This has long been one of my favorite places to go in Franklin. The atmosphere is completely unique to anywhere in Tennessee, recreating a Northern hunting lodge with timber framing like something out of Yellowstone or Yosemite or Glacier National Parks-- including columns carved from tree trunks (Douglas Firs?) with diameters greater than... John Goodman's waistline? The food is generally very good and freshly-prepared, with a wide variety on the menu. Specials often include a Field & Stream dish: fresh quail and trout fixed to order. Excellent. Steaks are good, though order down: if you like it cooked medium, order medium rare, etc. I love the barbeque on cornbread, served with fresh, warm jalepeno cornbread pancakes and the best restaurant fries in town-- though the steak fries at Twin Peaks of all places are pretty good too. Which brings me to the negatives: the service. If you took the service at Twin Peaks, which is friendly and attentive (not to mention scenic), and transposed it to Sportsman's, you'd really have something amazing. As it is, the service, especially at the bar, really seems to have dropped off in the last couple of years. Not that it's all bad. I usually sit at the bar, and while I've had good service one night from one bartender (a guy), on two other nights I've been waited on by bartender (a gal) who was inattentive, slow to respond, and more intent on sitting (!) and eating her own meal in front of me and talking to her friends parked at one end of the bar than she was with serving. I was only one of three patrons one night, and the only patron another. Any slower or indifferent, and I don't see how she could handle more than 4 people at the bar at any one time. The only other negative is that some of the furniture, like bar stools, is getting a bit broken-down. The bar stools are unique, so they may be hard to replace, but they could probably find someone with the skill to repair them correctly. All-in-all, the place could use a good cleaning and makeover to refresh everything, upgrade the service, etc. I'd hate to see this iconic and uniquely-themed restaurant sink out of business, but without a bit of investment I don't see it lasting with all the other competition in the area. The upside to its current state is that even on a Friday night it's not very crowded and you can get seated right away.

Our go-to place for a great hamburger and fries. Love the atmosphere, especially in winter season with the giant fireplaces roaring. Year-round colored Christmas lights are just an added bonus.

consistently good food. daily food specials. big, full bar. good place for sports watching.

The restaurant is dirty.the bar area is dirty with a inch of dust on the shelves.looks like mgmt would do some cleaning.

Food seems overprice for what you get out of it. Doesn't really taste awesome and the portion sizes are nothing special. However, its quiet and hidden which I suppose is a quality to itself.