Franklin Southie

RESTAURANT IS CLOSED!!! Thanks for Not putting a sign on the door or changing your voicemail… Luckily Stephanie’s in Southie welcomed us ;)

The atmosphere is kind of trendy, but at the end of the day why charge New York/​LA prices in Boston? Especially when the food/​service/​drinks/​experience isn’t remotely on par
The bartending staff– I get it, yall wanna make it feel like a locals only spot– but at some point you have to realize this is Southie, gentrification is alive and well and none of your «regulars» are actual Boston, let alone Southie, natives.
The female bartender, Mo — I think it is — is WONDERFUL– her male counterpart is dreadful. It seemed like it was his day’s goal to be an ass.
The «French Laundry» is comparable to an Aviation sans violette
«Cats Meow» gin, lemon
The burger was nothing special, the fries were AMAZING

Very good little spot! Parking was easy, service was good, and good was very good. We had the Stuffed Chicken and the Pumpkin Risotto, both very good and generous portions.
Poutine is also to die for!

First, this is a review for the pig roast they offer, not the regular menu.
Ive been hesitating about writing this, because I dont want to give the wrong impression. As a fun experience, I’d go 5 stars. The Franklin Southie has a great vibe, great crowd, super talented bartenders, courteous and attentive staff and manager. We had a group of 20 for a pig roast with sides, and everyone had a blast.
The pig roast comes in 4 flavors, and accompanying sides. We were seated promptly, had great drinks, and again, a great bunch of staff. We were all, 20 in all, a bit disappointed in the food. There was a kale side dish, which we all liked. Oysters, which were room temperature – not an error by any means, but just be prepared that it’s a different style than you might be used to. Stuffing was okay, somewhat dry but stuffing is stuffing. And mac and cheese was perfectly decent but not the rich, decadent dish you might expect if you ordered it as a main course somewhere.
The pigs were the issue, unfortunately. One of the pigs was paraded around, with a great presentation. It was taken in the back to be carved and brought back. Later, they took the head and sliced the tongue, ears, and put out the eyes and brains for the brave few.
Overall, the pork was *Really* chewy and touch. I’ve been to pig roasts a few times, and I’m used to shatteringly crackly skin, and slow-​roasted meat that is meltingly tender. These pigs, uniformly and to all of us, tasted more like a chewy, somewhat tough pork chop/​shoulder. Even the skin was more chewy than you’d expect from chicharrones. The meat was fatty, as well, but again, not rich enjoyable fat, more like rubbery.
So sides? ³⁄₅. Pork? ²⁄₅.
Again, this is a review just for the pig roast. We had a few friends who came in and didn’t partake, and ordered off the menu, and they were very happy with their meals. And we loved everything else about the experience, just not the food.

There were too many things wrong with this place to list them all is one review. And this place does not deserve the time it would take to write it. So, we are gonna keep it simple…
Service — Terrible to astonishingly bad
Atmosphere — Dark, noisy and really bad, bad, bad 80s soft rock blaring.
Food — Wouldn’t feed it to my dog. I actually care about the quality of what he eats.
There were so many bad things about the dining experience here, it was ridiculous. Good thing it is in a good location because if it had to stay in business in a decent food market, it wouldn’t last a week.

I had a reservation for a party of 14 on a weeknight. Our table was ready as promised at 7:30…that was the only good thing I can say, and our experience went down hill from there.
The restaurant was hardly crowded, but our service was terrible, slow, and uncoordinated. Meals (when finally delivered) were scattered with some not getting their food for 10 – 15 minutes after the others. Food was barely mediocre. Splitting our checks I understand is a hassle for such a large party, but shouldn’t delay paying our bill for at least half an hour… several in our party joked that we might not make our breakfast the next morning. Don’t understand all the high ratings for this place.

i wanted to update my review to talk about Sundays and Mondays (wooo Metal Mondays!!!) at Franklin Southie! First off — I love this place in general. It is a great place in Southie — good food, great drinks, but still with that, local causal vibe.
I’ve started going weekly on Sundays or Mondays (or both, don’t judge me) for a few reasons:
1) the food is always great. love the new addition of pastas to the menu, and it’s great that they have specials and change up the menu frequently so it’s not always the same old thing (cough cough Stephi’s)
2) the crowd! there are so many regulars on these two nights, i’ve meet some really awesome people, a few of who have become some good friends of mine. You know a place is great if people go back religiously on a specific night
3) the staff and mainly the bartender! This is one of those places that if the bartender doesn’t know you, he introduces himself and shakes your hand. They are all great at remembering people, welcoming you back, knowing your name etc. It is so nice, and so hard to find these days. Chad, the bartender, is awesome, he’s fun and you can really tell he loves what he does and loves to meet people and get to know his patrons. he jokes around, introduces people he knows at the bar, gets people talking, really makes it a fun, friendly, all-​welcoming environment
I highly recommend stopping in Sunday or Monday, you’ll see what i mean. Monday nights pick up after 10, when it turns to Metal Monday! who doesn’t need a little Metallica in their monday :-) don’t get scared off if that’s not your thing, it’s just for fun, and the crowd is awesome. I’ll be the blonde at the bar, laughin it up and making new friends, come say hi!

