Caffè Rel — Restaurant in Franklin

We stopped in for lunch on the recommendation of some local friends, we had passed it a number of times in our travels and were surprised it was part of a gas station. Now in all fairness they have their own side of the gas station property but share the same restrooms.

We were seated and our waiter came and brought bread and a tomato compote with some olive oil on the plate. On my first bite I said to my wife " the food here will be good", I could tell because if you put a significant effort into getting the flavor right with the food you give to the table, usually what follows will be better. We ordered the meatball sandwich and we split it as we weren't very hungry. It was enough for the both of us, although if you have a big appetite you would want your own. Anyway the meatballs were excellent, they were the soft style with my guess, is ground pork, perhaps veal and beef. There was a prominent flavor of thyme and oregano, but not in a bad way, you could just taste it with every bite.

The sauce was a thicker style with very good flavor and the roll really made the sandwich, the sandwich was served with house made potato chips, perhaps a little darker than I would have cooked them but my wife loved them. If I lived locally I would stop every couple of weeks for one of these, it was excellent. Now we also ordered a quart of crab bisque for take out, it came with a very nice piece of bread and some parmesan pieces to add to the soup.

I'm sorry to say I didn't like the soup very much, the overriding flavor was salt, there was some creamy flavors and a nice amount of crab, but the primary flavor for me was salt. Which is surprising as I add a good amount of salt to my food usually. Not sure what happened, perhaps in had been in the fridge overnight sometimes that can add a salty flavor. I would give it a shot again but only buy a cup to try it and make sure it was made that day, which might have been the case with our takeout, just don't know.

In all I would love to have the opportunity to explore the menu a bit more as I am certain that there would be some real gems. I would not even consider the location as far as the gas station, they staff handled themselves very professionally, the service was good, and the food, the soup excepted, was excellent.

09/28/23 UPDATE

Your probably thinking won't this guy ever shut up, sheesh, anyway I have to update the crab bisque soup review. While I stand by our initial tasting, we put the soup in the freezer and brought it home with us to Florida. So when we got home we put it in the fridge and then maybe 4 or 5 days after initially buying the soup I tried it again. It was a bit too thick after being frozen and refrigerated so I added a few tablespoons of half and half and the soup was amazing. I do know when I make a red sauce, marinara, pomodoro, Bolognese, etc., the flavor increases considerably after a day or more in the refrigerator. The complexity and depth of the flavors are greatly increased and that's the only explanation I can give with the bisque.

Had a friend who is also pretty detail oriented with food try it and thought it was superb. So while my first thoughts on the soup were accurate, I have to say the second try was amazing. There was a depth of flavors to the cream, the crab stood out but didn't overwhelm the soup, it was just a very well done bisque. So thank you to Cafe Rel for some excellent food, look forward to...

How would have thought a restaurant attached to a gas station would be horrible?!? We waited over an hour for our meals only to get them overcooked with a waitress who was rude and wanted to argue with us about the meal and how long we waited. Tables around us came, ate, and left while we waited. We asked for a manager and all he did was take a peak and went back to the kitchen. He said nothing to us. He eventually let us leave. Now we are at another restaurant and a just ordered food for the second time tonight.

EDIT…This is in response to their response…

We did NOT eat half of anything. We all cut in to our steaks to find they were over cooked. One of the steaks was a Filet so it was smaller and was cooked well done. The table behind us which was the only table near us was sat well after us, ordered, ate and paid while we apparently only waited 25 minutes. A table full of speed eaters I guess.

Your people did attempt to have to order corrected. But since we already waited an hour, it was time to go elsewhere.

In the end, we did what we were supposed to do, walkin, order, and attempted to eat. Sorry you had to pay for your team’s mess ups. That what you’re supposed to do. We had not eaten half. Get your facts straight. Based on your response, it’s obvious you got your info second had and weren’t there. Maybe be more in touch with your business before attempting to reply. Maybe spend time in your kitchen and teaching your “cooks” what temperatures are in relation to steaks. Maybe teach your staff what non confrontational service looks. Maybe look in the mirror and ask yourself, “is this the right business for me?”

You’re delusional if you think this was what happened, the proof will be...

Let me start by saying that I usually don’t leave reviews but I’m going to tonight:

We were out celebrating my father’s 70th birthday. We al 4 order the same entree. My father and I substituted salad for the vegetables. Our salad never came before our meal. Our meal arrived with the vegetables already on the plate, which we ask for them not to give us. About five minutes goes by and I look at my mom and she’s about to cry because her steak is absolutely burnt up on one side and medium on the other. This is where customer service comes in. My mother finally agrees to let me tell the server because come on it’s a fillet it should be good. I stopped the server and told her it was burn on one side and medium on the other. She said to me I will let them know in the back and quickly walks away. We wait a few mins thinking it might be replaced. it never was. The manager never addressed the complaint nor was any kind of a discount given.

Nothing absolutely nothing was done.

So we paid for my mother’s meal and we left.

I know people do this a lot to get discounts and free food…But we are not that type of family.

The bottom line is that it should have been corrected immediately. It is not an unreasonable expectation to have your steak cooked to your desired doneness. Except my expectation for tonight’s dinner was not to see a filet that is burnt to a crisp on one side.

What really gets me is that my mother cares for my farther who has had a liver transplant, and my sister who had a brain tumor and a stroke. The one night she doesn’t have to cook, but she dosent get to enjoy her meal either. I might have had more sympathy if she had ordered it welll done but she didn’t.

I expected more...