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Fred's Rivertown Ale House
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner, Late Night
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat, Sun
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
19 reviews for Fred's Rivertown Ale House
Solid pub for those times where you find yourself in Snohomish and need a bite/pint. Had a couple of pizzas the other night and both were very tasty. Tried a couple of the unusualish beers they had on top, though neither were to my fancy. Was Friday so there was a bit of a wait, but nothing to complain about and the servers were friendly.
In general I was happy, and to be honest got much more than I was expecting from the main drag in Snohomish.
I should have held off my review a little longer! I ate there last night and it was right back to the old Fred's I love to hate! Snotty servers, both orders were wrong and had to be sent back, then all the attitude I could eat!! Then you get ignored while you hope they bring your bill.
On an amusing note, I saw a server carry out a totally burned pizza to a table and as she went past me I started counting backwards from 10 and I got to 3 as the server came back with the toasted pizza and headed into the kitched! Why would you even bother to serve it?
I think not knowing the answer to that question is Fred's problem!! No more.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/18/2009
I have been holding off on this review for a while now. (6 months). Freds was always great for beer… Read more »
Fred's is a great place for pub grub. Large protions, well made food, and then there are the beverages! I love the selection of beers and the scotch! Every once in a while I try a new scotch, and buying it by the glass off their extensive menu is a great way to expand my horizons as far as the single malt goes- better than spending $40 or more for a bottle at the liquor store!
Most recently I had the the Alehouse burger and my boyfriend had the fish and chips, and a bowl of the French onion soup- which he let me taste- YUM! All dishes were good, and I can also recommend the French dip and several other dishes.
Service has been getting a lot better lately- I think they went through a patch where good help was hard to find and it was a bit spotty, but now it is much better.
Just had lunch there on a Sunday while looking for antiques. I thought the food was pretty good and the beer selection was nice. We just had burgers so I can't really vouch for the other things on the menu, but I thought my burger was above average for pub food. The servers were exceptionally prompt and friendly, so I am surprised by some of the reviews posted by others. Definitely a place to go if you are into beer or Scotch.
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All about the beer! Cask night anybody?
I haven't eaten there recently, but in the past the food was always fine. And of course, the beer is good!
I've been to Fred's twice, and the food has been *fabulous* both times. Must-trys: the halibut tacos, the Asian spinach salad with seared ahi, and the ohhh so good bean nachos. And the *beer*... oh my! So many options, but sadly, so far away from our MV home! We only make it to Snohomish once in a blue moon, but I've decided if it takes years I'll work my way through that fantastic beer list. As other reviewers have mentioned, the service isn't anything to write home about; still, we weren't ignored, our food was hot, and it was a good time and money very well spent. Perfect way to end the day after the Mariner's game.
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My first visit to Snohomish! We were starving after hiking and didn't want our exploration of Washington highways to end just yet. Walking up and down Historic Snohomish led us to this wonderful Ale House that was the perfect fit for what we needed. We sat at the bar and no less than three awesome servers checked on us to make sure we were fed, hydrated and entertained while we were there. We shared the Chicken BLT Salad and Chicken Breast Sandwich with Waffle Fries and a couple of Blonde Beers. All were top notch and tasted like heaven. They have an extensive Single Malt Scotch selection in addition to being an Alehouse. A crew next to us were ordering some pretty high end scotch - fun to see connoisseurs enjoying the good stuff while we were downing a pint of locally made beer and inhaling our dinner.
This is the best pick on the strip for a casual, good time and great food. (pass the doily house, the sports bars and the shi-shi lounge).
We'll be back!
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I do not and have NEVER seen what the buzz is about this place. Yeah, there is a selection of good beer on tap. Okay. Yee Haw.
Food is not more than a drive-inn with an added hint of flavor.
The only thing about this place....it has been here for years-SOMEHOW.
Wait, one more good thing, they are at least responsible enough to care about humanity and NOT over-serve the patrons and put them out on the road to drive.
It's Really about the FOOD!
OK so to a drive out and ended up in Snohomish. Well after a nice stroll down the city center and finding just about every other build was a place to eat. So had a hard decision since many of the places looked good. I decided to take a change on Fred's since it had a good rating and posted good reviews on their window. Hey a place that has a really good selection can't be all bad. So we ordered a Black and Blue Burger and the fish and chips. Well the burger was good but it was missing something I could not put my finger on it but it just didn't hit the spot. I guess for 10 bucks I would have a big juicy burger and it was the size of something you would find a McDonalds for half the price. OK so the waffle fries we pretty good can't say more. Alright on to the Fish & Chips. loved the really crunchy crust not greasy like so many other F&Cs. But hello the fish was just a little too fishy. I had to drown it tartar and lemon juice to get by the taste. So really disappointed on the food. The staff was great the selection of drafts seemed really good and perhaps a good hang out but since I doubt that I will be there at night I find it hard to recommend for lunch. All I can really say is they either had a bad day or they need to step it up on the food. I hated to give the place such a low score since but the staff and atmosphere could not make up for the grub. Oh well better luck next time.
I can't comment on the food, but they had a great selection of beer. I enjoyed the atmosphere and would visit again.
We went there after a long day of hiking, and needed nourishment in the form of beer and also solid food. They have a pretty extensive beer list, with some exotics like Chimay and Lambic from Belgium. The downside is that there are no prices on the beer list. I take away one star for that.
