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    Franklins Bistro

    4.0 (45 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Franklins Bistro Photos

    FRANKLINS BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Tricia S.

    Wait staff was nice and checked in on us frequently. Food was good, the best thing the four of us had was the Gorgonzola steak pasta and the sweet potato fries. The photo of the burger was upside down; it was a little dry. We also had two different chicken sandwiches both were good but the chicken sandwiches and burger all needed some sort of sauce on them. Overall the food was still tasty and the vibe was chill.

    Dining area birthday celebration
    Anne Z.

    Best carrot cake ever! Service was great too; comfy seating to enjoy time with friends

    a plate of food and a fork
    Amanda T.

    We have attempted to try this place out 3 other times. They are closed on Mondays and the other two attempts had signs on the door saying they had power issues so were closed. Should have trusted my gut on this one. When we arrived I stood in front of the cashier and sign that said to wait to be seated for over 10 minutes while the women at the register visited. Finally I waved at them to ask them if I could be seated. The main woman rolled her eyes and told me to give my name and take a seat they will get with me soon. We sat over 30 minutes watching other groups walk in and have them get seated right away before us. There are no reservations taken at this restaurant so I was getting frustrated seeing this. When my family was finally seated my arms stuck to the table as it was super sticky and not cleaned well. My daughter and I both ordered the steak tips. We both ordered medium rare and all were brought to us well done. All our potatoes were super dry. We didn't complain as we never saw our waitress again until we had to flag her down to get our ticket. My husband ordered the NY strip medium rare and it was medium well. If you want a good steak or service this is probably not the best place in town to get that. Very disappointed.

    Salmon topped with Asian Slaw
    Andrew D.

    Came into Franklins on 2 PM on a Thursday, was afraid they might be closed so I checked with my yelp app to see if they were open. They were and I was better for it. I started with avocado egg rolls that came with a great soy reduction- really hit the spot and came out quickly. Next I ordered the Asian Salmon plate which came with soup, side and a baguette. The chili was excelled but the sautéed veggies were a bit too greasy for my liking. The salmon was crisp and flaky just the way I like it. Will definitely be stopping back here when on the road through Norfolk again!

    Katie Melt, Grilled Chicken Cheese Bacon Lettuce Tomato Onion and Side of Fry's.

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    Review Highlights - Franklins Bistro

    I started with avocado egg rolls that came with a great soy reduction- really hit the spot and came out quickly.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

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    The Granary

    The Granary

    2.8(35 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    I was excited to visit the granary today while I was in Norfolk. As a kid, I used to come and eat…read morehere with my grandma. It's been many years since I've been back, and I was so sad to see that they really haven't kept the restaurant up very well. While traveling on business, I thought I would grab some lunch and work on a project. A hostess offered to seat me, but became quickly confused about exactly where to put me and we ended up walking to several areas of the restaurant that had empty tables before she was able to get some assistance and find the right booth for me to sit in. Unfortunately, they do not have Wi-Fi so I wasn't able to stay. I would have ordered their classic "French Cheesy" sandwich which sells for only $4.50 (it is sold a la carte, as all of the sandwiches are). Much of the menu is fried, although they do offer a salad. I choose to keep my nice memories of the granary as a fun, family-friendly place to eat. I was really sad to see that it had aged so much. I hope that it's current owners, or anyone who takes it over in the future will opt to redo the interior & give it the love that it needs. It's meant to feel warm and homey. This has definitely been a treasured restaurant in Norfolk for many years and it deserves to be taken care of.

