Twenty/20 Taphouse Somerset — Restaurant in Franklin Township

First off, I'm a local supporter of businesses in the Franklin Township area and I'm excited to have a Twenty/20 here since there are only a few restaurants that are of this size. I'm providing this feedback/review for quick turnarounds since I really want this place to succeed despite my not-so-wonderful first impression.

Pros: The ambiance and overall location is perfect. They have great selection of beers on draft and bottle. The amount of local Jersey beers are awesome. Add wine, whiskey & different cocktails and we are talking a great place to enjoy a drink and watch some sports.

Con: Front of the house needs some attention in order for this restaurant to be successful. We arrived for an early dinner (445pm) to beat the dinner crowd that usually comes with a brand new local restaurant. We were served by a lady whom we found out later on is the GM. She was awesome took our order and then that was the last time we saw her. A new waiter came along said he will be taking care of us the rest of our dinner and apologized. We didn't get our food until 530 after false promises that it will be coming "soon". I'd rather have a waiter that is sincerely honest, provide us the truth and keep us at bay with a refill of drinks or even a side of bread. Instead we waited, and not only that, some of the food we ordered like the pasta was overcooked and my burger came out 15 minutes after everyone elses. Once I received the burger, you can tell the burger just looked well done when I asked for a medium one (took a bite, over charred & well done). I wanted BBQ sauce on the side, but instead it was all over it. Since I didn't want to wait any longer for the food and my family and company with us was close to finish with their food I asked to take the meal off the tab. The waiter apologized and basically said the person that ordered the food was the GM and didn't know how to order from their system, which just confused me even more and confirmed as a customer I've become a by-product of their lack of communication.

Top it off, we asked for a dessert menu, and they said they have dessert, but no menu. Maybe not yet?! The waiter stated what they have, but then said some were not available. You would think if you didn't have a menu, that you would only suggest the ones you have....so confusing! We decided to have dessert nearby instead.

At the end, the waiter was very apologetic and asked to give them another chance because they're working out on fixing issues like this. I took it to heart and will definitely try again because I have faith they can turn it around. The potential is certain there and I really hope you take this as constructive criticism and limit these type of experiences to all the first impression customers that are coming to enjoy their time there. Best wishes!

Return Visit: Let me say that if you go to the bar and order your favorite crafts available on tap (Updated weekly as you can see from date on menu), Bavarian Soft Pretzel and dry rub wings, this place is awesome. The bartender was knowledgeable with the beer which is certainly a plus, especially if this is a "taphouse". Due to this visit, I'm updating my rating to 4 and believe this restaurant has turned around. Best part is I'm local...

My friends and I (party of three) decided to visit this venue on Friday, April 14, 2023. We picked this place specifically because it was a bar & tavern, had outdoor tv/monitors and the evening weather was perfect for sitting outdoors at 8pm. My male friends were very much interested in watching the NBA basketball playoffs. So I called this venue before hand to ensure that there were monitors outside so the game would not be missed. When we arrived, we were seated immediately outdoors and there were at least five monitors all playing sports EXCEPT the NBA playoffs. My male friend asked our kind waitress if ONE monitor outside could be changed. She tried her best to assist but she said that the monitors are set for the day and cannot be changed. So of course, we thought perhaps management would be flexible and my male friend asked the MANAGER, ASHLEY for consideration. Well, my male friend returned very irritated because ASHLEY’S demeanor and response towards him was very nonchalant, unfriendly and she communicated with agitation as if she was repeating herself. So my friends and I were baffled because what establishment that offers the viewing of sports entertainment would not be flexible or even accommodate their customers. Her accommodation, was to come inside and watch the game because it’s on inside. We were puzzled with her deliver, attitude; and the fact that ASHLEY who is part of management failed to communicate respectfully and ASHLEY displayed poor representation of this venue. I also approached ASHLEY, out of respect for our waitress because we decided to leave. Not because of the policy, but ASHLEY’s lack of respect and rude behavior. If her delivery had not been CRASS, and she responded with compassion, we would have stayed. But instead we went to GABRIEL’s in PISCATAWAY and they delivered IMPECCABLE SERVICE, and change three monitors in the dining area to the playoffs where we were seated without hesitation. We definitely felt welcomed at GABRIEL’S. I would recommend ASHLEY attends a hospitality course because she definitely made my friends and I feel very unwelcome for the twenty minutes we were there. Her behavior towards us was distasteful. ASHLEY NEEDS...

First time here, and it was so-so. The menu is expansive and fantastic. Definitely delicious, upscale American food. Our server, Maggie, was okay. She had a great, friendly personality, but was slow. She seemed a little new, and being a previous waitress myself, I can easily forgive that. I wish her the best. We waited for drinks from the bar for a substantial amount of time, long enough that our appetizer came out first. We didn’t wait for the drinks to be made- we waited for them to be brought to us. My table was maybe 7 feet from the bar and we were able to see when our drinks were ready. The bar was a little backed up, which is again forgivable (been there, done that), but once our drinks were ready they sat for a long time. I watched servers come by and not grab them, and two managers, one white male, one African American male, sit by and not grab them, and instead sit with their coworkers to chat. It wasn’t until another manager, a girl with red hair, came by that we got our drinks. She saw them sitting there, saw the ticket times, and immediately delivered them to us. The second time we ordered drinks, we waited again. This time the African American manager actually noticed the drinks sitting there, read the ticket (which includes the ticket times) and did nothing. He instead, again, sat and chatted with some coworkers. Another server, a blond woman named Taylor, saw how long they were sitting there and delivered them herself. Thank you Taylor. You’re the epitome of good service and teamwork. Once our main dishes were served, I became more unhappy and decided to write this review. My boyfriend and I both got a side of fries with our meal, and they were old. I mean old enough that I couldn’t squish them between my fingers old. They definitely sat under the heat lamp for a long time. Our friend ordered the meatloaf sandwich and asked for no onion straws, and when his food was served it still had the onion straws. I think the restaurant has the potential, but 1) DEFINITELY needs better management (not you, red head, you’re great!!) and 2) needs to work on their kitchen a bit. They have a great menu without a great kitchen staff to...