The Franklin

Creative, amazing drink menu and the dining is top notch. I’ve never found anything I didn’t love. Beautiful bar and interior, and the roof deck is great — don’t miss it on a summer night.

Food is ok, drinks and ambiance are great.

Two things. Maybe 3: 1) Nice location and environment. Loved that. 2) incredible food including the BEST fish dish I have ever had in my life. Apparently new to the menu. The Sole. Wow X 10. My wife had Rigatoni that was great too although not the award winner the Sole dish was. You. Must. Try. It. Oh 3) service was very good too.

Average food in a Beautiful building. Great location. Expensive aver age food is the only downfall. The menu is somewhat creative — but they miss it on flavor and excitement.

Went there last Friday night with my wife and son. The bar service was very good, and they had a nice selection to choose from. We started with the house small salad topped with their delicious Green Goddess dressing and a side of prepared broccoli.
For the main course, I ordered the chicken pot pie (it’s absolutely delicious), my wife had chicken rotini, and my son had a pepperoni and Brie flatbread. We all really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere was very comfortable. I noticed they have acoustic tiles installed to help make it easier to hear.
Lastly, the service was very friendly. I wish I could remember the server’s name. She was attentive without being bothersome, and had a really warm smile. It made for a nice evening with the family.

I understand that it’s deer season here in Michigan but the Franklin Should really save the salt lick for the deer. But really this place has a great atmosphere and was a good time with friends. However most of our group found the food to be incredibly salty.

Well I am impressed. I was in Traverse City on business and was looking for somewhere with a great menu. It was a very hip and there was a neat 20 person table in the center of the dining room by the bar. We split to entrees and they plated them at the table. Seafood salad was excellent. Steak was above average but not amazing. Interestingly they would not let me taste a particular bourbon because it was «against the law» which I respectfully challenge. Oh well not the end of the world. Overall we will return if we are in the area again.

Was seriously pleased with our breakfast stop.
Was in town on an escape and after walking the main drag looking for an appealing place to eat we decided on here.
My wife had biscuits and gravy which were delicious– typically a meal that leaves you feeling heavy, she was pleased that it did not.
Let me preface by acknowledging I am from New Mexico–
I ordered their Huevos Rancheros, I was pleased at the chefs take on this timely Hispanic dish.
It was different having rice instead of some form of potato– either has Browns or home fries of some sort which is standard. My only real issue was the Chorizo– typically a bit more chunky– but a good attempt for a northern Michigan chef. All in all I was actually very pleased and very impressed.

Probably the coolest place in Traverse City. Amazing food, amazing atmosphere, amazing drinks.
The upstairs balcony feels like a beer garden on a second floor — very warm and inviting/​fun with amazing views of downtown.
Highly recommend this place!

Tried the thyme drink and Undertaker brew… fabulous!!!
Avocado salad was so fresh and the perfect blend of lemony dressing… light and beautiful
Gems salad was beautiful with dark cherries/​blueberries/​walnuts with fresh crispy greens
This local scores our top rating… food and feeling!

I can only give three at this review because I’m here strictly for drinks. The drink sectional is pretty damn great. Sitting in the sunshine up on the rooftop patio just lets you enjoy your summer beer to the fullest. I look forward to editing this after trying their food here at the Franklin.

Great atmosphere and rooftop dining. Porchetta sandwich was excellent and paired amazingly well with the locally brewed «Stellar» IPA. Very affordably priced! Highly recommended.

So far, we’ve only visited the Franklin for drinks and apps, but we had such a great experience.
Fiancé’ and I were in town for TCFF. We’d just seen one of the #foodonfilm series movies, The City of Gold, and afterwards, the guest speakers were the owner of the Harvest and of Trattoria Stella (and the Franklin). Rooftop drinks sounded nice, so we popped into the Franklin on the way to the State.
After a short wait at the bar, one of the owners took us upstairs to our table on the rooftop (and was super friendly). Fiancé’ ordered the Stellar Old Fashioned and I ordered the Ferndale ’75. We thought both drinks were among the best we’d ever had. So fun sitting on the rooftop sipping delicious cocktails. We’re going back for sure.

Great atmosphere. Elegant. .. old timey feel. I had the franklin salad Wh chicken. Somehow the lady at the table next to me had twice the amount of lettuce but the salad was fantastic nonetheless.
Attentive service. This place is on its way to
Becoming a traverse city favorite.

