After a few failed attempts by all of us on separate occasions to try Jack’s Wife Freda, we finally managed to have dinner at their original location in Soho. I know that they’re famed for their brunches and lunches, but we were in the area and the wait was only around 30 minutes for dinner. We were seated in their corner booth and were given time to look over their menu, which also works as a placemat.

We opted for two appetizers to share: the Salt & Pepper Eggplant ($8.00) and Spiced Beet Dip ($9.00). The Salt & Pepper Eggplant was diced into cube-like shapes and then lightly fried. The cubes are paired with a delicious Tzatziki sauce that I actually used later to eat the fries. The Spiced Beet Dip was a nice surprise. I was a bit apprehensive about it since I’m not usually a fan of beets but it was pretty good. The dip was a bit sweet and was topped with one of my favorites – goat cheese. The Beet Dip was served with warm pitas, which I quite enjoyed.

I had the Peri-Peri Chicken ($20.00) with a diced salad of cucumbers, onions and tomatoes. I quite liked the diced salad because it was sweet and vinegary at the same time – great for opening up the appetite! The chicken was very tender and juicy. The portion size was huge and had I not given pieces of it away to the other members of my party, I probably wouldn’t have finished!

I also sampled their Bloody Mary Mussels with Fries ($18.00), which was really good. I was skeptical because I’m not a big fan of Bloody Mary’s as a cocktail but with mussels, it works. The broth was tomatoey and just a bit spicy, which didn’t overpower the mussels at all. The mussels themselves were super plump! There was so much more mouthfeel to each mussel than the smaller ones in other restaurants.

We opted to skip dessert since we were all so full but I did have an iced latte. They serve Stumptown! This was a huge plus in my books because I absolutely love Stumptown coffee and love restaurants that serve it. Service was  attentive enough but I do think the space is too small. The tiny space meant a loud dining room so I don’t recommend Jack’s Wife Freda if you’re looking for an intimate date location. Come for the food but definitely plan an alternative if you want to sit and talk.