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A gem in P.G. County. I never new this placed existed until a few years ago. The beer is decent, sometimes lacks enough flavor for me and they seem to be very low on CO2. Food is pretty good.
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Patrick Fines,
Temple Hills, MD
(08/14/2009) |
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I, too, used to work at Franklins and enjoyed [almost] every minute of it! The local clientele and community atmosphere provide a distinct contrast to the jam-packed chains two miles down the road, and my tips were more than enough to cover all the whimsical jewelry, toys, and sundries I found in the adjoining store. While I will be the first to admit that service from some waitstaff was spotty, the core team during my years there (2004-2006) was extremely dedicated and talented. Recently, a new chef and more seasoned kitchen staff have moved from a rather schizophrenic menu to a more focused approach, and this is reflected in the quality and consistency of meals. On a side note, I was very surprised to find that the previous poster considered our serving sizes small and overpriced - with a shared appetizer, two beers per person, and entrees and desserts for each (though how you would have room for dessert after all that is beyond me), the meal shouldn't have totaled more than $80-85 plus tip. (The exception would be if each person ordered the special, which tends to be slightly more expensive due to market prices on high-end fish.) The beers are tenderly hand-crafted but often too hoppy for tender palates; on the plus-side, the choices range from very light to very dark so almost everyone can find a suitable flavor. Be sure to ask your server for a smaple if you're unsure of a brew! Bottom line: Great restaurant - have fun!
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Amy,
Gaithersburg, MD
(06/05/2007) |
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Since getting a new chef, this place has improved dramatically. The beer is really strong but has a unique flavor that will make you overlook the fact that you are buzzing off of one pint. The sandwiches have always been good along with the appetizers. The presentation is good but the portions are a little small for the price. A party of three can easily drop $120 if you include drinks and dessert. The service really needs improvement as they become more popular. There is too much standing around by the wait staff around the kitchen. They have a few seasoned servers but they really need a good floor manager. Additionally, they need to be more strict about uniforms for the wait staff.
The atmosphere is what made me continue to frequent the establishment even when the food was horrible. The owner is very friendly and the decor is really good. They serve alcohol in addition to beer now and it makes for a great happy hour haunt. It is a great part of Hyattsville and we are lucky to have it as our local pub. Stop by and have a look
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J. Moore,
Hyattsville, MD
(07/02/2006) |
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I didn't find this place until the last 8 weeks of my undergraduate career at UMD, and I miss it terribly. They have a great happy hour after 10pm on Thursdays -- $2 cover for free buffet (with ok fare -- can't rate the restaurant items) and $3 draughts. The beer selection is pretty hit and miss, but the good ones make up for the lousier ones. Personal favorites are the IPA, Terrapin Ale, and ESB (especially off of the nitro tap -- delicious!!!!). Anything Doppel or Drittel is far too strong in flavor and has a distinct alcohol taste (to agree with the poor reviews). The Bombshell Blonde was a little weak for my taste. What Franklin's does right, they do excellently. DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED. Especially for of-age UMD students who cannot stand the limited, crowded, deafening, fraternitized/sorostituted offerings on Rt. 1.
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Mike Hickey,
Blacksburg, VA
(10/06/2005) |
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I used to work at Franklin's when I attended University of Maryland. I miss it dearly and can't wait to travel back for visits. The enviornment of Franklin's wouldn't be so friendly and inviting if it wasn't for its owner, Mike Franklin. Thanks Mike!
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Jimmy,
Annapolis, MD
(03/04/2005) |
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Hands down, the best brewpub in the DC area-- I only wish it were closer. Some of the negative reviews are mysterious to me-- JoJo has not written a single good review of anywhere he/she has been (maybe works for Budweiser..); others complain about non-filtered beer-- they should also stick to Bud. Franklin's beers are distinctive and fun. Even if one is not to your taste, it's going for something different. I love this place: great beer, great bartenders, tasty food.
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Eric Foster,
Washington, DC
(02/27/2005) |
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The beer was excellent! cask barley wine and nitro pour ESB were highlights! The food was good, the sammich I had rated well. But I was really impressed by the beer becuase it's not your run of the mill brewpub brew, it had character and was not overly filtered (i love un-filtered beer!) I had a sampler tray and i beleive there was only one beer I did not like. my only issue is that it's not closer to baltimore!
