Scott W.
Yelp
Generally, I love Millers Ale House; I wouldn't say its my favorite place to go, but for the most part, they have never let me down until my most recent experiences at their Kirkman Rd & Winter Park/University store.
This review reflects the Winter Park location. It was a mediocre Thursday evening and it wasn't too busy, so I'm not sure why service is lacking, maybe because it's next to Full Sail and they are used to serving the college crowed (not bashing college students, I just graduated again recently as well).
There were five of us. One couple ordered a salmon fillet with rice, our fifth wheel got loaded fries, Nancy and I chose one of my personal favorites, the Big Red ($12.99) with fries, an add-on side of onion rings ($3.99), and an add-on house salad with blue cheese dressing ($2.49). Since it was still happy hour, we also ordered a Blue Moon ($5.99) and their house Margarita ($4.99).
Our salads arrived in less than 10 minutes; however, we didn't realize until the food was dropped off that there was no silverware to eat with, so we had to wait a few more minutes to receive our utensils. Additionally, one of the salads was supposed to be a Caesar salad and the other house should have included ranch not blue cheese. Our server Marshall was nice enough to let us keep the house/Caesar salad mix-up at no additional cost. About 10-minutes later our main courses arrived, but once again we were missing things and our order was not correct. The Big Red did not arrive with fries, but onion rings instead. We wanted fries with the sandwich and onion rings as an add-on. Marshall said he would bring out a side for fries but we declined. We also were waiting for condiments, which we didn't receive until we were halfway through with our meal, Rat's! I also have to say that the Big Red is not as good as it used to be. I remember it being served as a much thicker piece of fried chicken, more sauce, and including lettuce, tomato, and onion. That's how I always received it at the Kirkman location, but since this is a chain, they are probably all the same.
The service is what really killed it for us on this visit. Although Marshall was very pleasant, there were just too many issues. We began to focus more on the issues than the conversation and time together with our friends. When the bill came, we also noticed that the pricing Marshall told us for the beer and margarita specials were actually more than what he told us. It ended up turning into a he said/ she said scenario and I'm not about to argue and create a scene.
All-in-all, this was a below average experience for me. The food was good, but the service lacking. I would return again if I was in a bind and nowhere else to go; however, there are many better options on this side of town.