Franklinville Inn — Restaurant in Franklin Township

We had a reservation on Saturday and this was our first time at the Franklinville Inn. I had researched them before going and they seemed like a very good place to go. One look at their website and you immediately think of a high-end fine dining establishment. My review is very mixed. Please read on.

When we got there we were warmly greeted by the folks at the Inn. We had to wait about 15 minutes after our reservation time to be seated - which is not a big deal. Timing is never going to be spot on for a reservation anywhere so we expected a little wait.

After being seated we were greeted by our server - who by the way had a great personality and was very attentive - 5 stars for the server!

We ordered apps - Crab Bisque soup, soup of the day which was mushroom, and the citrus salad.

Apps come out and I'm very pleased to find that the bisque was not a traditional bisque but had decent chucks of lump crabmeat in it! Wonderful flavor. The wife's soup - the mushroom - came out with a dark brown skin on the surface as it if had been sitting in the bowl and under a heat lamp for quite some time - it also had a large letter Z or N on the surface in pesto. Once we moved the skin away form the surface and tried what was underneath it tasted nothing like mushroom soup - it had a very strong and over powering flavor of spices. There wasn't a hint of mushroom flavor to be had. Major Fail ! The citrus salad I was expecting to be light and refreshing wasn't quite that. To start, the plate itself, regardless of where I touched it was sticky and tacky to the touch. The flavor of the salad was so overwhelmingly sweet that I could not taste the spinach. When I took a piece of the blue cheese that was crumbled on it the vast contrast in taste was like being slapped in the face. They could have done better with that - easily - and not made it so sickening sweet.

The also served a very nice bread, small loaf to be exact, warm from the oven with a ramekin of butter. I wish they would have served it with a compound butter but not the end of the world.

We ordered drinks and the wife got a nice size glass of wine and tasty too! I ordered a mixed drink and the size of this little tiny glass that came out that was filled to the brim with ice and a few drips of liquor was an insult.

Dinner arrives while we are still working on appetizers (we only had them a few minutes). Wife has a prime rib - very nice and cooked to perfection. Side of horseradish potato salad was very tasty. Good job on those two!

My broiled seafood combo - 1 piece of flounder, 3 scallops, one crab cake, and one stuffed shrimp, stuffed potato. The seafood wasn't seasoned and was very bland. There was no sauce served with the seafood and the mono-tone taste of the entire platter was underwhelming. They could have served some sauce with it or seasoned it. One of the scallops was barely cooked (it was raw on the inside for nearly the entire thickness).

At this point I'm pretty disgusted with the meal, and siting there thinking, I could have gone to our local diner and gotten more for the money (and have it taste much better).

The server brought the desert tray around, we weren't ordering desert and that was ok. But there the portion size of the creme brûlée was minuscule it was served in a 2 inch diameter ramekin toped with whipped cream and a strawberry (when is that a classical presentation of creme brûlée ).

I ordered a decaf coffee and a courvoisier. I ended up with a decaf and a hennesey ! Are you kidding ?

So - the overall rating is 3. Food quality - about a 2 ( I truly could have done better at our local diner ) Service - 5 - super awesome people and service Atmosphere - 5 - wonderful atmosphere, lots of ambiance and warmth Value - I don't even know how to rate that based on our experience.

So - would I return - sure once the Chef and Kitchen Management are replaced.

Maybe it was just a bad night for them - who knows. If you go - don't expect the best, and if you get lucky and you have a great meal...

Safe to say most 5-star reviews on here are from people that really cant cook at home let alone make quality steak. Its not hard to do a 24hr salt brine, sear steak, add red wine chicken/beef stock, shallots, herbs, and butter for a decadent pan sauce. Or after sear throw in simple butter rosemary thyme and crushed garlic cloves. But none of my steak experiences in the past 10 years came close to a simple home recipe. Have you seen the outrageous prices nowadays. Both Land and sea prices made me think i was at a Michellen star place. So the past is the past and i never intended to ever come back here again but my GF had a gift card from the holidays. She was in the mood for crabcakes so i tagged along without high hopes. The french onion soup was a 7/10. Not as bad as a chain restaurant but nothing to preach about either. Needed salt, richness, depth, and herbs if you like it herby. The melted provolone cheese on the soup was better than the soup itself. She had a virgin pina colada too which was quite delicious, the actual best thing we tasted all night. I got a key lime martini. Tasted like a lemoncello shot. Nothing key lime about. The orange creamsicle cocktail tasted of artifical sweetener and cough medicine. Their bar is very lack luster too. The scotch/whiskey selection is on par with whats available at your local hole in the wall. Her house salad though looked appetizimg tasted very diner-like and the blue cheese dressing was god awful bland. Her 2 crab cakes for $43 was such a smack in the face. She enjoyed it to some extent only because it was a gift card. Thank god its actual crab meat with very minimal filler. It tatses like most unseasoned crabcakes. Just didnt sound out. The side roasted pepper sauce was flavorless. All bechamel and no pepper taste. We both would never would pay out of pocket for something so boring. Creamed spinach!!! GUESS WHAT!!! It tasted like spinach. Everything was unremarkable. I truly dont get how people ravv about the INN. I guess more people could care less about quality and focus on bragging rights to their friends. " hey guys i went to the franklinville inn. Yes i know its pricey. But hey im trying to be 1 up on the Jones's" Will never ever come back here. Will never ever recommend it to anyone. Its just not a great place to savor flavor and make your taste buds explode. Dont cave in because of the nostalgia. Youll lose your hard earned money and wish you went...

The calm atmosphere with beautiful decorations are the prime setting for a romantic evening. While the prices are a little above average, you're paying not only for the quality of food, but the experience as well. Everyone here is professional and they speak eloquently. Our waitress, Thalia, was outstanding. Extremely nice, knowledgeable and helpful. The food is always superb. Even the house salad with house made Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing was flavorful. The chef's soup today was Beef Pot Pie, amazing (without the cracker that's in there)! My husband even loved the fresh bread (how simple!). The French Onion Soup I could tell was made slightly different from other places, almost tasted like they put wine in there, possibly? I had Chicken Marsala (one of my favorites in general) they did not disappoint. Some places use a lighter sauce (there's is dark brown, the way it should be). I had a side of roasted asparagus al dente. It could have had a little more flavor (garlic I personally like on mine). I definitely received a lot more than I thought you would get as a side (enough for 2-3 people). Also, the sherried mushrooms were divine as well. My husband ordered the filet mignon and I'm sure the Chef wanted you to taste the quality of the meat on it's own, which is great! We, however, opted for some Au Jus to dip it in to give it a tad bit more flavor. The waitress offered house made steak sauce, although either of us didn't care for that. It was a little over powering of a vinegar taste (like worchestire sauce, but still a little more than preferred). He also had a side of Rustic Potatoes with caramelized onions, GREAT! Sort of reminded me of an onion ring which was funny. Lastly, we had the Creme Brulee with a cappuccino. Anyone who knows Creme Brulee, knows its overly sweet, that's a given. Paired with a Cappuccino or Espresso evens out that sweetness for me. The presentation was wonderful though, topped with Bacardi 151, served as a flame that went out on its own.

I did forget to mention my husband's pina colada as well. Now mind you, I HATE coconut, but I could barely taste it. And the flavor was so creamy compared to any others I've had before that taste mostly like ice. Definitely going to check out the bar at a later date to hang out and drink some of those!

If you want one a cozy, romantic, higher end dinner, this place is definitely one of the best here in...