Puckett's Restaurant — Restaurant in Franklin

I REALLY wish I could give a higher star rating, but our server really threw a damper on our visit to this restaurant. My husband and I visited Franklin, TN for a conference. We love to visit restaurants that are unique to their own area. We'd had a very busy conference schedule Friday and Saturday, so we decided to go to Puckett's for a late Sunday brunch.

We walked in, were welcomed, and were seated immediately. The atmosphere was energetic for a Sunday. I don't know if that's normal, but we liked it! Although we were seated pretty quickly, it took a pretty long time for our server to greet our table. This is where our excitement began to wane. Throughout our visit, he was cold, inattentive, and had no interest in engaging us compared to his other tables. His visits to us were brief and unfriendly. He had no recommendations when I inquired when ordering. The foodrunners were very friendly and attentive, all with smiles. As I looked around at how other servers engaged their tables, I wished we had anyone but him. My husband asked for a refill of sweet tea while we were eating. It took our server a while to bring it, and when he did, it was after my husband had cleared his plate. Not only that, the server dropped it off AS HE WALKED BY our table without a word. He literally acted like we got on his nerves. We were distracted by the service, so I couldn't rate the food fairly. I guess it was good, because we both finished off our plates. We normally tip 25%-30% of our bill or 18% if the service isn't very good. We've also tipped more than our bill's total before. We barely left a tip of 10%, and I regret even leaving that.

I think the main kicker was that we were the only black people in the restaurant, and our server was also black. I usually don't care about skin color, but we had been warned to watch out for racism while in Franklin. This experience was glaringly ironic. We received great service from everywhere in Franklin, but the worst service we received while there was from another black person. We will return to visit the area again, but I'm not certain that we will visit this restaurant. If we do, we will definitely request not to be seated in...

So my family and I came into town to return a rental vehicle, but before doing so, we wanted to grab some lunch with the family. So we decided to go here and it started off good. We got our drink orders in, and when the drinks got there (7 drinks), all were right, but 1. After getting a refill, it still wasn't right, so we said something to our waitress, and she looked into it. Apparently, there was an issue with the Coca-Cola, and it was giving diet coke instead. So my son switched to Dr.Pepper and that was fine. We ordered 6 meals (tenders and their special BBQ pulled chicken). When the food got there, 2 of our kids' meals were room temperature (fries and chicken). My wife and I got the BBQ chicken, and it was cold. When this was brought up to the waitress, she says "it's BBQ chicken it's not supposed to be hot." So I had to explain to her that we weren't talking about spice level. We were talking about temperature level. It then took her about 1 or 2 to process that, and she brought us 2 new orders, which were hot. Then we had to send the broccoli back cause it was cold. It took another 10 mins after the food got there to get the fried okra we ordered. Plus, we never got refills on our drinks until after we were done eating. The waitress then brings us our check, and we had the option of paying cash and credit cards or scanning the QR code and paying online. I decided to pay online. After paying half my family went to the restroom and the other half left with me. My waitress then takes it upon herself to run after me and says, "Did you pay? If so, I have to see the receipt for confirmation." So since she wanted to see it so bad, I showed her that it was paid and she didn't get a tip since our service was so bad. The other table behind us paid the same way, and when they got up and left, she didn't bother them, so why come to the front door to ask me?! I will say the food was bland and the service was horrible. And after she charred after us, I will NEVER step foot back in this place. I guess she thought cause I was black, and the only one in the restaurant, I was going to run...

We made a reservation for 6 online for 5:15 today. I called to verify my reservation went through and that they could accommodate dairy and egg allergies. Spoke with the hostess and she confirmed my reservation and that they could accommodate the allergies. As a parent of an allergy kid on vacation, it's so hard to find a restaurant and I was so excited.

We walked in at 5:13 and were told we will seat you but you need to be done by 6:45 for the next reservation. Repeating the same sentence in a slow condescending way doesn't help me make any more sense of what's happening...

I worked in the restaurant industry for 10+ years and that's something they should've informed us in the phone. 1.5 hours works for parties of 2-4 but 6 can be tough. We agreed however because we pretty much knew what we wanted. I was very annoyed they didn't tell us until we got there when it was essentially too late to say no.

We got sat right outside the kitchen which we didn't love but it was with Tristan who made up for the hostess and seating situation. He was fantastic and so personable. He was also the bartender so we waited between courses to order which we were fine with, however this wasn't going to be an hour and a half dinner. We explained what we were told and he took great care of us. He was reassuring and made sure my daughters food was done correctly.

The drinks were delicious! The fried chicken was amazing, I enjoyed my brisket and my husband's pulled pork was good. Needed a bit more flavor but not bad. Mac and cheese was fabulous! If you haven't tried the fried green tomatoes... you HAVE to!

It was busy the whole time and we could tell how popular a place it is.

Truly we enjoyed our time and didn't feel rushed or forgotten. Tristan did a great job at taking time with us all, my 3 year old included, and we all enjoyed ourselves. I hope they start warning people in advance of they need to leave by a certain time and I hope management realizes how awesome Tristan is. He...