Millstone Public House King's Wharf — Restaurant in Dartmouth

This spot is a regular spot for my family and myself. Over the years we have noticed it decline. It’s very sad, actually.

Last night was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve experienced. Someone posted a similar experience about last evening 8 hours ago, which is validating.

We were seated at 6:30ish and drinks happened right away. 40 minutes later our waiter finally took our orders. He did not check in prior and we found it difficult to flag him down when we did see him.

We were informed there was no cheese and NO alterations that can be made on the burger week burger. They did substitute it for provolone (that’s fine).

Once we ordered our waiter again did not approach our table. I had to finally flag him down to refill my drink. He did not ask if anyone else needed anything and left right away. So, again, we had to ask for more when he arrived.

8:00 our food arrived. Some had burgers, some had pasta. We realized then, there was not cutlery or napkins. Because the waiter was MIA I had to get up and find someone. I spoke to a waitress and tipped her off that this night was really going sideways and everyone is waiting for cutlery. She looked confused.

We never got checked in on ONCE. I had to try and flag the waiter for drink refills and ketchup. Eventually some of the party had to pay their cheque and leave - it was getting late. One of us ordered a Cesar salad which did not come, but was on his bill.

The rest of us waited for our cheques and finally, again, I went to find the waitress and let her know this night really did not go well and we are ready to leave. She looked confused and I just didn’t really know what to say.

We spotted another table earlier on who was itching for their cheques and trying to find the waiter so they could go. The woman began wandering around to find him. They, along with another table came in after us and left before we even received our food.

So to get to the food. The burger week burger, horrible. This was not a “smashed” patty and was lacking actual burger patty as seen in the photo. There was no sauce and no onion. My son’s had two noodles for the mac and cheese. The pickles were lacking. I realize the photo they posted won’t look the same as the one we will be served - but it was actually kind of crazy how little effort was put in. One member of our party got chicken parm and the sauce somehow dried into the chicken. Questionable. The curry chicken had very dry chicken.

Our dinner reservation was for 6:30. I left at 8:47. There’s no way it was lost on the waiter and waitress whom I tipped off that this night did not go well. But, from beginning to end it wasn’t good and no apology made.

I hope this can be used as constructive criticism for all involved. We don’t want to avoid this spot but, last night went really far between...

My partner and I visited the King's Wharf location. The place itself is lovely but suffers from a deeply disjointed atmosphere.

Food – I ordered the Buttermilk Chicken, and my partner had the Millstone Burger. To be blunt, the chicken was disappointing. Visually, it looked impressively like authentic Southern-style chicken. Unfortunately, the chicken and breading separated immediately upon cutting into it, leaving me to eat them independently. Even worse, the breading was dry and bland—not bad, necessarily, just lacking in flavor. The dipping sauce and fries were fine, but nothing special. Despite my disappointment with the chicken, it wasn’t bad enough to mention when our server checked in on us.

My partner enjoyed the burger, describing it as tasty and appreciating the generous amount of bacon. I didn’t personally try it, but it looked appealing.

Service – Our server, Alisha, was prompt, attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly. Food and drinks arrived at a reasonable pace, though the restaurant was relatively quiet when we sat down. Overall, we were very satisfied with the service.

Atmosphere – My overall impression is that the space was designed by three different people with conflicting visions. One seemed to want a wine bar, as evidenced by the large stainless steel wine fridge at the entrance, bright windows overlooking the harbour, and the clean, monotone paint job with metallic framing, giving a somewhat sterile feel. Another seemed to aim for a public house, reflected in the name, seating style, and menu selections. Finally, someone envisioned a sports bar, with multiple large TVs and sports memorabilia plastered on the walls. The result is a jarring, disjointed atmosphere lacking a cohesive identity.

Our bill, including tax and tip, came to $75 for two entrées and two pints. A bit steep but not entirely unreasonable for Halifax. While I’m not in a hurry to return, I wouldn’t be opposed if someone else suggested...

We arrived on a Saturday around 1:45, waited at the hostess station for about 3 minutes, no one in sight we moved to the main dining room /bar where a server acknowledged us. We asked if we could sit on the patio, he cheerfully greeted us and said yes it’s open seating.

Once seated, the server was seated (yes seated) across from us heavily engaged in a conversation with her friends, we waited over 15 minutes when finally the friendly server from inside brought us menus and water.

The patio had about 4 tables so it took another 10 minutes for him to come back and take our drink order, and another 10 to take our food order. I asked about the wing and mussel, the server suggested the mussels; stating they were larger than most restaurants and quite popular, so I ordered the curry coconut mussels and my friend the burger.

When the food finally arrived, the mussels were shrivelled, dry, cooked to death and covered in the curry sauce as if to mask this obvious amateur attempt. I’m sorry but for $17 I’d expect them to be plump and juicy, it is the Maritimes!

So I sent them back, a few minutes later the server joyfully returned with a fresh plate, and said these were cooked better. I don’t know by who’s standard? Anyway we d been there almost an hour I was hungry so I ate them. I then asked for a piece of bread to dip in the sauce ( the only good part of the dish) and was informed I’d have to purchase it. I almost died laughing.

In short my experience at the Mill Stone Public House was Mediocre at best. The seasonal special lemonade was good. Our server was good, although we weren’t offered any specials and I don’t know if they have any. But sadly I...