Franklin House

This is the kind of bar you hope to find when in any town or city. Great beer selection, food, and staff. Outdoor seating too! Only bar in Valpo worth going to in my opinion.

My wife loves to drink here. It isn’t necessarily my kind of place (not much of a drinker), but the food is surprisingly good for bar fare. The burgers are far above par, and the wings are meaty and well cooked. Not a ton of selection, but FH is far more «bar» than «restaurant.» The waitresses are probably not to everyone’s liking, but it’s the kind of service I like in a bar… no stupid banter, frequent silent check ups, glasses always full. You can smoke inside, which is cool for me, but will probably keep some people away. I’m fine with that. The anti-​smoking crowd irritates me more than a smoky room.
A tip: the regular crowd is fairly rugged and grim-​looking. You might not feel entirely welcome. If so, get over yourself. Go to Chili’s if you want everyone pretending to be sober and happy. FH is a pretty fun place with above-​average food at a reasonable price. TGIF’s, it ain’t.

Great spot! I know what you’re thinking: bar = standard shitty bar food. Not the case here. The burgers are outstanding & the wings are the stuff my dreams are made of. Do yourself a favor and stop in for a bite (and a drink obviously). Oh & karaōke nights are always a good time.

The only reason I have two stars is because it’s Boozeday (half off drinks) and because it’s a Blackhawks bar. Other than that, godawful. I’m pretty sure I got immediate diarrhea from the smell of the food. The 60 year old man next to me wearing Jean Paul gauttier didn’t help at all either. Besides the fact he is smoking cloves, doesn’t help his douchey cause. I would only come here on a Tuesday, and most likely won’t be again. I’ve had diarrhea once before and this dump for sure isn’t worth it. Let’s not forget Shawn’s awful service for now… This is an absolute disgrace for food and bar establishments around.

This is mainly a hipster dive bar, though there is a blue collar crowd earlier in the day. The atmosphere is really cool. It can get a bit smoky, but the high ceilings help a lot. There is a fantastic arcade hidden in the back. All the games are new and in good working order, which isn’t typical. My biggest complaint is that the lights in the back room by the secondary bar are too bright. Also, there is an incredibly bright White Sox neon sign that glares badly in all the TVs. The bathrooms are reasonably clean without losing the dive bar edge.
The menu is perfect for a dive bar. It’s simple, but has everything you need. There are great daily drink specials, which vary in value depending on the bartender. It’s pretty hit or miss for a decent, stiff drink (mostly misses). The service is fast at the bar, but you can wait a while if you are at a table depending on how many people they have working.

Best bar is town. Great service and awesome bar food. You have got to try the House burger.

2 words: Tuesday boozeday! Half off all drinks and beers! It does get crowded but you have to get there early.
It is definitely a bears bar so if you’re a bears fan this is a place for you.

Do I even have to review this bar? No… It is very well known. Although I feel like it’s more of a beer place instead of the mixed drinks (they don’t know how to make a lot, but will if you tell them how) it’s a great place to hang out. Cool game room. 2 bars. And the food … We all come here for the food. Wings are amazing. House burgers are good (says friends) and when you are drunk as fuck. Man those tacos and tater tots are great. The day consists of old people and the night life is a younger crowd so pick what’s best for you.

Good bar food, great beer list, brutal service. If you’re ok with that, you’ll like the Franklin house. Was there last Saturday afternoon, 50 people were there, one server/​bartender for the whole place.

Just traveling through town and thought I would give Franklin House a shot. Of the places in Valparaiso I went to, it had a sizeable amount (and good mix) of people for an early Wednesday night. Drinks were cheap and decently strong. Layout is a little weird with two rooms (one full of tables and a bar, the other with a less full bar but bigger tables for groups). Wednesday night is trivia and there were several groups playing. I liked the mix of students, older people, hipsters, grunge, etc. Would probably be a go-​to if I lived in Valpo. Lots of parking outside.

Great beer, super friendly staff, stupid good food and low prices. So glad I decided to give this place a try!