The salmon tartare is delicious! Not as great if you order it as take out. Good place to catch up with a friend.

Came here the other day with my husband. The service was attentive and the atmosphere was nice, but the food was amazing! We had a burger that was on special which completely blew our minds. We also had a wedge salad and a steak tartar. The wedge was in the small side, but was very good. The only thing was that the kitchen timing was way off. We waited quite a bit for our app as well as our main course. Will be back for the excellent food.

This gastropub-​esque establishment is unlike others in the South Boston area as it elicits an elegant yet refreshing South End-​like vibe.
I’ve tried the duck confit entrée along with one of their obscure pasta dishes, which were both flavored to perfection. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but I’d come back in a heartbeat regardless.

Food was honestly good, but a bit too rich for my preference. We had the oysters, shrimp cocktail, mac and cheese, bisque, and 2 other items that I can’t remember right now. (Will update after remembering/​looking at menu.)
I had their French laundry, which is similar to a French 57 — super delicious :) I could be biase because I love gin, but nyeh.

I came here a little while ago and was really not impressed. The best thing i had was a chicken wing inspired app. All the other food was just so so. I had pretty high hopes as I had heard good things about the Franklin restaurants, but my experience fell sort. Service was also somewhat lackluster. If in the area, I would maybe give this place another try as the prices weren’t too bad, but this probably wouldn’t be my first choice and I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

A solid 4-​star experience at this classy joint. Had blue point oysters, shumai, wine, the cucumber drink, hanger steak and salmon.
The only complaint has to be the salmon. It was underwhelming, however the rice with beets was awesome. I could eat that all day.
Surprisingly modestly priced.

Came for drinks and small plates after work on a Friday.
Overall for drinks, we got: The Lost Barrel, Blueberry Lemonade, Port in the Storm and Cucumber Collins. All were great with the lost barrel being the best. I ended up having two and could have drank them all night.
They give you great hummus and bread as a starter regardless. We got the Salmon Tartare and Smoked Eggplant Dip. The Tartare was amazing. I don’t normally like the chips that they served with it, but they were perfect for this. The eggplant dip started okay but got better and better the more we ate it. Again, the bread was amazing.
Service was funny and on top of things. Great décor where it was hip but not in your face. Pretty dark, not impossible to see – it was pretty cloudly that day and we were by the window so that probably did not help.

I’ve been wanting to try one of the Franklin restaurants for a while. Love their sister restaurant (Citizen Pub), and have heard good things about Franklin too. My bf and I came here for Sunday brunch recently and were slightly disappointed.
We sat at the bar (first come, first served) because we didn’t feel like waiting 20 mins for a table. At least the bar seats were pretty comfy. Plus, we got to check out the full bar, which was stacked with all kinds of liquor. Damn, I know where I’m going when I need a drink!
I liked that the menu offered unique items in addition to traditional American brunch fare. Korean fried chicken, anyone? Or how about eggplant dip with naan bread? We decided to try the fancy version of a classic childhood food: fried pb&j sandwich with house-​made jelly, nut praline and honey. I never liked pb&j as a kid, but this was actually really good.
As if that wasn’t sweet enough, I also ordered the mascarpone-​stuffed french toast with bananas & nutella. Unfortunately, this was a fail, probably the worst french toast I’ve had in Boston. The bread quality they used was plain toast, something I’d expect from IHOP. The corn flake batter was dry as sandpaper (btw, this was not mentioned in the description) — even syrup couldn’t save this mess. Also, the presentation looked like the work of a 3-​year old.
I tried some of my bf’s short rib omelet with home fries, the special of the day. There was nothing special about it, and it was served lukewarm :(
Despite the sub par brunch experience, I do plan on giving dinner a try next time and hope for the better.

Butter rich, calorically dense and traversing the epicurean globe in a fusion stampede (pan-​Asian, Italio-​Pennsylvanian Dutch, French/​Navajo, whatever) — it’s found at Franklin.
And the garlicky chickpea spread with the comped bread basket. Let’s not forget about that.
Parsnip bisque with brown butter and toasted hazelnuts and a fiery prawn and pasta dish aptly named Shrimp «With The Heat» to pleasantly fried and sauced offal (crispy pig’s ear lettuce wraps, buffalo style fried chicken skins, the wings of a ground-​dwelling bird glazed with the essence of a Qing Dynasty militant leader). Served up with the quickness and nothing breaching the $ 20 price tag, plates are cheap, rich and comfortable. Every dish is flavor forward, swinging hard and usually reaching the fences.
Hangar steak, burger, said shrimp, said bisque… it’s all good, kid. Swirl the finger and drop it on the menu blind, you’ll dig what you dig in to. Adept cocktails too, although I found the Autopilot more sweet than floral and gritty. Maybe heavy on the Crème Yvette? A leader on the block for gastropub fare, grab a reservation — tables (especially for larger parties) fill quickly.

