Franklin Steakhouse & Tavern

“The Hotsy Totsy Shrimp was excellent as were the Short Rib Tacos (my favorite) and crab cakes.”

“Went for lunch and I had the Italian Steak Sandwich it was terrific.”

“Seafood is always fresh (balsamic calamari, clams & hotsy totsy mussel appetizers).”

Franklin Steakhouse & Tavern

Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. A few weeks ago, I finally got a chance to sit down for a meal here.  I went in with a group of my coworkers while we were waiting for our phone/internet to come back up and didn't want to go far while we waited for the Verizon tech.  It was pretty empty for a Friday afternoon.  I guess the newness has worn off of this place because they were jam packed for the first few weeks they were open.

    Anyway, we got a table near the window and looked over the menu.  2 sandwiches, a burger, and 2 salads plus a bunch of beer were ordered.  Honestly, it would have been pretty hard to mess up our orders, so there's no complaints on that part.  What was killing me was how long everything seemed to take.  Mind you, it was all but empty in the restaurant.  It just felt like for-freaking-ever between when we ordered and when we finally got our food.  In reality, the whole meal took like an hour and a half… but see, that would have been totally unacceptable had I not been with my boss.  I totally get that things take longer when a restaurant is busy, but would not work as an excuse the day we were there.  A handful of people at the bar and 2 tables is nowhere near capacity for this place, so there's really no excuse for why it would take so long to get our food out to us.

    And speaking of food, it was just ok.  I've heard rumblings of discord between the owners, but that is not an excuse to let the quality of your food suffer.  It wasn't even that the food was bad, because it wasn't.  It's that it was… ok.  The Franklin Steakhouse in Nutley has a great reputation, so this is really disappointing.  I ate every bite of my salad (with avocado and grilled shrimp, yum), but it just wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped it would be considering adding shrimp to the salad nearly doubled the price of it.  I would never turn down a meal here if someone else was paying, but really, I'm kind of over it.

    Also, on a side note, the parking here is awful.  The lot is decent sized for regular business, but it is way too small and the entrances too narrow for happy hour or other times where it gets busy.

  2. I came here on a rainy Saturday night. It was pretty crowded but the wait wasn't too long. We were able to sit at the bar and grab a drink while we waited for our table. As an app I tried the balsamic calamari. If you love balsamic flavor then you will love it. For me, the flavor was too overwhelming and drowned out the flavor of the calamari. I'd like to try their plain calamari because you can tell the quality is there. For my meal I ordered the Cuban sandwich. It came with sweet pickles but I substituted those for dill pickles (keeping it in true Cuban sandwich form). O.M.G. I can honestly say that it was the best Cuban sandwich I've ever had. Who would've thunk it. I'd come back for sure!

  3. It's okay….came here weeknight with friends for dinner and couple drinks. Wed was karaoke night which was mildly entertaining but was still not too crowded with the most random group of customers.
    Place has two entrances, one for bar and one for restaurant which I didn't really get since they brought you to the same place. Food was average. We ordered salads and wings. I would only come here for beer and bar food for drinks after work. Nothing special.
    They do have specials each night and coupons going around in papers. We stayed for two hours and had four different waitresses. None of them seemed to care. Don't get me wrong, they did their job and were not rude but again…nothing special. We had to flag them down if wanted something and they brought us check before asking if we were done.

  4. Why was I expecting a higher end steak house? Brought an out of town guest tonight and turns out this is a very friendly sports bar. Beer menu tries hard as does the wine list. People are right the marinara for the hotsy totsy shrimp is awesome. My mistake was not considering my surroundings and going for the porterhouse. As thin as it was it was cooked as requested but for some reason I had Ruth's Chris in mind or at the very least Arthur's thickness. Oh well, my guest liked his NY Strip and he paid the check so not too bad. Vibe was good but steakhouse in the name threw me. No biggie I'd come back for a college hoop game and sit at the bar.

  5. We ordered food from here for a 6-person dinner. Here's what was delivered:

    * One person's order was missing
    * Fries were soggy, cold, and tasteless
    * The chicken cheesesteak used processed American cheese, which is not what the menu said at all.
    * Of course, that was cold as well.
    * The cole slaw was slimy.

    Never attempting to eat here again. This may pass for $5 diner food but it cannot be priced the way it is and deliver such a low level of quality.

  6. The food was good, but not great. My fish tacos were very heavy (greasy) and the short rib tacos were chewy.  The calamari and sausage was tasty, but again, very heavy. The atmosphere is loud and very busy on the weekend, but that;s because they offer good drinks and multiple televisions.

  7. Saturday night and it's packed. 45 minute wait but we found seats at the bar so that's where we ate. Great menu and great people. We each had the Montclair salad. Try it if you never have you will love it. Strip steak for my Sandra and a Delmonico for me. Both cooked to perfection. Steaks took a little longer to come out than usual cause place was so busy. No worries though we just had one more drink.

  8. I pass this place several times a week and always meant to try it.  Monday night I gave it a shot.
    Typical sports bar atmosphere. Lot's of TV's behind a large bar with various sports on each of them. The bar area got pretty loud at some points due to guys cheering for their teams. But I guess that's to be expected so no big deal.
    Started off with the guacamole and chips. The guacamole was very good with lots of large chunks of avocado. Only problem was, too many chips and not enough guacamole! There could have been more guacamole or maybe even some salsa along with it for the rest of the chips.
    My wife and mother in law love ribs and Monday was buy one rack of ribs and get a second rack free. I'm not a fan of ribs but they said they were delicious and fall off the bone tender.
    I went for the roast beef sandwich special. (see pic) Plenty of meat along with caramelized onions and cheese, plus arugula. It was very juicy and very tasty. I was pleasantly surprised.
    Our waiter was painfully adequate. He never came back to our table to check on our food or ask us if we wanted refills on our drinks. Two big things that any good waiter should do automatically. I had to look for him and wave him over to ask for a refill. It wasn't busy either so there was really no excuse.
    They seem to have food and drink specials on other days of the week as well. On the way out I noticed a sign for Tuesday's. Two beers (I think) or two glasses of wine along with buy one burger and get one free. Sounds like a good deal. Maybe one Tuesday I'll stop in and try their burgers.
    I have friends who enjoy their, "Happy Hour" and will probably check that out one night as well.
    Overall: Good, "Pub Food."

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Monday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am
Tuesday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am
Wednesday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am
Thursday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am
Friday, 11:30 am - 1:30 am
Saturday, 11:30 am - 1:30 am
Sunday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am