The Pond — Restaurant in Franklin

I love dive bars. Dump bars are another matter. This place is a dump. Waited at least 10 minutes before I called the bartender attention that I not been served. I was told they would be right there. 5 minutes latter after finishing his conversation with a regular he asked what I wanted. I ordered a dirty vodka martini, with Absolute. It was mostly olive juice and tasted like it also had pickle juice in it. I also had to mention that I had asked for a call vodka as I was about to get house booze. Set in front of me and walked away. Never to return. The regular/friend ordered a drink. the bartender must have poured at least a triple. If you have the patience to become in with the in crowd this might be a place for you. FYI I was the only other customer...

Great little local dive bar in an old strip mall. Our first time here and they had three different bands that played in consecutive sets, and there was no cover charge, which was fantastic! I'm glad this place is smoke free, but for those who need to smoke they have a deck out back. The bartender was great, and the vibe overall is very chill and pretty cool with all the draft beer handles hanging from the ceiling. They have a very limited menu, but it's good that you can get something to nibble on to accompany your drink. There are not a lot of tables, but when we got there there were a couple open so we did not have a problem. People they came in later had to stand, but they didn't seem to...

This is one of those lovable "dive bars" that the locals know about, but someone forgot to tell me. All is forgiven though. When you have a rough day and find a place at 1 am to have some drinks until 3 that is great. But I found the regulars friendly and welcoming, which tells me that it probably is like this every night. I'll be back to hear some music (perhaps even to play... seems a rock-friendly place), and I'm sure I'll have more to report.

Now, how do you rate a bar like this? You know what you are going to get, right? Limited selection, loud music, sound of laughter... If that's not for you than a bar in a strip mall may...