The Rutledge — Restaurant in Franklin

We dined here on a Saturday evening with out-of-town guests, hoping to show them a unique and elevated experience. The online menu looked promising, the ambiance was stylish and inviting, and the staff were friendly and attentive. We had high hopes—but unfortunately, the food fell dramatically short.

Despite our 6:30 reservation, the restaurant was nearly empty—a red flag we didn’t initially take seriously. But after the meal, we understood why.

Our table ordered the Bone-In NY Strips, the Filet, and the Meatloaf. For sides, we tried the lobster mac and cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, and Yukon mashed potatoes.

The Bone-In NY Strip, priced at $60, was extremely underwhelming. It was thin (maybe 3/8 of an inch), overcooked despite ordering it medium-rare, and lacked the tenderness and depth of flavor expected from a premium cut. Honestly, it resembled a low-quality ribeye more than a NY strip, and the preparation was no better than something microwaved.

The Filet was the best meat on the table, but that’s not saying much. It had more flavor but seemed smothered in a heavy sauce that masked rather than complemented the beef. The Meatloaf was dry and bland—comparable to a frozen dinner at best.

As for the sides, the sweet potatoes were quite good, but the rest were bland and uninspired. The broccoli was cold, and even my wife—who rarely adds seasoning—found herself reaching for the salt. The lobster mac had minimal flavor and none of the richness you’d expect from a dish featuring lobster.

The apple cobbler dessert was the clear highlight of the meal. Warm, flavorful, and well-balanced—it was the only dish that lived up to the restaurant’s upscale pricing.

To top it off, they tacked on a 3% surcharge for using a credit card, which felt tacky considering the total bill was around $250–$300 per couple. For that price point, the quality simply wasn’t there.

Overall, I wouldn’t return or recommend this place—especially for hosting guests. The pricing suggests fine dining, but the food quality was far below that mark. Friendly staff and good ambiance can only carry you so far when the kitchen...

Upon entering, we were greeted by two friendly young ladies who checked us in and sat us. The ambiance was fine. Not as busy as I would have thought for a Thursday night, which is a plus for me. Our server brought two waters as we got comfy and asked for our drinks. We looked them over and we passed on the drinks. For starters we ordered the lobster bruschetta and the spinach artichoke dip. The appetizers were sizable portions. I tried the bruschetta and instantly smelled fish. The lobster was very chewy for me. The homemade chips were tasty but we wanted to send back. The server took a while to come check on us though she walked passed several times. When she finally comes back I mentioned that the bruschetta was not good and she asked "you didn't like it?" And proceeds to walk away. She made me feel bad for not liking the food. I am grateful she had the manager take it off. He looked back at our table and didn't come around to us to ask how everything was. He did however for the table across from us. Anyway, we ordered the prime rib with the loaded potato and asparagus.y friend, she ordered the cheeseburger with fries. I had to ask for a knife as it did not come with the plate. Overall the food was fine. Not spectacular but it was pretty decent. When the server came to pick up our plates she didn't ask my friend if she needed a box, just asked if we were finished and left. Then came back to ask if we'd like dessert at first I didn't want to spend another dime but wanted the full experience. We asked to see a menu and she tells us that she rather just tell us. So she tells us the options and we decide on the lemon mascarpone. It was truly delectable. Probably the highlight of the night.

Over all it would've been a 4 had there not been weird vibes from the server and the lingering manager who didn't bother to ask us how our experience is.

I probably won't be coming back but check it out yourself and hopefully you don't get the...

The food here is so super delicious and presented beautifully. The flavors in the tuna crisps are perfectly combined for richness, heat and citrus on the back end with really fresh tuna. The shrimp are a nice size but the cocktail sauce was bland. No biggie, can always add vs take away. I loved the presentation of each shrimp in their own little shot glass. The lobster bruschetta was really great, nice chunks of lobster with tarragon flavors and the bread was perfectly sliced for each piece. Also had a rib eye, not shown here and I'm not a steak person but the bite I had was really good. The kids spaghetti was delicious, had a balanced flavor without seeming over buttered or salted. It is spaghetti and don't make fun for reviewing, restaurants can make awful spaghetti, sad but true! Finally Chris our server was not the best. When asked for a side of horse radish, he's out there taking pictures for a family near the bathroom ... No joke, after he just left the kitchen. I think he forgot but he also forgot to bus our table several times. His manager Megan had to step in because he wasn't comfortable answering my question of the sushi chefs ethnicity...sorry as a foodie, I'm very picky about who is making my sushi! She was amazing and we wished she was serving our table. She even bussed it and came back to see how we were doing!!! It was a $225 bill and normally I tip big, been in this industry for many years in my prior life so I understand what goes into it. Some are good and deserve 20-30% tips, heck sometimes I leave 100%...but this I left a little under 20% because if you feed them a good tip, they think they're doing their job well. I'm sure I'll be back here ... Hopefully they don't tamper with my food after this LOL but a chance to redeem their level of service without his manager having to step in. Still get max stars, the food and manager alone are worth a...