The food was really good, I highly recommend the Mick Jagger, which is sweet potato fries covered in a brown sugar and butter sauce, and manage to stay crispy, full of sweet artery clogging goodness. I also had the gumbo, which was tasty but came lukewarm. My boyfriend had the Mills Burger with the soup of the day, it happened to be Italian Sausage Bean soup and it was really good and hot. My friends really liked their Greek Prawn Salad as well.
The service was really spotty, the waitress came and took our drink orders, didn't pause to ask for our food orders. When we placed the food order, the waitress offered the option of cheese on the burger. It was noted nowhere in the menu that cheese was an additional cost. And the waitress did not know how much the cheese upgrade was. I take off another star for that as well.
I'd definitely go back, because it was an enjoyable experience overall, but have low expectations for service.
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They have an entire tiny-fonted scotch menu.
The Mick Jagger fries (sweet potato fries with a butter-brown sugar sauce) are incredibly awesome. And they go well with that Guinness. Mmhmm.
The service was well-paced. We never had to flag anyone down or sit with a pile of empty dishes. As a pub, little cherubs are welcome to come on in for grub as well, which is cool.
We're already figuring out when our next trip will be to give the scotch menu a go.
I'm a Sno-ho. There, I said it. But since I'm a transplant to Snohomish, I am regularly disappointed with the restaurant options "downtown." So when I'm looking for an easy lunch, I head over to Fred's.
The food is pretty good--mostly burgers and sandwiches. The french dip is tasty, but too big (I almost always need to split it with someone). The service is mind-numbingly slow. Seriously, does it really take 45 minutes to make a lunch order for two? Ugh.
When your only other options in town are a Mexican joint or a traditional British restaurant, the wait at Fred's isn't so bad.
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I kind of like it here. Service is slow but the menu is usally pretty good and the food good too. The beer selection usually rocks and most of the time there's a table available. The halibut fish'n chips is probably the best I've ever had.
This place used to be related to the Barking Dog Ale House in Seattle but I thing Fred's sold it and now it's really, really bad.
One time we went across the street after our beers to the tavern and a girl fight broke out and they busted bud light bottles over eachothers heads and one got her teeth kicked out. It was really gross.
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This is one of the only places I know of on the west side of the Cascades where you can taste fresh Winthrop beers. Cask night is on Tuesdays, where you can find the professional beer drinkers and locals spinning fantastic webs of conversation ranging from hunting to ballet (mostly huntin', shootin', offroadin'). Fred's does host dozens of flavors of Scotch (even Talkisker, my favorite), and many microbrews.
The food here is probably some of the better pub food in the city of Snohomish, but that's really not saying too much. Try the Mill Burger, The Ale House Burger, and the Lobster Bisque (artificial lobster, but it still tastes good [did I just say that?]).
Other than fast food joints, the competition for burgers is Jake's (a greasy spoon), Pilchuck Burgers (inspector?!!!!), The Hub (barf), Sebastians (uh, no), Mardini's (pass), and the Buzz Inn (no thanks).
I used to live in Snohomish and still own a house there. A general note on restaurants in the City of Snohomish: nothing has changed since E.C. Ferguson founded the city in 1860-- the city of Snohomish food and service sucks, which is why no one food establishment can capitalize on tourists in that town. Someone could make a mint if they actually paid attention to the service part of the equation, because most of the food isn't that good, and Snohomish's demographic is changing with the influx of well-to-do families and Seattle-ites weary of the rat race).
Mostly, Fred's is a place where you go to meet up with a friend, or (if you're a local) to do some business with other clients. The spring and summer crowd can push the pace of the servers and wait staff (who are mostly friendly), and whole families are very welcome here.
Stop in out of the summer heat, and rest your weary bones with a limited production micro brew.
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Fred's has delicious food from the lunch menu sandwiches to the halibut and chips. The coconut prawns are excellent. the wait staff is friendly, but this place is usually pretty busy so sometimes it's slow. Great beer choice from lots of local brewers.
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When my parents came to visit from out-of-state, I took them to downtown Snohomish to browse the antiques shops. We randomly chose the Rivertown Ale House for lunch, but what a delicious, filling and satisfying lunch it was. (I had the halibut sandwich.) I kept telling hubby he needed to try this place, but it fell on deaf ears until we had another out-of-town guest. Our guest declared their apricot beer to be the best apricot beer he'd ever had, and their "Black and Bleu" burger to be the best burger he'd ever had. We've been back many times since.
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Good beer and, um, well they have good beer.
I'm local micro-beer enthusiast who scours the region for good beer and come to Fred's a few times a month. I can usually find a really good beer, however there are a few things about this place that are really annoying. The service is just plain bad. I've sat there and been ignored for more than a half hour by waitresses passing my table dozens of times without even acknowledging me. The food ranges from "ok" to "sucks". Stick to the basics like burgers or the Ahi tuna salad, or fish n chips. But be wary of the 'specials'.
The beer menu is usually way out of date, I've learned to 'walk the taps' rather than relying on the menu or waitstaff. Its often very busy and the crowd is loud.
All in all its one of the better beer pubs of Snohomish, but I'd love to transplant any one of dozens of similar small town Washington pubs in Snohomish to give Fred's a run for its money.