I am still waiting for my check at this very moment as I sit in disgust, especially for 20+ dollars.
For starters, my salad was coated with a salt bath. I asked if it was supposed to be like this. The busser and the server said no so it was sent back. It came back and was edible. By now I was really looking forward to dinner but my experience was already blemished and about to be stained forever.
The fries that came with my burger were again too salty, but that wasn’t the issue. The problem was the fries were Luke — warm on the verge of room temperature. They must have made way too much and they sat way too long and got cold sitting under a heat lamp waiting for some unlucky patron to buy them.
Finally, the lamb burger. This was the second time I have ordered this (and been here, also last). I ordered it as-​is. Now I have had many a lamb burger in my day, and the best way is usually rare to medium rare. But when the cold center falls and crumbles apart, you know it isn’t going to end well. I asked again if it was supposed to be like this. Again, I got the nod «no». At this point I was offered something completely different for my meal, in which I had to decline.
The quality of the food was inedible and I had lost my appitite. I have also heard friends with similar experiences, especially with too salty of foods.
BEWARE! The owner also owns Trattoria Stella, which I have also been to twice and both times have been very salty. The food is WAY OVERPRICED at both places and WAY TOO FREAKING SALTY. Read the other reviews!

Great German Wiesen Edel-​Weisse
Gazpacho watermelon soup.
Pork Schnitzel — pretzel bread
White potatoes, caraway vinaigrette, grilled lemons. Squeeze the lemon & enjoy!
Great service! Lots of local wines.

I wanted to like The Franklin, I really did. The atmosphere is super cool, kind of rustic with a modern twist. They have an amazing outdoor seating area upstairs which is where we got to sit. We came on a Saturday around 2pm for lunch and there was about a 25 – 30 minute wait, no big deal. We got sat pretty quickly. I ordered a really great glass of wine, and we ordered the calamari to start. The calamari was SO bland. It had a great texture, was cooked well, and wasn’t rubbery at all but literally had no taste. I was tempted to add salt. It was served with a random pile of sautéed peppers on the side… also bland. I ordered The Franklin salad with Salmon and my friend the black bean and quinoa burger. It took about 45 minutes for us to get our food which is just insane considering I ordered a salad (how long does it take to make a salad?). Finally after waiting forever our food arrived. My salad was SO tiny, the size of a side salad. I thought it would be an entrée size salad but it so small. The salmon was undercooked and a really small piece and I couldn’t even eat the middle section. Then after our meal it seemed to take forever to get our waitress to come back over to get us our checks. Then when we finally got our checks she gave us the wrongs ones from another table.
Overall, really disappointed considering this restaurant is in a great location and the atmosphere is super rad.

Had the steak special and a real decent cedar beer. The fried fingerlings. $ 3. Come check it out.
Apparently, this is the sister restaurant (same owners) of the Stella Trattoria, but I wouldn’t have guessed it based on the quality of food — slightly cheaper and twice as good.
We stumbled upon the place looking for a geocache, and when we couldn’t find it, we said, «They have steak. We need to eat it. Let’s try it.»
The Franklin was so awesome. Even though it was a bit chilly, it was a warm enough to the winter that warranted eating on the rooftop deck, especially with the heaters.
Our waitress was so kind and knowledgable, and we just LOVED the food. The steak was one of the finest cuts I’ve ever had in my life — especially with the whipped gorgonzola cheese.
I look forward to coming back here and eating the steak.

I’ve been here 6 times. I’ve ordered the lamb burger 6 times. I’ve ranked it in my top 3 best burgers of all time. Tonight was not one of those times. It was «good»…not top 3. Not even top 10. The burger was small compared to the bun and it was slightly overcooked. It was tasty but «ehh». I know this place can do better.
Someone I came with got the hanger steak and it was phenomenal. I’ll be back but I hope they «wow» me again.

The Franklin is relatively new but it’s really awesome! We had flatbread pizza and a potato dish. The flatbread was amazing and we didn’t love the potato dish but only because of personal preference. Management heard we didn’t like it and took it off our tab! Not necessary but really they went the extra mile!
The drinks were really tasty and they don’t skimp on the alcohol! I really loved this place, ambiance, good and drinks were great! I will be back!