The Free Press Bistro

Came here with a Groupon a few weeks ago — I was really excited to use it because I had one a couple years ago and remember loving Free Press Bistro. Unfortunately, the second time was pretty underwhelming.
The sandwiches we got were quite good — BBQ Chicken and Pork Tenderloin — I do really give them credit for that. (hence the two stars, despite the rest of the review)
However, the sides are god-​awful. I had a caesar salad, and (as you can see in the pic) the lettuce was entirely yellow/​white. Not a speck to be found. I honestly didn’t even try it since it looked so gross but my friend did and said it was way to garlicky (and we like garlic). I tried some of their fries and they were absolutely the most disgusting fries I have ever tasted. They tasted like freezer-​burnt mccain fries. I actually didn’t know it was possible to have fries taste that bad. Ugh.
The restaurant itself is nice enough. Nothing special, but there were lots of open tables on the random weeknight we went. I don’t know. If you could get just a panini maybe I’d be back but considering the price includes the sides (I don’t remember exactly how much everything was, but I think around $ 15?), I expect the sides to be edible.

Great sandwiches and service here, I have been to this restaurant 3 times and it gets better with each visit.

Needs Improvement.
There are endless places in Edmonton to get a sandwich, a visit to any establishment should leave me a reason to come back. A reason I didn’t receive. We had a great waitress beyond that service was REALLY slow the place was empty. The ambiance was updated but no better than a greasy spoon.
The thing that really got me was the cheapness of this place. The sandwiches were pretty much just bread there was barely a filling inside and the side salad was tiny, a child sized handful. They charge 14 bucks for a crappy sandwich with a tiny side and have the audacity to attempt to change to you extra if you wanted Caesar salad (which does not contain bacon, I checked) or potato salad.
The thing is the prices it self wouldn’t be an issue if there was a wow factor but that is absent from the food and the dinning experience. This is not a place I would go back to by choice. If I was with friends that wanted to go and I happened to be with them I would be sure to have a large snack before I go so that I don’t sit there hangrey the rest of the night.

I went for lunch and it was amazing. The food was great as well as the service. We had one little minor problem with our food. They took the meal off our bill. I asked them to put it back on as the meal was great. They put it back on the bill then gave me a gift certificate which was not nessisary. We were very impressed. Thank you

A great little pressed sandwich shop that provides great sandwiches, good sides and good service. I’ve only been here twice (the first time was years ago) but both times have been great! I had a wonderful half muffletta sandwich on my most recent visit along with a soup (the special that day) and tasted my friend’s delicious chicken fingers and fries. I loved the quality of the food and the fact that this place is near so much in the downtown area. I think my previous visit included a more «press» centric menu design but that was years ago and this is now.

Having grown up around Winnipeg where the daily newspaper is The Winnipeg Free Press, I was automatically intrigued with this restaurant.
A+ service — the waitress was super friendly, attentive, kind, helpful. Great service really stands out to me and this service was exactly what I desire.
Good menu with something for everyone with appies, salads, burgers, sandwiches and dessert.
Food was good — fast and tasty!
Cute little patio right on 104 Street, just south of Jasper.

I stop off at the Free Press Bistro often. It’s my go-​to to grab a sandwich for the bus ride home to Calgary for all my work trips to Edmonton, as it’s right next to the Red Arrow bus station. Nevertheless, no matter how many times I frequent this place I’ve never been totally «wowed» by their sandwiches, and on my last stop I was actually a bit disappointed with my meal. I normally get chips as a side but wanting something more substantial, I ordered poutine — and it was just gravy over shredded cheese on my fries! So disappointing, just buy real cheese curs please! I got the chicken club sandwich, which was ok, but I definitely like their veggie one better. Service is always awesome, but the place itself could use a facelift. Their menu is definitely way classier than their actual venue, so don’t be scared off by the plain and dated décor. Worth a stop on the go, but avoid the poutine!

Free press is a great sandwich place for lunch. They play off their name and have their menu looking like a newspaper.
The main thing that you want to be looking for is the grilled sandwiches. Always very tasty and the staff are great. Even during lunch when it gets packed they don’t forget about you and are attentive.
The décor is not the best and the place could use a facelift. Don’t let that fool you however as the food is top notch.
I personally love the buffalo chicken sandwich.

