Fredericton Restaurants

** UPDATE: The restaurant suffered a serious fire on Friday night, January 4th, 2013. They are planning to re-open after repairs and renovations, but I haven't heard when yet.
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This restaurant has changed names and owners on several occasions over the past few years. When I first moved to Fredericton, it was a bank.

A few years ago, it was called Amici's Italian Cuisine, a nice place for fine dining. I had eaten there once for dinner. The place was packed, and the service and food were both great.

Then, it became Mojo's, where I ate once for lunch on a Friday. Our small group of five was only one of two tables with customers, but again, the food and service were both great. The sweet potato fries were not home-made, but I could overlook this.

Since November, 2008, it has been re-named, the "Garrison District Ale House". I ate there with my wife on Valentine's Day, 2009, and their menu offers a varied selection. I had the Philly Cheese Steak on a hoagie and some sweet potato fries, my wife had the chicken stir fry, and we both had the jalapeno Havarti cheese rolls (5), done in fried wontons, as an appetizer. All were very good. A half-litre glass of Picaroons Bitter and a glass of Shiraz, and the bill came to $60.

Favorite Dish: As the new name implies, it has a varied choice of ales, liquor and wines.

Try one of the Picaroons ales, a local micro-brewery.

Frank's Finer Diner has been in Fredericton for a number of years. They used to be located on Main St. where Jives Restaurant & Bar used to be, and where the Chinese 777 restaurant is now located (as of 2012)

In 2007, Frank's moved to its current location, across from the new Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire on Fredericton's north side, on Two Nations Crossing by the traffic lights.

Expect a 50's-themed restaurant.

Favorite Dish: I have eaten at Frank's for breakfast before they moved to their current location, and found it good food, but I haven't eaten at their new location yet.

Breakfasts will run between CAD $7. - 10., while the children's breakfast is $3.50.

For lunches and suppers, the menu has lots of different things to choose from, and will run you between CAD$ 6. - $20.

*** October 2012 update***: Saddly, this restaurant and an adjoined rooming house burned to the ground overnight on Oct. 6-7th, 2012. Waiting to see if they will re-build.

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Since the fall of 2005, this place has had the new name of Isaac's Way Restaurant & Bar, but is still under the same management and staff as when it held the Rye's Deli franchise previously. It's got a new menu, and a variety of meals to choose from.

I went here for lunch recently, and had their Portobello Beef sandwich, which came with soup and cole slaw, for about CAD$10.

Favorite Dish: Restaurants prices in the downtown core of Fredericton are usually in the same ballpark as other sit-down (ie. non fast-food) restaurants in the same area.

Isaac's Way is just around the corner from Brewbaker's restaurant.

I can't say what my favourite dish is yet, since I've only eaten here twice.

***Aug. 1/09 update***: this place has now been taken over by the Howard Johnson's motel chain. Oscar's Bar & Bistro is no more. It's currently known as Charlie's Bar & Grill.

With the change of ownership, came a facelift of the front of the motel.

Favorite Dish: Had lunch here once in August '07, outside on their patio beside the inn's outdoor pool. I had the Orleans Chicken Sandwich for CDN$9.00, which was very good. A number of their meals, including mine, come with "matchsticks", which is their form of french fry cut about 1/8 " diameter, and about 1 to 1-1/2 " long. I found them somewhat over-fried, unfortunately. Two others in our party had the wraps, which they liked.

However, since the motel has been taken over by the Howard Johnson's chain, I can't say if they're still serving the same fare at poolside during the summer.

*** 2010 UPDATE ***: Jives closed its doors in 2010.

*** 2012 UPDATE ***: It re-opened in 2012 as the Chinese 777 restaurant. It has a buffet, but the selection is smaller than the Jubilee on Prospect St. The supper price for the buffet is $18., which I think is a bit pricey when compared to the Jubilee. You can also order a la carte.

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Original post (for Jives restaurant):
Jives opened in 2007, on the old site of Frank's Finer Diner.

My wife and I ate there once, and the food was great.

Their menu includes just about everything... lamb, pasta, chicken, Thai, pork, seafood, steak, etc.
Breakfasts run from between CAD$ 6. - $11. Lunches are between $9. - $13. Dinner prices for main courses run between CAD$ 14. to $21.

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*** 2012 update *** This place is now the new location of Mexicali Rosa's.

It used to be the El Burrito Loco mexican restaurant. I haven't been in to eat here since the name change.
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Original post (for the El Burrito Loco restaurant):
If you like Mexican fare, here's a place to try. I was in there for the first time recently, after others said that the food was absolutely delicious. They have just expanded in size, and the new section opened in Dec. '05.

When the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival is in full swing in September, this place is not far from the action.

The downstairs dining area was more dimly lit than if you take a table upstairs, where there are more windows.

Favorite Dish: The new menu features all the mexican dishes you would expect: Burritos, Chimichangas, Quesadillas, Tacos, Fajitas, Flautas (aka Taquitos), Enchiladas, Empanadas, and Nachos. Their new menu also includes steak, shrimp, scallops, chicken, ribs, as well as sandwiches.

Prices range from CAD$8. for soup or a sandwich, to $29. for "el grande platter".
Combo plates range between $13. to $17.50, while specific mexican entrées range between $10. - $22.

I was in there for lunch recently, and had their beef chimichanga with Mexican rice and refried beans. The chimichanga was topped with guacamole and sour cream, and was very good, all for about $11.00 plus tax.

*** 2009-05-11 update: Seasons has closed its doors. This place is now a dental clinic.

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Original post:
If you're looking for genuine Chinese food, not the North Americanized style stuff, your best bet in Fredericton is probably the Seasons Chinese Family Restaurant.

It's open everyday except Mondays. On Saturday and Sunday, it's only open after 5 pm.

It's also wheelchair-accessible.

We stopped in here for lunch one day and were very disappointed by both the food and the service here. It was a Saturday afternoon and was pretty empty. We soon found out why. The waitress took forever to come take our order, and then rarely came to check on us after we had placed our order.

On top of that, the food was decent at best. I ordered a bacon-cheese burger and it was alright. However, my girlfriend ordered chicken fajitas which looked like it was just pulled out of the freezer and re-heated in a microwave. It wasn't even fully warm either, it was actually still cold on the inside.

Overall, we obviously weren't very impressed with this place and probably wouldn't go back for food any time soon. It looks like it could be a nice play to grab a drink on a weekend though.