Franklin's Wine — Restaurant in London

Moved in nearby recently and after my favourite wine bar closed in my last area, was hoping to find a good place (and locals that i’m friends with highly recommended this place) to become a regular spot. First night was really nice albeit super busy (but busy is good), glass of wine was £15 which is expected if you wanna indulgee bc it’s notting hill after all, as scary as it is. Returned sunday when quieter and wanted to buy a bottle to take out, with one glass in the location to quickly send some emails before going home. I politely asked if the corkage could be altered as was only me and I was having just one glass, waitress smiled and was happy but when it was presented to the manager he just stared at me, didn’t even acknowledge or say hi etc, spoke to her and told her it’s a ‘fixed item’ and it can’t be altered. I’ve worked with POS systems and it’s literally so easy to add £5 on or discount an item, so basically lying as a way to say you just wanna make money was the better option. Few other reviews from locals saying how it’s very money-centric and I completely agree, most of the staff are lovely but the management creates quite a rubbish atmosphere that doesn’t seem to care about regular custom or even getting it to know people. They make money through constant busyness which means management don’t need to consider keeping relationships with regulars who would spend quite a bit.

Would try again but for now been put off, you want to feel welcome and actually acknowledged at a place - not just seen...

I’ve been to Franklin’s before and loved the vibe, food, and drinks. But on my second visit this evening, the service from one staff member really let the experience down.

While one server (a lovely woman) was friendly and helpful, the male server was noticeably curt throughout and became confrontational over a small billing error. We were charged for two bottles of sparkling water, but all three of us distinctly remember only ordering and receiving one. Instead of handling it calmly, he insisted - quite forcefully - that we were wrong, despite us politely saying we’d pay regardless.

It wasn’t about the £5 - it was the attitude. Hopefully, it was just an off day for him. Still good food and atmosphere, but today’s service took away from it.

Edit: Appreciate the response from the owner. We understand your intention was to clarify the order, just as ours was. All three of us are certain only one sparkling bottle was delivered. Again, it wasn’t about the £5 - it was about the principle and the way it was handled. I hope it truly was just a miscommunication, and that future service feels more open and...

Unless you want to drop a lot of money you will be treated like crap here. Very sad how money hungry Franklin’s has become, we live 100m from here and come regularly across the year as locals when it’s quieter, and even spending £30 per person on wine tonight, they asked us to move from our table outside (after we waited 15 mins for a table at 5pm) so they could accommodate more influencers on the table next to us and move us to a less desirable table inside. A reminder from someone who has worked in hospitality 12+ years, if you don’t look after your locals and put money first, you won’t make it in the...