So it was Downtown Dining Week in Edmonton, and while my wallet would have much preferred sampling lunch menus, dinner was the only option that would work with my schedule.
First up on the docket is the Free Press. I had sort of known about this place, and was excited to finally try it. When we sat down we were told that we could order off the lunch menu for DDW (yay!) and so we had a meal of tomato soup, sandwich and fresh made chips. The soup was really good, but I was hoping that it would have come out with the sandwich for dipping purposes. For the sandwich there were only a few options that worked with the DDW special. I had the Roasted Vegetable and it had black olive tapenade, roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, eggplant and cheese. This sandwich was seriously so delicious. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, the bread was pressed, but still soft and didn’t cut up my mouth (important!) One of my favorite things was the lemon dill aioli that I had with the chips. Highly recommend asking for that on the side!
As a Downtown Dining Week experience I give it a 3 — both my friend and I felt like there was no real value going with the special. $ 15 for soup and a choice of 3 sandwiches, or pay a couple bucks more for ANY of the sandwiches on the menu with a soup. Luckily I probably would have chosen the Vegetable one anyways, and I am really glad that I did. I loved the food– probably a better lunch than dinner place and I think the real value is if you are planning on taking the Red Arrow anywhere. The downtown depot shares a wall with this place, so before you board grab something delicious to have on the bus!

I had never even heard of this place until I saw it on the list for Downtown Dining Week. It’s tucked away on 104^th Street on the wrong side of Jasper, in a decent location but not somewhere where I’d have ever noticed it. I had made a reservation for dinner on a Monday– which was not necessary because I was the only one there.
I appreciated the Free Press theme… With super old newspaper clippings framed on the wall.
Our server was friendly and cool. When you check in, there’s a Reward for 50% off drinks after 5 pm… But it isn’t valid anymore which was kinda disappointing.
I ordered the Club Sandwich which was sooo disappointing. Google a club sandwich. That’s kinda what I was expecting… But no. It was basically just a shit ton of dry chicken breast, some tomato, a bit of bacon, and if there was cheese and condiments, there was too little to notice. There was so much dry chicken, that’s all I could taste. I couldn’t even finish it, it was disgusting. The kettle chips were really good though, and they have a great dill dip for dipping.
My friend really liked her veggie sandwich, so I don’t know, maybe the other sandwiches are better. I could see this place being nice if you work downtown and want to stop by for lunch… Or if you like dry club sandwiches…

Wow — I can’t believe I have waited so long to try the Free Press Bistro. Went here with a friend a week and was extremely surprised. I had heard that it was good, so my expectations where high. Their selection of panini sandwiches was fantastic and it makes it really hard to choose. Finally decided on the the Cuban, its fantastic. We also had the poutine, highly recommended as well. To sum it up, I’m looking forward to my next visit to FPB.

Really enjoy this place for a quick lunch on the go. Quirky yet plain atmosphere, you’d understand what I mean if you went. Food is great, I eat the pulled pork all too often.

This is a unique and cute bistro for sandwiches and soups. I tried the Bocconcini salad and the soup for my visit. The staff here is great, they are friendly and pleasant to deal with.
The Bocconcini salad was very small, the tomatoes could have been fresher and sliced thicker, but the flavour was pretty good. The soup was hearty and flavourful, definitely above average. The thing that I really loved, though, was my strawberry lime drink. I’m not sure what exactly it was called, but I substituted the strawberry for raspberry and it was absolutely to die for!
It’s a cute and trendy place to have a downtown work lunch. Prices are definitely higher than average, but overall I enjoyed it because of that amazing drink and the cheery service.

I’ve wanted to The Free Press Bistro for a while, and I finally got a chance last week. The restaurant is small, but nice. I thought the newspaper décor, the old clippings framed on the walls, and the newspaper menus were really unique. It wasn’t very busy when I got in, and the service was pretty fast. Free Press serves mostly paninis (hence the whole fresh «press» idea) although there are a few other things on the menu. I was actually really impressed with the variety of paninis that were listed. It’s not just the standard ham and cheese, roast beef and cheese, egg salad, etc that other restaurants might opt to serve. I debated for a long time between the Cuban, the Muffaletta, and the Kubla Khan. I ended up order the Kubla Khan which listed as «lean strips of beef in Mongolian spice, pressed with chiles, shredded carrot, Hoisin sauce and mozzarella.» The sandwich was good, really good. I wasn’t entirely sure how the cheese would taste on this sandwich (Mongolian food isn’t the first cuisine I think of when the word cheese comes up) but it worked well. The sandwich comes with thin cut fries or potato chips (which are made in the restaurant). I got the fries and they were very good, but I think I’d try the potato chips next time.
Only downside to this restaurant, like many restaurants around downtown are the hours, this is a lunch Monday to Friday place. If you don’t work downtown, make an excuse, at least once, to take a long «working» lunch if necessary and come down here.

