Karol M.
Yelp
Freddo is a fairly new restaurant/cafe housed in a beautifully restored historic Victorian mansion. We checked it out on a Saturday night, during the monthly craft market. There were about six local vendors set up in the outdoor area and they also had an open mic night, which is usually reserved for Mondays on their calendar. Lots of 20 to 30-something folks were hanging out enjoying food, drinks, and the lovely spring weather.
Indoors is where you'll find the counter to order food, ranging from salads to pizzas to sandwiches and some additional Greek foods. They have a wonderful selection of wines by the bottle and glass, along with multiple beers on tap and in bottles and cans. They offer a happy hour M-F 4pm to close, which is pretty generous. There are additional food and drink specials on various days/nights. The staff was friendly and helpful to a commendable degree, which we noticed and appreciated.
Personally, I don't care for the closeness of the indoor space and especially the upstairs, which has a number of sofas and tables to resemble a somewhat crowded series of living rooms. That may not bother other people, as evidenced by the number of patrons there that evening, but all of the downstairs tables were taken. The building itself has some outstanding architectural characteristics, like the painted ceiling and chandelier over the ordering area, the ornate carved wooden downstairs fireplace, the wrap-around porch, and the banistered staircase to the second floor. Be aware that there are some pretty steep steps both to get inside and to go upstairs.
My favorite area was the outdoor space with the giant heritage oaks and the multitude of seating options, including swings. The only drawback is the location on the incredibly busy corner of Oltorf and South Congress, with drivers speeding around the corners and revving their engines down the street. You can't really hear the mayhem when the music is turned up, but the yard kind of begs for a tall wall and some greenery, maybe some water features to help shield it from the crazy. Parking is not the ideal situation, since they have a very small lot, and street parking is limited. Rideshare is a good idea.
It isn't exactly my scene, but it may be yours. Go check it out and see for yourself.