Big Woods - Franklin — Restaurant in Franklin

Had a meal here with my wife and daughter a couple of weeks ago, it's the first time I'd visited since it became Big Woods over a year ago now. I was surprised to see that the interior was almost exactly the same as the previous franchise had and although it's by no means bad, the lay out feels 'cold' with lofty ceilings and huge open areas...not to my personal taste. We all ordered different dishes and were disappointed with 2 of them. The breaded tenderloin served in a bun was really basic at best. Two 1/4" breaded burger-size tenderloins that tasted like, well, a burger...and before you say " you got the wrong plate no, I didn't get the wrong dish. The fries that came with the tenderloin were great...just not enough and the saving grace was the bun it was served on. Lightly toasted but not dry...I like good bread. My wife ordered fish tacos (wrapped in lettuce). These were like tiny almost cold tasteless fish pieces in lettuce. These would likely have made a nice starter but as a main dish it was pathetic. I gave my wife one of my 'burgers' and some of the fries to help stave of her hunger. My daughter on the other hand ordered a chicken rice dish that was plentiful, hot and tasty. I'm not a big complainer, we ate, we paid and left. I've been to other Big Woods restaurants and they were always very good. Food well cooked, presented, tasty etc. This one isn't the same. I visited the location when it was a different franchise and had very similar experiences with the food, sometimes ok, sometimes disappointing. The service was never good. I was eager to try out Big Woods in the hope that I could add this as a good place to eat again..but it's really no different...saying that, the service is better. Makes me wonder if the only thing that changed is the name...

First time at this solid eatery, easily the best dining I've had in Franklin. We were greeted by Kylely a super friendly hostess who asked us if we preferred booth or table. She explained they specialize in craft beer and Hard Truth (Indiana made) cocktails. She offered free samplings of the Hard Truth liquors. I tried the creamed coconut and bourbon -- loved them both but opted for the Porter beer which was a 16 Oz pour and delicious! Then Holly came over immediately to take our orders. We opted for the 16" pizza to have leftovers to take home. The pizza and breadsticks with beer cheese side was a good choice. The thin crust was excellent. My date had the Hard Truth Gin & Tonic. I had a taste and gotta say the gin is delicious. The service we received from Holly was top drawer. What a sweet, competent and engaged waitperson she is. The atmosphere / decor was also excellent with a view of the golf course. The only thing I could find wrong with the place is that the faucet in the ladies room was hard to turn off and on but the sink and cabinet was cool. They should think about changing out the faucet. The sink looked like brass and gave the ladies room an elevated look though I think a place that great should also ditch the pink soap in plastic dispenser and upgrade it too. That's not a complaint just a small suggestion. Holly really made our visit special and is an asset to the business. I'm definitely going back and the menu offerings made me want to try everything. It was the perfect place and actually doesn't cost more than fast food...

The restaurant is nice and definitely gives you the cabin in the woods feel. We waited over an hour for our food. I ordered the Poutine fries with pulled pork and my husband ordered a pulled pork sandwich with truffle fries. These items should have taken a max of 20 min. The one star is not for the food. It was good. It was for how the situation was handled. The waitress never acknowledged there was an issue until our food was finally brought out. The first manager only came over because of our comments to the waitress about the wait. He just kept saying he didn’t know what happened which is funny because we both knew what happened ....either the waitress forgot to put the order in when placed or the kitchen sent out our food to the wrong table. I believe the latter since the wrong food was delivered to our table 30 minutes into our wait. He offered a dessert for our troubles but why would we wait additional time for a dessert. At this point, this dinner was over two hours for a party of two. A second manager stopped by our table. He lays his business card down and says “email me about what went on tonight so I can make it right” WHAT? Email you? I don’t need to email you I can tell you right now. My husband told him we just wanted the bill. We waited another 20 minutes to get the bill. We have been to Big Woods in Speedway and it was a totally different experience. We loved it. This is actually why we tried the Franklin location. So we will go back to Big Woods but it will not be to the Franklin...