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bstill,
Baltimore, MD
(02/16/2005) |
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Despite having read some negative reviews about this place, I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I enjoy going to brewpubs, and have been to most other ones in MD, so I wanted to check this one out. While they did have a large selection of beers on tap, there was no real description of the brews, so you either had to get a taster, or just go for it. Would be nice to describe the beer styles, as many of the names did not give you a clue as to what kind of beer it was. Having said that, a lot of the beers didn't really fit into style categories anyway. Most of the beers I tried were way over hopped for their style. I love IPAs with lots of hops, but other styles shouldn't necessarily be so hoppy. All the beers I had were cloudy in appearance, and did not have good malt/hop balance. The Imperial Stout was downright undrinkable, with overpoweringly strong fusel alchol and astringency. The decor was interesting, and there was a decent crowd there. However, the beers were very disappointing and the food wasn't good enough to make up for it. Afterall, the main reason I go to a brewpub to enjoy the beer. Overall it was disappointing experience, and I doubt I'll be back.
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jojo,
rockville, MD
(01/30/2005) |
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Another great visit to Franklin's. Was on my way home looking for a good rest stop, and perhaps a chance to pick up some growler fills for later. Bartender very helpful with tastes to help me make up my mind (so many places seem bothered by doing whatever is needed to sell beer!). Liked everything I tried; their Private IPA and the ESB were good and clean--not overwhelming. Their barleywine was offered on regular and nitro pour, with the nitro just a tick above for my tastes. The best brew this time around was the Silver Lining, which I was told was "their SN Celebration clone". It certainly had that hoppy/malty blend I come to expect each holiday season--a good effort! I was encouraged to hear my server say, "we really take it as a compliment when people bring another brewery's growlers in here for a fill; it means you like our beer as much or more than theirs". Whether that's true or not, I like the attitude! Why can't more places be like that?
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Beav,
York, PA
(01/01/2005) |
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Interesting place. The food was decent. The beer struck me as a little homebrewish, which is not a bad thing, but not what you would expect from a brewery. All the beers had great hop flavor but were lacking in malt content. Almost seemed as though they were partial extract beers. I would also advise doing something about the protein haze. I realize this has no affect on flavor but it does make the beer rather unappealing, especially to folks who don't travel to brewpubs often. Unfortunately I would not recommend Franklins to anyone interested in traveling for beer, visit Baltimore instead.
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Mike Beatty,
Chambersburg, PA
(10/26/2004) |
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Well, I did have the opportunity to stop back and spend some time getting to know the place and the beers. Got in for an early lunch and ordered a sampler of 9 beers, plus an additional version of stout on nitro. They're all very drinkable and clean. Enough different styles to satisfy most all tastes, so bring a beer loving friend! I especially liked the Sierra Madre, which they describe as a Sierra Nevada turned up a few notches. It's definitely not over the top, but would make for a good evening (or two) of enjoyment. Growler fills (bring your own) for $7.95 was a great bargain. I'll be back, again!
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Beav,
York, PA
(09/29/2004) |
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Unfortuately only had time for a sampler, but definitely I will stop back for more at my first opportunity! All the beers were top-notch, with their ESB and imperial IPA as my favorites. Even though most were ales, there was a good range of flavors to satisfy all parts of my palate. Big thanks to the lady at the wait stand as she tipped me off to (a brought a sample of) the Imperial IPA from another (upstairs?) bar--it was huge! Funky building with a general store attached (Belgian beers, too!). A future repeat stop, to be sure!
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Beav,
York, PA
(05/31/2004) |
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Drank through a sampler rack. Beer is across-the-board *seriously* hoppy and quite flavorful; there's enough variety in the rack to please anyone if you find the right ones (for me it was the ESB and Imperial Stout, the latter an 11% super-roast, almost syrupy stout-on-steroids). And who woulda thought to put a 10% barleywine on a nitro line? But it worked! Tips: Happy hour is 4:00 to 6:30; the bar is UPSTAIRS, not back at the window to the kitchen on the first floor (and by the time I figured that out it was 6:33, darn it); Thursday night has a late happy hour with free food (10-2); and firkins are tapped Fridays. Do note the incredibly funky "general store" through the door, which has a great selection of bottled beers and wines to go (Unibroue, Avery, Belgians, six-packs, etc.).
