Red Pony — Restaurant in Franklin

Doesn’t Meet the Hype

All the reviews make this seem like a cool and exciting spot to entertain the culinary curiosities we have. We originally found we would have had a 2 hour wait, so we instead sampled the 55 South across the street (review is separate) and then came back. The front staff upon finding we were a returning walk-in was a little... standoffish to our party but still accommodated us with a 30 minute wait. We grabbed a couple drinks from the bar (bartender was awesome and very friendly in spite of him being the only worker behind a full bar), and the front staff greeted us to our seats with a very happy smile. Felt a little off because I felt judged until I spent $40 at the bar...

The waitstaff was really not attentive during our meal. I understand the philosophy of a “dining experience” where it’s more about the social mingling of the night with friends and family, but only appearing for order and food was a little lacking. The food was underwhelming, but not bad. Just missing something. The shrimp and grits were spicy and good, but the recipe was a tad heavy handed with the mushrooms and sea salt. The steak was a lean cut of meat, but not quite to the caliber to what we’ve paid in other establishments with better accoutrements. It tasted like steaks we could have gotten at Texas Roadhouse but adding $15 to it.

The other little oddity is that the menu stated that they had a no cell phone policy in the dining room. Understandable. We honored that except to use the calculator at the end. But the table on one side of us was sharing pictures and games between them all. And there was a party behind us was having a bachelorette gathering and... pictures galore, loud cavorting, really messing up the decorum. The waitress apologized for the table - which was not her fault in the slightest - but none of the staff did anything to enforce that little sentence on their menu. If it’s not that big a deal, then why include it?

The problem I have is that this restaurant was good. Not great. Not bad. Just okay. And given the hype from previous reviews about the food and drinks as well as the excitement we had from other places in Franklin... just stick to the bar if you’re so inclined. Otherwise, you’ll only have just...

Really disappointed in my Red Pony experience last night. My husband and I finally made it out for date night and we were thrilled. When we arrived, there was no room downstairs so we headed towards the upstairs bar and sat on the far end. No one acknowledged us until Jenny returned to the bar. She is AWESOME and deserves a raise and a break and all the praise. It was clear as more customers came in that she was the reason they were there. Jenny immediately got us menus and took our order. She makes the best espresso martinis. While Jenny was making endless drinks and taking care of everyone, the other male bartender (?) simply lurked around, complained, checked the score, and got in her way. A lot of his conversation was negative and frankly made my husband and I uncomfortable. It’s normal to not like your job (we both can relate) but to loudly bicker in front of patrons…not the place or time. A man at the other end of the bar had asked Jenny a question. Out of nowhere, the male bartender snaps at him and wouldn’t let it go, continuing to reprimand the customer. It was so hostile and bizarre. We wanted a relaxing date night and it turned into what felt like a reality show episode. A shouting match breaks out and the patron got up and left out of warranted frustration. The male bartender continued to complain, seemed hopeful that maybe he’d get fired, and then stated multiple times that if he were still working on broadway, he would have jumped over the bar. All while this was going down, Jenny was still taking care of us and trying to diffuse and even tried apologizing to the man before he left. As soon-to-be full time Franklin homeowners, we were hoping to make this our usual spot but it no longer...

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE! My husband and I enjoyed our anniversary dinner here. Our server made the experience wonderful. He was very attentive and knew the menu very well. The atmosphere is elevated but not fancy. There are about 10 tables and a large bar downstairs and more dining upstairs. We sat downstairs where you can see into the kitchen. The morning dew cocktail was sooo good-- not too sweet and definitely refreshing. For appetizers, we had the hamachi crudo, grilled halloumi and pork belly biscuits. Our favorite was definitely the biscuits. We did not care for the crudo. Although the fish itself was tasty, the heavy white sauce and large sunchokes took away from the delicate flavor of the fish. The biscuits, on the other hand, were addictive. The pork belly is served separately with an apple butter sauce, which was fantastic. We never had halloumi before and wanted to try it. We would definitely have it again. It came with grilled vegetables and you can definitely taste the grilling. For the entree we split the snapper. The fish seemed slightly overcooked but we enjoyed the corn, pico de gallo, fried onions and cornbread crumbles that came with it. It was large enough to share, especially after the three appetizers. We enjoyed creme brulee and chocolate mousse for dessert. Surprisingly, we thought the creme brulee was slightly better than the chocolate mousse. This is a nice spot to celebrate a special occasion....