Melanie J.
Yelp
My husband and I previously experienced excellent food at Millbrook, so we recommended a group of friends to make the long trip and join us for a special lunch yesterday. Sadly, it was anything but special.
Wine service: we were about 2/3 of the way through our entrée and starting to wonder what was going on before we received our drinks...it was a very, very long wait!
Shared entrée: my husband had solidly confirmed 'no pork' prior to our arrival (as I don't eat it) and yet plates of ham came to the table and we had to re-ask for an alternative (we got baked beans swimming in watery liquid). The 'truffle' egg dish had lots of black shavings on it, but after tasting, we had no idea what the black stuff was, because there was not even the faintest hint, taste or whiff of truffle flavour in the dish - it was definitely NOT truffle.
The swordfish and chickpea dish was ok, but swimming in too much liquid and unseasoned and a bit tasteless. After discussion with other members of our group it was agreed that the only decent dish was the pate, and that the bread and olives were also good.
Main course: The waitstaff did not announce the protein cuts of the day to the table. I had to ask as she came past to take my order, "what's the fish of the day? what's the beef of the day?" Some on our table did not think to ask, as we are used to having daily specials explained at good restaurants in this country. So two of our group ordered the beef (not having heard the private response at our end of the table) and were not only confused at what came out, they did not really like the cut and would not have ordered it had they known it was going to be pastrami (one of our group who is a 'human garbage bin' did not even finish half of his beef as it was over salted with nothing acidic or tasty on the plate that could balance the saltiness).
Two of us wanted to order the chicken, but it was already sold out before we had the opportunity to order. I ordered the fish...this was cooked reasonably well, however, was completely unseasoned. The wilted lettuce and the sauce on the plate lacked any flavour whatsoever. After a couple of mouthfuls, I could not eat any more as there was nothing on the plate to balance the fish, it was a bit cloying, in fact it was completely bland and tasteless. As there was no salt or pepper on the table, I asked the waitstaff for some salt, pepper and a couple of lemon wedges (thinking that if I seasoned the fish and gave it a squeeze of lemon, it might at least be edible). The staffer came back with a dish of unground rock salt crystals and some fine quarter slices of lemon (for putting in a glass of water, not for squeezing). Naturally, I could not use either the salt crystals or the lemon for the purpose requested. I called the wait person back to see if I could at least get some table salt. The response was "sorry we don't have any of that". Consequently, I sent my fish meal back as it was simply unpleasant to try to eat a flavourless meal with no redeeming features, and, as the only other meal I had wanted had run out, I went without a main course.
Those that tried the pork said it was ok, but not special.
Dessert: The liquorice dessert was good. But only one of us on the table was lucky enough to have ordered that. Those that tried the brownie said it was hard (overcooked) and not great. Those of us that ordered the 'grapefruit' expected a refreshing dish that heroed grapefruit. Given the description on the menu, we had imagined perhaps some ginger biscuit crumb with fresh grapefruit wedges and some brulee on the side. What we got was rather disjointed, it was a bowl of quite nice creme brulee topped with a couple of tiny pieces of torched grapefruit; sitting unconnected next to the bowl was a stodgy, undercooked ginger biscuit that was completely incongruous with the rest of the dish. The grapefruit was, if anything an afterthought. Those of us that ordered this were baffled, and none of us finished our biscuits as they were not overly nice and a miss-match.
Coffee: I ordered a decaf, only to be told that there was none.
Whilst not being able to eat my main meal was the last straw, this was the icing on the cowpat cake!
In summation, most of our group agreed that it was a disappointing experience, that the food was not much better than pub grub, (in fact we'd eaten substantially better at some pubs) and certainly not worth the drive. The wait staff, whilst friendly, were poorly trained and the service was definitely not up to standard. We were paying a substantial amount for fine dining. What we got was anything but - it was more like being in a Coles cafeteria!
My husband and I were embarrassed to have recommended Millbrook to our friends, and to have encouraged them to make the journey - t simply wasn't worth the money or the time. And our memories of how good it has been in the past have been superseded by yesterday's experience.