Franklin’s Pub

I really want to like this place.
I used to come here when it was Market Grill and the food, drinks, and atmosphere was really good. I just went there for lunch and this place seems to have taken a downward turn. The staff were all wandering around doing anything but attending to the lunch patron needs which seemed to stress them all out, then we got our food and it look like something you would get at a county fair, only worse. I had the «sliders» which was just a pre-​packaged burger char-​grilled and very clearly divided into thirds on a mini bun (the bun was actually delicious, although I am pretty sure it was store bought and Wonder should get the credit…). My house salad was pathetic and the croutons were extremely stale. The gentlemen I was with ordered a burger that also looked very depressing, and some onion rings that actually looked and seemed pretty good from what I saw… Everything came in cheap plastic baskets which is fine but as cool as this place is, the food experience did not quite gel with the location and ambiance.
Definitely go here if you want good drink specials, but avoid the food, there are way better options in Soulard.

Was having a great time on a Thursday night until their jackass of an owner came and decided it was time to close– an hour early than they usually do. He is a pompous idiot. We said, «it says you close at 1:30» he said, «I don’t care, I am the owner, go.» Well you just lost some business, which is a shame bc sure look like you need some.

Ok ok not a 4 star restaurant or bar. That being said I still love Franklin’s Pub. Sure you won’t have a mixologist pour you a fancy cocktail. However, that $ 3 well drink they just made you is definitely in you above average sized cup and it’s still made strong. Oh those are $ 7 pitchers across the board. Not just the watered down domestic stuff. And yes you can get a burger for just $ 4. Is it the best burger in the neighborhood? No. Will it hurt your wallet? Same answer. Also don’t forget to bring your darts because they’ve got two decent boards in the back.

The brightest spot of lunch was the waitress/​bartender. The menus are only written on the wall. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and they forgot the bacon. Cohort ordered beef nachos and got roast beef with ball park cheese on typical round corn chips. There was nothing –wrong– with the order but it certainly wasn’t what was imagined when ordering restaurant nachos. The waitress was helpful, attentive, and friendly. She doesn’t cook the food so no reason to hold her accountable. At noon the restaurant was empty on a Thursday.
This place does charity work for Stray Rescue, points for the effort. Visit this place for the service and the Dog Donations but eat somewhere nearby. The advertised beer specials looked good for Wednesday nights.

We were here during the Taste of Soulard and are looking forward to returning the next time we are in St. Louis.

I am an out of towner visiting a good friend in St. Louis. Upon meeting up with my friends (including 2 other friends from Maryland and North Carolina) we went to a local bar my girlfriend said was friendly and had a kind local vibe.
Upon entering we were greeted with a nasty look that immediately made me feel unwelcome. I was not acting in a way that would call for negative attention so I thought maybe the bartender was having a bad night. Not only did she accusingly stare me and my identification down but she also refused to serve me before she had checked all my other friends id’s.
By the time she got to the last member of our party, who coincidentally happens to be the eldest of us (she’s turning 30 next month!) she asked for a second and then THIRD form of id. My friend gladly rattled off her birthdate info along with politely waiting for the troll-​like bartender to check her second form of id.
SHOCKINGLY, my friend did not have a third form of ID because, come on– who does?! We expressed our disbelief and of course were offered no explanation as to why we were treated so terribly. We left very upset and I have never been so disgusted with a bartender.
Congratulations, assholes. If you’re trying to run out all of the out of town business, you’re doing it right.

I recently moved to Soulard, and decided to make Franklin’s my new «hometown» bar, as I received the greatest service from the manager, Tim. I have just discovered that he is the ONLY good thing about Franklin’s.
This evening, my girlfriends that are in town for a 10 year reunion from when we lived together (at ages 17 – 20) attempted to spend time at my new favorite bar. Upon entering, the sour bartender greeted us with questioning looks, and requested 2 forms of ID from each of us (2 of which are turning 30 in a few months). One of my friends had a difficult time fishing her ID from her large purse, as it had fallen from her wallet at the last bar. This caused the bartender to decide that no one was able to be served until she found it. We waited patiently, and were greeted with a request for a THIRD form of ID from the OLDEST of us all.
It was embarrassing, and incredibly rude. When we were clearly appalled, she told us to leave. Clearly she had a vendetta against us from the moment we walked in, and it was absurd. She mentioned that the request for a 3^rd ID came straight from the OWNER.
All I can think is… what would John Taffer think?! Someone needs to call bar rescue.
We are currently at Sassy Jac’s, and having a great time enjoying our drinks. which did not require more than our state registered IDs.
Either the bartender we encountered tonight needs some additional training on out of state IDs, or a tampon.

Franklins Pub has a good trivia on Wednesdays at 7. Bar food was standard — the fries were good. Four dollar pitchers during trivia. Several beer options: pbr and bud products, but also a few craft beers.