I have never had a dull time at this place. The star is super professional, and really fun. I’ve attended a handful of shows here, and have never been disappointed in their food selection. If you wet end up eating here, I suggest any burger with a pretzel bun! Don’t be afraid to try their «burger of the week/​month» at all, you won’t be upset at their creativity.

Having been too many a dive bar, I knew what to anticipate. However, I wasn’t that impressed. $ 8 plus toppings IS a bit excessive for a dive bar burger, which wasn’t anything spectacular.
Also, dives bar by their nature may not have the appearance of the cleanliness places, but when insulation is hanging from the ledges, I take issue.
As for the beer selection, if I wanted a 3 Floyd’s tap menu, I would have driven to Munster and ate there. The selection of bottles is good, but going out I prefer draft.
Lastly, if you enjoy juke box music and food with your smoke, than Franklin House is your place to visit. For me, this is a 1 and done.

I don’t know about the other people that have come here, but service is SUPER SLOW! Food is mediocre. I wouldn’t come back if you paid for my food. Our apps came with /​after our food, not before. Shit. Don’t eat here.

Great beer selections and good food. I would have gave it a full five stars but I miss the slanty floors. It was fun to watch drunk people try to dance to the bathroom on them.
P. S. The womens restrooms are so much better now.

If you’re looking for a dive bar with great food and an incredible beer list, this is the place for you. I had come here quite a while ago with my girlfriend and some friends of ours. We had drinks but our friends did order food. One had wings and one had a burger and they both said the food was very good.
More recently, we’ve gotten burgers to go and they were very good. Even more recently, I took a buddy of mine here for a late dinner and a couple beers. They have some specialty burgers and also the ‘build your own burger’ option. They also have the ‘build your own’ option for several other sandwiches. After mulling over the choices, I asked the bartender what she recommended. She recommended the ‘House Burger’ and assured me that I would not be disappointed. I was a little leery being that the aforementioned burger consists of Swiss cheese, bacon, a fried egg, peanut butter and mayo all on a pretzel bun. Now don’t get me wrong, I like everything I listed above, but on a burger? I decided to take her advice and was so glad that I did. My buddy got the same thing and he was impressed also. The flavor combinations worked so well together and the burger was cooked perfectly.
The next night, my girlfriend and I came back. She did the ‘build a burger’ thing and I got the ‘House Burger’ again just so she could try it. Let me explain something about my girlfriend (who I love dearly). As far as food goes, she can be quite particular when it comes to flavor combinations and textures. Well, she was also impressed by this one and said that it was very good. I like my burgers cooked medium (like they should be) but she prefers hers more well done. Other than hers being a bit underdone for her taste, everything was wonderful. I also enjoyed a couple beers from their expansive list of craft beer. My girlfriend also tried a few sips of my 3 Floyd’s Moloko, a delicious milk stout. She is not a beer drinker so I give her lots of credit for trying something new and very different.
I know that there are other good ‘gourmet’ burger places in the area, and I’m not talking about the vastly subpar and overpriced Red Robin, but I think the Franklin House is going to be my go-​to place for burgers given their absolute deliciousness and also their close proximity to my abode.

Local dive with digital juke box. Dollar beers ha! Tuesdays are half price drinks! I hear this used to be a brothel back in the day.
Excited to be here during popcorn fest coming up soon. For this town it’s here & duffys.

Very nostalgic place with much history. Nice place for a rail-​fan. The food is very good. Great beer selection and while the victualler isn’t burgeoning with vibrancy she plods along with irreproachable accuracy and efficiency. One of the stanchions of reliably appearing patrons aside from their saltiness and cigarette permeated souls is a raucousness that provides a good balance to the bartender

Tuesday Boze night! Need I say more? ALL drinks are half off every Tuesdays. It’s the place to be on a Tuesdays to get wasted for dirt cheap. Great pub food also, I love the tots!

Here’s the play by play, no sugar coating:
— Hipster Dive Bar
— Beard friendly
— Great beer selection (Three Floyds aplenty)
— Great bar fare (apps, wings, burgers)
— Fried Mac and Cheese
— Fried Pickles
— Immoral Bathroom
— Dust from 1857
A Valparaiso Institution, and my kinda place!