Franklin Ave Cocktails & Kitchen — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

Okay. So first off, wasn’t exactly sure where to park so ended up with paid parking around the corner. Next time I’ll look that up before I go but that will not impact my rating. They brought us downstairs and the place was cute had speakeasy type vibes with big comfy tables all around. We were seated at the 2 tops that were much closer to each other than I’d prefer and i am sure everyone loved hearing our convo but again who cares. Not impacting my rating. Our server was super attentive, very friendly and knowledgeable about the food. I am a pansy when it comes to spice so I had asked to remove chilis and such from various dishes and she explained which ones made sense and dish would still taste fabulous vs the ones where it wouldn’t make sense to remove the spicy element. This was very helpful!! We ended up getting several appetizers to share like the dill chips with whipped feta, Brussels sprouts (minus chile) and the deviled eggs with hot sauce on the side. The dill chips were a huge portion while the whipped feta was tiny in comparison. Honestly, this was my ONLY complaint of any food or drink item the entire night. The chips were very large too so it was difficult getting into the whipped feta and if I had used a spoon, I would’ve easily spooned the entire bowl with one serving so didn’t think that was right. Just a word of warning. I had leftover chips and no leftover dip of course. The Brussels were so good. There was hints of fig hidden in the dish that we didn’t find until we got to the bottom but the added sweetness with the caramelization was such a nice touch. The bacon bits were PERFECT topping too. The deviled eggs were the perfect portion! You could eat it in one bite and the crispy on top was a delicious touch! I would’ve gotten them a few more times especially if there had been more people with us. There was only 2 people so the 4 deviled eggs was a good portion. For dinner, we got the wagyu steak and the wagyu burger with fries. The wagyu steak literally melted in my mouth. It was so crispy and flavorful on the outside especially with the blue cheese glaze but so easy to cut and perfectly cooked inside. The glazed carrots with butternut underneath were so good and the crispy broccolini bits on top of it all were so good. EXTREMELY crispy and had a truffle taste to them. I loved that surprise! My friend ate every last bit of her burger and said it was also perfectly cooked and a very good portion size as well. The fries were crispy and seasoned so well too. 10/10 highly recommend this place and will def be...

Update: On a whim we decided to give Franklin one last chance. We got to the bar around 10 PM and were promptly seated ok their outdoor patio which was enclosed and warm even in the dead of winter. The waitress was prompt to take our order and before I could even start a new conversation our drinks were in our hand. The Campfire tasted just like the name and was delightful. Our food arrived almost as quick as our drinks. The Deviled eggs were divine, one of the best appetizers I've had anywhere. The fried chicken sandwich was breaded perfectly and had a wonderful crunch unfortunately the chicken was a tad dry and the tasty aioli wasn't plentiful enough to cover up the dryness. Still a good sandwich just missing the mark without the juiciness of the meat. The Waygu burger was phenomenal. Perfectly cooked and delightfully juicy. One of the better burgers in town thus far. We also had chips but wish we had gone for fries as the chips were overseasoned and a bit overcooked (which is something I generally like but didn't work here with the heavy seasoning). All said a much better experience but having had the original experience it's impossible to overlook and give Franklin higher than a 4.

Original 1 Star Review: Showed up on a busy Saturday night wanting some food. Host checked ID said it was busy so service would be slow. Sat down waited 20 minutes or so to finally have our order taken. No problem, it's busy. The waiter finally came to the table around 11:55 and informed us the kitchen was closed. Really we waited almost 30 minutes to put in an order and nowhere were we informed that the kitchen was closed. 1am on all signage. We watched a table with another waiter 2 minutes before put in some amazing looking burgers. If we had been told the kitchen was closed before sitting for 30 minutes we would have...

My friend and I are from out of town and wanted to check out some niche bars and restaurants (both of us are freshly 21 and navigating the bar scene). We walked in with the expectation of having a good experience in a nice, more upscale bar but were met with a very rude bouncer. My friend handed over her ID, and after examining it for an excessive amount of time he asked if she had any other form of identification. She said she didn’t have anything else, but it was real, and he proceeded to claim that the ID is flimsy, looks fake, and has “the appearance of an old ID with the feeling of a new ID” (the funny thing is, if he would just scan it, it would show as a real ID). We wouldn’t have had an issue with this at all if it weren’t for his condescending tone and rude demeanor. We wanted to prove the point that she was in fact 21, and proceeded to explain how it was real, and that we can take our business elsewhere if it’s a problem but she was 21. He snapped, told her he didn’t believe her multiple times, and told us we had to leave. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that sometimes businesses don’t want a certain crowd of people in their vicinity, but this guy was very disrespectful. Don’t advertise that it’s for people 21 and over if you don’t accept IDs from people who are 21. Unfortunately we haven’t had a great experience with any type of customer service in Salt Lake, and this was the cherry on top. If you’re looking for someone to talk down to you and make you feel stupid, definitely...