The new guys in town have already made their mark on Paddington’s Oxford Street. Merivale’s latest additions, the restaurant Fred’s and its basement bar Charlie Parker’s, combine the kitchen experience of Miami-raised Chez Panisse alum Danielle Alvarez with the bar knowledge of Sam Egerton and Toby Marshall, to bring Sydney an experience akin to dining with your loved ones – intimate, unpretentious, with a menu derived from what’s freshest on any given day. The cooking at Fred’s will take place on free-standing Tuscan grills, harnessing the heat and flavour of open fire, with a focus on ethically-produced ingredients to create dishes like wood oven squid and ink with celery, preserved lemon and dill, and Robbins Island beef with crispy potatoes. And with Charlie Parker’s just a flight of stairs away for that post-dinner nightcap, Fred’s is like that friend whose invitation for dinner you can never refuse.