Lianne K.
Yelp
Wanted to love this place, but there were various let downs that I just couldn't quite get past. It was our first time hearing of the place, let alone visiting it. Dear Hubby and I were staying overnight in SLO to decompress from a family funeral in the Bay Area. We needed to put some distance between the events of the weekend, and heading home for another work week for me.
We also had decided to find a neat place to watch the 49ers playoff game. Thanks to trusty Yelpers, we found Milestone Tavern. The location was close to our hotel, so it only took a few minutes to arrive. It was a gorgeous afternoon - temp's approaching 80 degrees. On the Central Coast. In January. What?! Amazing! We thought about sitting outside, but knew that when the sun started to go down, it would cool off quickly.
We opted for inside, and a hostess greeted us fairly quickly and led us to a table in the bar area. That was the first hiccup. We sat and sat and sat and sat. No one came to acknowledge us or take our drink order. We did have the food and beverage menus to study, but after a while it wasn't pleasant to be ignored like we were completely invisible.
I was just about to go back to the host stand and let them know that we were in some kind of server jail. I was also scanning around to see a manager to let them know that their team wasn't keeping track of tables. No luck there. Mind you, there were a lot of staff wandering around in their logo tees, so they weren't exactly short-handed. The hostess who'd brought us to the purgatory table walked by at this time, and we caught her eye and let her know that no one was waiting on us. She apologized (but not exactly profusely), and did seek a server for the table.
That server did a good job overall, but I couldn't help catching a vibe that she was playing the part of serving, versus really embodying the role. Do you know what I mean? I have no desire to diss hard-working students, and realize that food service isn't an easy gig. However, if that's your job, try to do it to the best of your ability. Your patrons (and your tips) depend on it.
Though their menu is pretty extensive, there were drawbacks on availability of non-dairy items. For example, they seem to be known for their pizza. They have a wide variety of available cheeses, but no option for vegan cheese. Follow Your Heart makes an excellent option that many pizza places will carry. I decided to cross my fingers and try feta, which I've heard is likely to have less hormones than many cow's milk cheeses.
Dear Hubby and I shared an artichoke pizza with the aforementioned feta. It was quite good. The fresh tomatoes weren't the best, but it is January, which definitely isn't peak season for tomatoes. For the price, it could have used a few more artichoke hearts. I just checked the menu - the pizza was supposed to have artichokes, tomatoes, and mushrooms. We did not see one solitary mushroom. Boo! The crust was chewy and delicious, though.
The best thing we had were their fries. OMG! They were cut in a curved, scooped fashion. Perfectly fried, superbly seasoned - they were easily the best French fries I can ever recall enjoying. The shape allowed for the seasoning to come to the fore. Also, the pieces were large enough that they retained heat, instead of cooling off too quickly. Chef's kiss!
On the beverage side, DH was disappointed that one of the wheat beers he wanted to try was not available. He ended up with a craft blonde brew that he pronounced "just okay". The Tavern has an extensive beer list, wines by the glass, and a full bar for cocktails. They don't publish a menu of signature mocktails; mores the pity - especially when many are embracing "Dry January". I asked the server about options for non-alcoholic drinks and she initially said, "We have sodas." Um, no - you have a full bar, and you don't have some ready suggestions for mocktails?
I ended up with a springy, semi-fruity mix with pineapple juice, lime, and something else. It was okay, but honestly, just the plain pineapple juice I ordered instead of refill of the fancy drink was better.
The ambiance of the space is amazing. They had their big mosaic glass "garage door"-style walls up for the indoor-outdoor vibe on a gorgeous day. The high ceilings and lots of architectural interest definitely elevate the space. There are a whole lot of TV's to watch sports. We stayed for the first half of the game, then decided to head to our hotel to watch the second half. That was mainly because we might have wanted to share a dessert to nurse into the second half, but we didn't want to have to refinance the house to pay for it. Desserts are crazy expensive here!