Mi Kitchen — Restaurant in Franklin

Always looking for new places to try out for dinner, and heard good things about OAC MI Kitchen. They specialize in small plates, and have a wide variety of Asian inspired dishes, particularly with a Korean flair. Basically, you can either order everything at once, or just keep a steady flow of small plates coming. My friend and I particularly liked the MI cucumber, which was marinated in a spicy soy dressing, with delicious crunchy cucumbers. Another real winner was the crispy spicy tuna, which was fairly standard good spicy tuna, but with these really amazing rectangular rice cakes covered with a crispy arare. The hamachi (yellow tail tuna) crudo was very tasty as well, with excellent fresh fish, and even some saffron threads on top for fun. The nori oil with the hamachi was a new one for me, and wasn’t a favorite, because I don’t think it really added a lot to the dish, but overall, I would definitely get this dish again as well. Our server Makayla, who did a really excellent job, recommended the popcorn shrimp, which had chunks of black cherry, more of the tiny arare crackers and crispy almond slices. The popcorn shrimp dish was glazed with the current Asian culinary darling flavor - Yuzu. It also included some pieces of mint, which gave the dish a nice color, but the mint was too overpowering in my view, given the delicate Yuzu flavored sauce and cherries. The only dish we would not order again was the wok tossed cauliflower, which had an almond based sesame seed sauce. About half the pieces of cauliflower had a strong truffle oil flavor, which definitely clashed with other things, and truffle oil was not listed as one of the ingredients. We told our server about this, and she mentioned some other people were not happy with the cauliflower as well. Not sure where the truffle flavoring came from, as it was not consistent throughout all the pieces of cauliflower. Makayla was kind enough to take it off our tab though, which was awesome. If you are in Franklin and like Asian influenced cuisine, you need to give this place a try. One funky and fun piece of background entertainment was the replaying of 70s and 80s commercials on two large TVs, which was a blast...

Middle Tennessee’s relatively new Mi Kitchen is burning up the ratings on Yelp and Google, so much so that it grabbed my attention amidst the vast dining options across the city! It even made my short list of the 12 hottest restaurants in the metro area I’d never visited that I needed to try in 2024. With such intense competition in the Midstate Region, every new place needs a hook. And Mi Kitchen is the only spot I’ve found with small plates of Asian tapas, a Spanish tradition applied to Korean food. That was all I needed to hear.

Even better, traditional Korean cuisine features elements of Japanese, Italian, Hawaiian, and Mexican fusion. It’s incredibly clever! My only hesitation before going - as Mi Kitchen lies just 1,200 feet within the Franklin city limits - is the propensity for Franklinites to exaggerate their ratings. Of all areas of town, they’re the most guilty of showering mediocre establishments with five-star reviews like they’re handing out meaningless trophies at a little league baseball banquet. Case in point, this space was previously owned by the atrocious Moe’s Bar B Que, another overhyped Franklin failure. But any fear that Mi was another overrated Wilco joint immediately dissipated with the first bite of those glorious edamame truffle dumplings!

Let’s talk about those first, because I went home and added them to my top 25 must-eat items in the Greater Nashville area! Now that’s saying something! Soft, steamed wontons envelop pureed edamame soybeans with Parmesan cheese and a garlic confit. But they’d certainly be incomplete until dipped in that stunning citrus truffle oil sauce! The k pop crispy fried chicken is a crunchy, meaty masterpiece with a slightly spicy kick and sweet aftertaste inspired by the popular dish Korean fried chicken. It’s just as good as anything I’ve eaten in South Korea!

The spicy Korean pork tacos with salsa and cilantro were nearly as good as the other two dishes. And I’ll be back soon, because there are at least 10 other menu items I want to try! This is the best-kept secret in Cool Springs, one of Williamson County’s best eateries, and a place very much...

This is our new favorite place in Franklin! The food is simply incredible and priced well lower than other restaurants of the same excellent quality. It is an incredible value.

Every entree we’ve had is consistently great. The food is fresh and expertly prepared. If you are looking for a hidden gem in Franklin, Mi Kitchen is the only one.

The service has been the best we have experienced in years. Very attentive and kind staff, which seems to be rare the last several years. Chef Yun and the GM Tori have both come by to greet our table and introduce themselves. They have both gone out of their way to get to know us personally and have been so kind and outgoing. Again, refreshing and reminiscent of the kindness and charm Franklin is known for. And Chef Yun, one of the owners, has an incredible and captivating story. Abby has been our server several times and is always a pleasure to speak with and on top of her game! Skylar, at the bar and the table, is always sweet & kind, and incredible in making drinks and cocktails.

The vibe is very clean and cozy. The restaurant is not noisy or loud and the booths block a lot of noise. Very easy to have normal conversations and enjoy company.

We highly recommend Mi Kitchen for lunch or dinner. I NEVER give all 5 stars across the board but this place deserves every single one. 5 out of 5 all day long. You will not be disappointed.

EVERYTHING really is great but our favorites are the KPop Chicken, Fortune Udon, Bulgogi Tacos and Caramelato desert. And, the adult Capri light up pouches...