Descriptive phrase: standard Soulard bar.
A large group of us stopped by Franklin’s on the Saturday night after Oktoberfest. It’s a little corner bar up the way from just about anything else in Soulard. The inside is long and skinny, with a couple different levels down a few stairs. We stayed in the main bar entrance, where there were TVs and some high-​top tables.
I have to give them credit, Franklin’s handled what could’ve been rowdy crowds from the festival well. It wasn’t too crowded, and the bartenders were accommodating. Beer prices were normal for the area, and they had some tasty-​sounding foodstuffs listed on a blackboard by the bar.
All-​in-​all, nothing too notable about Franklin’s, though it’d be a fine place to stop for a pint.

Although I raved about the main menu fare in a previous review, last week we had visitors in town and took them to Franklin’s to watch football and we partook of some of the apps. I’m leaving this a 4 stars because I still like the bar and I hope the food, but the apps… need help!
Unfortunately, all were grossly uninspired, tasteless and mostly processed.
Chicken Nachos — Possibly the worst I’ve had in Soulard – check that – hand’s down, the worst. Bland, flavorless, oddly textured chicken over weak supermarket chips, ballpark processed orange cheese sauce (or movie theater, same difference), a smattering of flavorless jalepenos and an insubstantial tub of sour cream and salsa on the side. In my lifetime, I’ve never seen a plate of nachos sit on a table surrounded by 6 patrons watching football and drinking beer and not see it get devoured. ‘Nuff said.
Buffalo Chicken Strips — Basket of unidentifiable shapes, crunchy to the touch, smothered in standard «buffalo» sauce. Sorry, but when we order these we should be told up front that there is no Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing in the house. Again, despite there being a table full of beer drinkers, we left one of the 5 – 6 in the order in the basket. The «chicken» inside these «tenders» might have been cardboard. Nothing poultry or tender about them.
Jalepeno Poppers — these were the standard «TGIF» frozen/​deep-​fried from your freezer section. I guess these were the least offensive, as they were all eaten.
The overall impression from these apps is that they are straight out of the freezer to the fryer and served with very little love. The exception being the nachos, which were simply horrible and insulting. In retrospect, I would have been justified in asking for a refund.
Please take this as constructive criticism and fix your nachos. If your kitchen guy was sick that night and these were thrown together by the bartender or busser, disregard.

Great atmosphere! The drinks and food were very reasonable, and the service was great!

Great drink prices and friendly staff. Cheap food that has never disappointed me — definitely get the fries! Just a nice little corner bar in Soulard — definitely check it out next time you’re looking for a place to go but don’t want to deal with the crowds at other bars in the area!

What’s not to like about Franklin’s? It’s a great corner pub with a great staff! They don’t offer happy hour specials because their drink prices are always reasonable. I’ve eaten there a few times and have never been disappointed. The hamburgers and fries was awesome! They also score high because they have both types of darts, steel-​tip and plastic. Just a fun place to hang out.

I think it’s about time I write a review for Franklin’s.
I have visited Franklin’s now a few times and each visit has been great! My first time visiting was on 12^th night (January 6). My friends and I came here to grab a drink and to warm up. We also ordered some food; chicken skewers and a basket of fries. The food was so cheap! I saw that the fries were 99 cents for the basket and I had no choice. The drinks were also pretty cheap and the service was top notch. Our waiter kept checking in on us to make sure we were okay; he wasn’t overly annoying about it either.
After such a great first visit I had to choose a place to go for my birthday (January 11) after dinner and so I thought of Franklin’s. A group of my friends and I arrived around 8:30/9 and I think we were the only ones in the place. This was fine with me; I had more room to move around. The bartender gave me a shot for my birthday. He made some really great shots throughout the night. I had no idea I could order a «french toast» shot or a «skittles» shot; but he told me about them and I had no choice but to order a few of each. My friends and I had control of the jukebox and were able to spread out to dance. Franklin’s was a great choice for a small get together on a weeknight.
My last visit was a few weeks ago and when we arrived the place was kind of packed. I think more and more people are learning about this gem in Soulard. My friends and I were able to pull a few tables together in the front room to order drinks and chat. We had good service from our waitress who was also taking care of about 5 or 6 other tables. I was impressed with her attitude and memory. She really did a great job at keeping all of our tabs separated and she even remembered our drinks! The night was very relaxing and Franklin’s had a nice vibe going on that night. Good people and good times.
If you are in the Soulard area and are looking for a nice spot with simple food and drinks this is the place for you!