SO nice to just sit outside and enjoy the weather. Went here for Brunch and had an alcoholic beverage, and huevos rancheros. Can’t remember what my friends had… but we ordered a side of fries which apparently translated into French Toast. So… we had their french toast too and their fries. There wasn’t anything special about the service or the food… I’d go back if I were in the area (which I usually am), but I definitely wouldn’t go across town to eat there.
Also, the waitress was a little rude. It was her misunderstanding that lead to the French Toast/​+ French Fries order, but she didn’t even apologize or make a joke about it. C’est la vie.

I cannot believe last night was my first time here! HELLO, was I missing out??! I met up with a friend around 9:30pm and we sat at the bar. It wasn’t crowded but there were enough people there on a Thursday night. The bartender was cool and cleared the spot so we could sit right away and gave us menus. I wanted to try all the specialty drinks but decided to be boring and get my Hendricks dirty martini. It was not boring and was made to perfection. Just enough olive juice for my likings!
I couldn’t decide on what I wanted to eat because all the items looked amazing. I finally made my decision and went with the sugarcane poached salmon. I was so excited when it was placed in front of me and as I was eating it never wanted it to end. It came with sugar snap rices and some greens. AMAZING!!! My friend ordered the lamb bacon tacos and they looked great but I didn’t try them. I was too engrossed in my own entrée.
After my martini was done I ordered their Pinot Noir by the glass and it was different than any other I’ve had. It was very earthy and went down smooth. We couldn’t leave without ordering dessert. There was only one and it was a fudge brownie, vanilla ice cream, peppermint patty and caramel sauce. Can you say Heaven!!!
Needless to say my first experience there was everything and more. Friendly, cool bartender, awesome food and drinks, great music and atmosphere. I think will be my new go to spot in Southie and definitely need to try out their location in the South End.

Came here for a nice birthday dinner on a Thursday night and was pleasantly surprised by the food, drinks, service and the chill, laid back atmosphere.
We started off with a bread basket and garlic hummus. It’s the fresh crusty kind of bread with a fluffy, chewy center and the kind of hummus you just want to dip your thumb into and lick off. Needless to say, we asked for a refill.
I went with the St. Germaine Cocktail for my drink and LOVED it. Proseco, soda, lemon twist and St. Germaine. Can’t go wrong with the sweet, citrus flavors. You can barely taste the alcohol.
Cocktail shrimp appetizer — big, plump, sweet, juicy and fresh. Nothin’ less, nothin’ more.
I got a pan fried whitefish for my entrée and really appreciated the flaky fish, cooked to perfection. It had a nice crust and tasted buttery and fresh.
My friend got the duck pot pie, which in my opinion was a homerun. Flaky puff pastry covering a ramekin dish full of smoky duck and a rich yet not-​too-​creamy sauce.
Wonderful service all night long. So attentive, professional yet not overbearing. I just wish the menu was slightly more extensive, but hey, they switch up the items regularly so you don’t get bored. 4-​stars!

A friend from Southie introduced me to this spot. We were looking for somewhere nice on a weekday to have a drink and grab a quick meal after work (we get out at midnight). She suggested Franklin Southie, which for me was a stretch, as South Boston has always been an intentionally unexplored Boston neighborhood… but I digress.
Anyhow, I agreed to go and, oh my, was I pleasantly surprised! The place was pretty empty except for a few patrons (it was a Tuesday night) so we were immediately seated. As a palette warmer, Franklin Southie provides each table with warm bread and homemade hummus. I swear it was the best hummus I ever had, which prompted me to ask our hostess for the recipe. We then ordered two drinks, the Poached Pear and the Cucumber Collins. The both were great and they weren’t cheap on the liquor either. We shared the Salmon Tar Tar as a light meal and just enjoyed each others company.
I would describe the drink and food menu as very creative and not the place to go if you’re looking for typical bar food/​drinks. The foodies will appreciate this place. It’s also one block from the Broadway T station, so it’s T accessible for those who don’t drive. But I think the best part about Franklin Southie is the ambiance of the place. It was a restaurant/​bar but felt as if you were in someone’s home. It was just very comfortable. And the music they played was a nice mix of everything. This place is great for meeting up with friends or a date night.