Cork & Cow — Restaurant in Franklin

My family and friends are avid steakhouse enthusiasts and bourbon drinkers. We have been waiting some time to catch a reservation to this restaurant which came highly recommended. To say we were very disappointed is a understatement.

The appetizers we had were good but not spectacular. We had the pork belly and lamb chops. I could have and should have enjoyed these with a barrage of bottle pouring and called it a night. Sadly I continued.

How it started: When we arrived a few moments early. We were asked to wait in the bar which was not busy but was petite. It caused our party of 4 to have separate tables. No big deal as we anticipated our ascension upstairs to the resteraunt soon. We were unpleasantly surprised when the hostess found us to tell the party our table was ready. They had us close out our tab before moving to the resteraunt so we thought. Sadly we moved a total of 3 feet to a bar table of 4 and were seated by the front door. How ridiculous, why not just have us wait till a table in the main room. was ready.

Dinner: COLD..... Our reservations were at 830pm, we got sat at 9pm, dinner came out at 10pm. Getting drinks was a chore, we had to continue to remind the "waiter" that our drinks need fill and our sides had been forgotten. We ordered 3 filet and a ribeye. 3 cold ribeyes (the butter would not melt on top of the steaks) and a ribeye textured like a rubber shoe sole. The waiter asked if all was OK, I informed him of my dislikes and I did not want my steak taken back. My intent was to give it to the dogs at home. I certainly did not want to wait another hour for a mediocre steak to only be made more unhappy. Our sides, "risotto" was like Vietnam soaked rice texture, "gnocchi" was like a half cured glue tubes seasoned in pocket lint. "Broccolini" was MIA and when we reminded the waiter of our order. We received 4 greensticks. Cold as if they pulled out the can opener and poured out the contents onto a cold plate.

Our experience could have been out of the ordinary but our intent is to keep clear of this restaurant again. Our reservations, appetizers, main course and overall feeling of "well spent money" from Cork amd Cow could have been overshadowed by any resteraunt franchise. When you're spending in excess you expect an excess of feeling...

Fast Food at a Fine Dining Restaurant

If you want the short review: we sat, ordered drinks, ordered appetizer, and ordered dinner then paid for the check and had the table next to the metal pole and was out within 30 minutes for a fine dining establishment.

If you want the long review: I made an Open table reservation about 1 week prior to the date night. This was literally the first date night for my wife and I since our daughter was born 1 year ago. We learned it would not be a good date night nor would we be returning to the restaurant. We had the misfortune of having Eric as our waiter who upon us sitting down didn’t welcome us, offer specials, see if we have been there before, etc… just are you ready to order. I guess he knew our check would only be $150 versus a party of four whose check would be more so why put in the effort. We placed our 2 drink order and ironically that took the longest. My wife ordered a signature cocktail which was basically water with lime with a ton of ice. Two sips and it were done… $12 down the drain. Next the highlight of the meal came, which was the warm, toasty, and delicious fresh made bread. That was absolutely amazing and I would have eaten two of them if I would have known. Half way through the bread game our zucchini fries as our appetizer which were great, but literally within 2 more minutes came our entrees. This is what really put me over the edge was the fact that the table was small; no room for the entrees yet here is Eric shoving them in our faces before we even have tried the appetizer with no apology. My wife looked at me and asked why they are rushing us!!! I KNOW any waiter that cares would have kept the food in the kitchen until we were ready especially at a FINE DINING restaurant. This was rude and uncalled for. At that point the food was average with my wife having the New York strip and I tried the gnocchi. We took the leftovers to go and on cue Eric didn’t offer dessert or even try to sell us on one. So I paid and we drove to Sperry’s for dessert. I wanted to thank Eric and management for lack of care and waiter 101 in the dining room. I plan to share my thoughts and reviews with all my other chefs and food loving people...

We went to the Cork and Cow after hearing a lot of hype about it from friends and family on 12/21/24.

However, the food, service, and atmosphere left a lot to be desired.

I ordered the burger, my wife and brother ordered the filet oscar, and parents “split” the miso black cod.

The food was mediocre at best. My burger was fine but definitely not worth the price tag. My parent’s fish was also decent, however the accompanying sides were impossible to eat due to their spice level.

My wife on the other hand made it very clear when we ordered that she wanted the filet oscar. When the food arrived, it was not to her specifications, and definitely not oscar style.

Our waiter, a tall fella with a beard, tried to tell her that’s not what she ordered and made no attempt to apologize. He just whisked away back to the kitchen with her steak that was definitely not oscar style. Thus, she had to wait 10 or so minutes for her meal while the rest of our meals got cold while waiting.

With additional regard to the waiter, he was fine (nothing special) in the beginning. However, when my parents ordered a meal to share he got weird and snotty, as if he was “sticking his nose” up at us. A word of advice to him: you never know who it is that you’re serving.

He also made every attempt to up-charge us with salads and sides in order to bolster his gratuity without informing us of the extra cost.

Again, this restaurant was very hyped and we were very excited to eat there. However, we left extremely disappointed. Especially after spending $500 total for everything. Instant “restaurant regret”.

Also, while walking by the entrance to the kitchen, there was audible profanity heard from either wait staff or kitchen staff. Grossly unprofessional.

Terrible service. Mediocre food. Cheap atmosphere.

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