Click here to read the Spanish version.
If you walk around Manhattan you are very likely to end up running into a famous star. One of those regular places where many celebrities go is a restaurant with several locations around the city. It’s called Jack’s Wife Freda and serves food that combines recipes from South Africa and Israel, the places of origin of its two creators. The first location opened on Lafayette Street in SoHo in 2011. Any day you go you might be eating next to stars like Anthony Kiedis, the frontman of Red Hot Chili Peppers or Joe Jonas, among others, as can be seen in the post shared by an Instagram account. In addition, actress Peper Perabo -starring in The Coyote Bar- is co-owner and investor of the venue, which is located in the West Village.
Other celebrities who have been photographed having a drink or are recurring customers are model Chrissy Teigen, actress Sienna Miller or singer Lana del Rey.
In total, there are five Jack’s Wife Freda restaurants throughout New York City. Its founders are Dean and Maya, South African and Israeli, respectively, who met in New York, fell in love and decided to take on this project together. The restaurant is named after Dean’s grandmother, Freda – Jack’s wife – who was a wonderful hostess and always made sure there was plenty of good food on the table.
South African, Israeli and Jewish Cuisine
Jack’s Wife Freda’s menu features dishes with history inspired by the owners’ childhoods in both Israel and South Africa, as well as recipes from New York’s Jewish culture. Here they serve everything from breakfast or brunch, to lunch, dinner and cocktails, with service all day long.
Some specialties to try are Bennie’s Chicken Schnitzel with mashed potatoes and salad; Jack’s Breakfast, with a grilled steak, 2 eggs any style, roasted tomato, potatoes, pickled onions and sourdough toast; or the Kefta Kebab with Persian meatballs, tahini and pine nuts.
On the liquid side, it offers up to 15 different cocktails with a signature proposal inspired by both Freda and Jack.