    I'm getting tired of going there and getting under done burgers and today ordered the joggers…read moreplate got sour cottage cheese and management did nothing told two people about it and they did nothing may stop going if this continues

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    The Granary
    The Granary
    The Granary

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    Big Red - Fish and Coleslaw

    Big Red

    2.7(38 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$

    What a great visit to Big Red's while we stopped over in Norfolk! Very lively sports bar with…read morepersonal televisions in each booth! We weren't there for sports, we were there for lunch; however, we definitely took notice that it would indeed be the place to go for sports. A group of five of us, seated at a table and the only reason I'm docking a star is because we were seated just a few feet away from the Keno ball machine and it was quite unpleasant when it was running, which was during most of our visit. Excellent burgers, pork tenderloin sandwich, hand breaded chicken strips, fries & tater tots! Not a morsel left on anyone's plate! Our service was wonderful and attentive, we were checked in several times and beverages refilled often. We will definitely be back when we return to Norfolk!

    We went to have dinner and a few beers. Our waiter was exceptional. However the restaurant…read moreoperations leave the ability do waitstaff to do their job very limited. It really painted a poor picture of the bar. First, when you walk in there appears to be a wide variety of beers and a well stocked bar. However, the bar doesn't provide a printed beer menu nor does it have a QR code one can scan to see the selection. No waitstaff member should be expected to remember the selection of beers, especially since there were some smaller breweries, in theory, represented. I travel a lot, here and abroad and this was the first time I'd ever experienced something this poor. Our guests decided to have martinis after the meal. What should've been a standard order (Grey Goose dirty martinis) was near impossible to get. Our poor waiter had to twice return to our table to tell us the bar didn't have Grey Goose nor did it have vermouth. These are not rare or exceptional things used one in a while in a bar. Grey Goose is a standard upsell from well vodka; and to not have vermouth tells me inventory management is shoddy. We also found out that there were a large number of managers on shift. My experience has been that when a restaurant manager sees or knows one of their waitstaff is struggling due to the restaurant's shortcomings; that manager comes to the table and apologizes. Our poor waiter was constantly stuck as the bearer of bad news and it really was a very poor look for what could be a much better bar experience based upon the interior. Tragically this is one of the few places open on Sunday in Norfolk so you're captive to this bar or fast food when visiting here. We won't be back. This model of business doesn't deserve nor earn success. It negated any promise of value the food may have provided.

    Photos
    Big Red - Boneless Chicken Wings & Celery

    Boneless Chicken Wings & Celery

    Big Red - Jalapeño Wrap & Waffle Fries ($10.99)

    Jalapeño Wrap & Waffle Fries ($10.99)

    Big Red - 12oz Chopped Steak with Mashed Potatoes & Hash Browns ($12.99)

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    12oz Chopped Steak with Mashed Potatoes & Hash Browns ($12.99)

    SandBar & Grill - Side of fries

    SandBar & Grill

    3.4(30 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    Very clean. Great local beer. Terrific steak sandwich - get the prime rib sandwich blackened!…read moreJamie the waitress was very sweet and funny. A comfy place to spend an evening with friends. The mexican lager beer made in house is good!

    SandBar was much better than I expected. We were in town for business with very little time for…read morelunch and this was at the venue where we were hosting an event. My first thoughts were ugh, bar food. But it's better than that! It's delicious. I had the chicken taco salad. It was made with a homemade chipotle tortilla shell. It cooked up just like a regular tortilla and was yummy. I really enjoyed the salad as well. It was HUGE. Sometimes taco salads have like no lettuce and they are a soggy mess, other times they have lots of lettuce but no goodies. This was a nice balance. In addition to fresh lettuce, it had spinach, onions, lots of yummy veggies. I didn't really care for the guac and the salsa is Pace. A homemade salsa would text this up a notch or two! My friend also had a taco salad but she had the beef. Both equally full and delicious. The third person in our party stole the show with his meal. He got a philly and probably the best sweet potato waffle fries I've had. They were large and full of soft mash but with a little crunch on the outside. Sometimes sweet potato fries are small and overdone but these weren't. They were sweet like a funnel cake. They were hot and crispy and you get a ton in your order! Literally perfection. We all shared them. Kim was an awesome server!

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    SandBar & Grill - Sliders

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    Franklins Bistro - tradamerican - Updated September 2026

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