Went for a late lunch. Shared a plate of the home cut fries, then had the Mongolian beef pressed sandwich with Russian potato salad. The food was delicious. We had a great server — she told us the restaurant is family run. Love family run restaurants. Will go there again, maybe even for supper.

Love the Free Press for quick (but busy!) lunches or a quiet and tucked away dinner locale. Homemade by Natasha, «the Soup» is the best.soup.ever. Pureed vegetables and cream and a little kick, it’s the best smooth but hearty vegetable soup you’ll have. Pair it with a Boccocini sandwich (for dipping!)
Other favorites are the sides; homemade potato chips (the dill aioli? Yes, please!), french fries or «Russian Potato Salad».
I love the cute little patio and local beers, the tiramisu is always fresh, fluffy and rich and the girls who work here are all approachable and friendly. One of the best «eat Edmonton» restaurants!

I was excited to go back again but very sad to see the menu changed as much as it did. The only vegetarian sandwich was a grilled cheese with pickles. While it was tasty, I do not understand why that is still $ 12 along with all the other sandwiches which have several meat toppings.
The service and Chip Butty were still great but taking off the roasted veggie sandwich was a terrible idea.

I had heard that if you want a good panini, then Free Press Bistro is the way to go. So I decided to try it out last night.
Overall, my experience was just okay. I ordered the shrimp po-​boy (I am mostly vegetarian, but being pregnant and craving protein, I’ve allowed myself to eat seafood on occasion) with the soup, and my partner got the roasted vegetable sandwich with fries. I definitely got the better deal. The shrimp po-​boy was quite tasty, even more so when dipped in the soup. The soup on it’s own tasted rather processed, like perhaps the base is a canned tomato soup that the restaurant doctors up. But as a condiment for the sandwich, it was fine. The flavours of the roasted vegetable sandwich were just off. They had an olive tapenade which was overpowering and seemed to clash with the other flavours. The tastes did not compliment each other very well at all. And then the fries were bland and boring. They tasted a little better when dipped in the soup, but overall, not great.
We both ordered the egg creams to drink. They were fine, but the kind of drink you order once for the experience.
Based on the other reviews, I suspect some of the other sandwiches are better. But they don’t have many vegetarian options and since the one we had was so bleh, I don’t know if we’ll be back.

The Free Press used to be a staple of mine when I worked downtown, but sadly I haven’t been there in a while. I plan to remedy that very soon.
Free Press is all about sandwiches. Panini’s, to be exact.
They have a bunch of options from buffalo chicken with gorgonzola, a club, a philly, a salmon with capers and cream cheese, or even a cuban. But don’t be a jerk and make me sit here and list the whole menu for you; go check it out for yourself at
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I have had many different sandwiches here, the cuban and the buffalo chicken being my typical choices. I cannot imagine anyone who likes sandwiches not loving this place.
The french fries are some of the best in the city, and somehow I always forget about them until they show up at the plate. Thin cut like McDonalds, but much better. You can substitute homemade potato chips for the fries if you want. Those are also fantastic.
They seem to be quite busy at lunch, but every time we’ve been for dinner it’s been very quiet, so you likely wouldn’t need a reservation.

This is a nice comfort food place for downtown Edmonton, especially during our cold winters. Only one kind of soup, but the great German potato salad and wide variety of panini sandwiches makes up for it. Pouring over the combinations on the menu is kind of fun
The Homemade fries are good too. I wouldn’t tire of eating here quickly. The generic burger as a panini was a delicious was an unexpected and tasty surprise and I’m sure the menu has more surprises to be had.
The service is fast and friendly and the prices are very reasonable. Highly recommended for lunch, but be sure to get there before noon to get a place. Popular.