menu showed this with the appetizers that may look typical, but the shrimp cocktail we ventured into was not.
These jumbo shrimps camesubmerged in a bowl of a tomatoe/​cilantro cold soup base with diced tomatoes and onions! The shrimp bathe in this concoction and are very succulent bursting with flavor. We asked for take home cups for the leftover brine so that we could use it as a topping for our breakfast omlettes!
The Guacamole was a generous portion of some of the lightest, airy spread we ever tasted, with bits of tomatoes mixed in, but not over bearing. Along with the homemade nacho chips it wasa nice precursor of what was to develop.
We ordered the skirt steak which was cooked to perfection, and very tender along with the sides of rice and black beans. The chicken breasts were also succulent and tender, marinated in a nice tequila sauce. Another entrée that we explored was the pork tenderloin that you could cut with a fork, ladled with with a mild spicy tomatoe sauce. And last but not least was the Gyro, thinly sliced lamb on pita bread with a zesty cucumber sauce ladled across the top of the meat.
Tried the recommended Cabernet with the meal and was pleasantly greeted with an assertive, yet not too bold of a Cab that did not try to overwhelm the pork tenderloin or the rest of the evening.
The dessert choice we made was a fried pastry type of a tortilla shape boat that was the bed for two generous scoops of rasberry sherbert drizzled with a chocolate sauce accompanied by wafer sticks.
And to top off such a delicious meal, we enjoyed the Irish Crème coffee which warmed the evening along with pleasant conversation from the restaurant’s chef and proprietor, Freddy and his lovely wife.
So if you are a resident of Bolivar, or just passing thru we encourage you to go and discover this Latin American bistro, sure to delight everyone.

Opening day. I had lunch. Décor is confusing. Service was very good. I had the fried plantains – very good with a red sauce and green verde sauce. Next I had the Tortas. Quite surprising. Fresh bread with a taco type feeling. Had a fresh Carribean or Latin taste. Worth trying if you are in the area. Right off the square.