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Alexander D. Mitchell IV,
Baltimore, MD
(03/05/2004) |
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Very expensive food compared to the quality, however a good place for drinking beer.
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far,
college park, MD
(11/02/2003) |
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We moved to the Hyattsville area from Arlington where we took great beer and great food for granted. Franklin's is phenomenal and equals or exceeds other microbreweries in the area. The food is great!!!! We are frequent visitors at Franklins. I also must mention the General store which sells a great selection of reasonably priced wine. In Arlington, we bought wine ONLY at Arrowwine, but I have quite impressed with Franklin's selection.
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Amy,
Hyattsville, MD
(09/12/2003) |
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College Park, MD
(09/12/2003) |
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I go there for lunch almost every Friday and have never been disappointed. The staff (at least at the bar) is teriffic. The brew master is always accessible to shoot the breeze and talk about the ales. Now, I don't drink bad Scotch so I can't speak to the veracity of the last reviewer's use of it as a benchmark for beer comparison.
The stuff in the general store is worth the trip alone.
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Silver Spring, MD
(07/01/2003) |
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Wide variety of styles and beers, but none were drinkable. Anything that was 'hoppy' was overly floral and tasted like chewing a handful of hops. Anything 'malty' was too sharp to stomach. Several bers had the medicine taste of bad scotch. The beerlist bragged about the complexity of the beers, bragging about how many different types of hops and malt each beer had. I counted 5 types of hops on one beer. This left everything tasting muddled and confused. I actually left half a beer unfinished. The food was okay, but it's hard to get a burger and fries wrong. Bartender was cool but the hostess out front waqs clueless when we asked a simple question "How late are you open?"
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Eric Schobel,
Frederick, OTHER
(06/23/2003) |
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Brew pub? Newly aquired statis as an art district? Sound like Hyattsville future as a potential cultural mecca (well mini mecca) is at last a real potential. Now they need a music venue.
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Craig,
Greenbelt, Md
(04/17/2003) |
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a quick trip from baltimore many house beers 10 to choose from 3 high octane an imperial stout a dubbel and a 10.5% tripple yum! fun shopping at the general store after a few of these.
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j ferner,
baltimore, md
(04/09/2003) |
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A must stop if in the area!!
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Geo. Miller,
Plymouth, CT
(03/10/2003) |
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I've been to this place about 6 times. Definitely recommend! The beers are consistently !GREAT! with the seasonals (e.g. barleywine or the Russian Imperial) wonderful as well as the standard beers. The food can be a hit or miss. Stick with a simple fare and the beer unless you are in a daring mood. The service has varied, too - sometimes good and sometimes less than good. Don't arrive there too hungry, you may have to wait for a table on weekends. Lots of parking right next door and the meters only go until 6pm on Saturdays. Worth many return trips.
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Jim,
College Park, MD
(02/02/2003) |
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I lived around the corner from Franklin's for 7 yrs on 43rd Ave. and enjoyed shopping there. Having recently bought a house nearby,I still enjoy shopping there but the dining experience is awesome! Thanks for the vegan dishes! I've taken family and friends there and they agree.
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Ms. Dale T. Jenkins,
Hyattsville, MD
(01/24/2003) |
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Food? Beer is food right?! Only had time for the sampler of 9 (plus an additional taste of the Firkin (red ale). Tell you what...all hopheads and malt heads unite. 8 out of 9 of these beers rock (I'm just not a big Kolsch fan) The absolute standouts are the Barley Wine, Imperial Stout, IPA, and ESB. Really though, they were all very good. Gotta go back and try the food soon. The menu looks likes it has lots to offer as well.
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Scott,
Elkridge, MD
(01/08/2003) |
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Food? Beer is food right?! Only had time for the sampler of 9 (plus an additional taste of the Firkin (red ale). Tell you what...all hopheads and malt heads unite. 8 out of 9 of these beers rock (I'm just not a big Kolsch fan) The absolute standouts are the Barley Wine, Imperial Stout, IPA, and ESB. Really though, they were all very good. Gotta go back and try the food soon. The menu looks good as well.
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Scott,
Elkridge, MD
(01/08/2003) |
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