Met up with some buddies of mine at Franklin’s on a Friday night, not long after they opened. The bartenders were great; friendly, attentive, and knew the menu (food and drink). It didn’t get crazy or packed but there were people throughout the joint. Kept the music to a good level so it was a place we deemed worthy of going for just hanging out. It gets annoying quick when a bar cranks up music just so it seems like there is more going on than there is.
We decided to make this our new destination spot to start out our nights out in Soulard. The food is a great and for the price, you’d have to go to Fast Eddies to beat it. FYI, bring your own darts if you want to play the cork boards… maybe the plastic ones to. There were only a handful of usable plastic darts next to the machine.
Get me a shot if you see me there!

So… I will start out by saying my wife and I were huge fans of the Market Grill when it first opened. We even had our wedding rehearsal dinner there… so we were very sad to see it fail. That said, i cannot explain how happy I am to see this place open! i was a little weary of trying it at first, because I thought we would be disappointed from the memories of the Market Grill, but i was wrong!
This place is exactly what Soulard needs. Cheap food and drinks in a fun, clean, and casual environment. The drink prices ON GOOD BEER are amazing! I think this will be our go to spot to grab a drink for a while! I do have to give it one small negative… that is just the very small size and chalkboard style menu. I am a fan of a menu at my table with a few more options — thats all! The burger and fries were good for the price (not the best in the world, but cheap so it works). The staff is very friendly and the service is cheap, quick, and very good!

I’m really glad someone spent some money and redesigned this space. It’s in a great location, right next to the Soulard Farmers Market. And the inside is cool. Décor inclueds pine wood floors, granite bar top, and a kick-​butt game room. Food options are limited but what they do have looks good and is moderately priced. We had a couple of kabobs. They also had a few sandwich and nacho options. Everthings just a few bucks.

My friend and I decided to check this place out last night and loved it! We were wanting to play some darts and lucky for us, they had real boards and automated ones as well (2 boards of each). We wanted to play on the real boards but didn’t bring our own darts so we could not play on those. The bar doesn’t provide them.
It wasn’t terribly crowded when we arrived but filled up as the night progressed, Franklin’s Pub was clean and I really liked the simple layout. Perfect little hole in the wall. The service was nice and the prices were very reasonable. They serve food but I had already eaten so I didn’t try anything. I was tempted though because something smelled so yummy when I first walked in. There is a chalkboard by the bar that features food specials and the prices were great! Items included kabobs, nachos, and burgers. I can’t wait to eat there!
The only reason I gave it ⁴⁄₅ stars is because I was annoyed when the bartender took a shot instead of waiting on me. I don’t mind if a bartender takes shots but if there is someone waiting, I think it’s kind of rude. Other than that, he was great.
This place is going to be my go-​to place for a laid back night where I can have a few drinks, throw some darts, and watch sports. (There are a lot of tvs and they were actually playing some hockey when we went which was cool). My friend and I enjoyed it so much we are already talking about having a Sunday Funday there soon.
I definitely recommend checking this place out!

This places rocks!!! And let me just say that the ONLY reason they get 4 stars is because the very friendly bar guy told us that the special of the day was a steak, salad and bake potato, which they ran out of and could not serve. :-(However, the place is nice and quaint; nice music coming from the juke thingy (heck, its the more updated version of music-​selecting techno), very friendly staff, and even the patrons were friendly. Dang — can’t go wrong here with friendliness!!! I love how one of the owners (Greg) said «good night and thank you» to the people who exited for the night.
I had buffalo wings and fries, my fav GG and cranberry juice and Vince had steak and fries. The food was HOT and good. We didn’t wait long for it either. They had a flat screen hung in the bar area, so we were listening to music, watching the tube, and drinking all at the same time. I even met some cool folks there! They are located directly across from the Farmer’s Market entrance. I will definitely be back here and will drive from North County to do so. But next time, make sure you have your specials that you advertise before you offer them. Greg — one of the owners — was whole-​heartedly apologetic, which makes up for that boo-​boo.

Cheap Drinks!
This is a cute little corner bar in Soulard… they just opened up in Oct. in the spot formally known as Market Grill.
It was pretty busy for a Friday night and we just sat at the bar. The special that night was sirloin steak, baked potato and a house salad for 7.95…so that’s what we got.
We really were not expecting a lot for the price, and pretty much got what we expected. The steak was VERY thin and tasted fine, but just that. The salad is an iceberg lettuce salad w/​mostly the heart of the lettuce and had a few cherry tomatoes and a couple croutons. The dressing choices were a dijon mustard or a ranch and I got the mustard one… which was pretty tasty. Our friend’s got some fries (reg fries but tasty) and a chicken kabob (grilled chicken on a stick… basic).
Service was fast (we were at the bar though so can’t judge table servers) and friendly. The menu is small for now and reminds me of a «Fast Eddies» variation… everything pretty easy and cheap. The drinks were large and inexpensive. I added a few photos of our food to give you an idea… great place to come and hangout in Soulard.
I’m sure they will keep adding more items to the menu and tweaking the ones they have so we will for sure be back!