The Mill, Haslemere — Restaurant in Chichester

EDIT:

After some persuasion I begrudgingly agreed to go back and try The Mill, Haslemere again for dinner on 23/02/24 and I am very glad I did!

I feel that we got to experience the difference between a mass produced menu decided up the chain vs the true menu that the kitchen is proud to create and serve themselves.

Night and day is not enough of a change comparison to do this justice.

Between the four of us eating, we had 3 starters, 4 mains and 3 desserts all different choices with the exception of two of the deserts being the same (who could resist Biscoff doughnuts when offered?!).

All the dishes we were served not only tasted wonderful, but also looked lovely, The care and detail put into each plate was obvious.

Although the staff were aware that we had not had the best of first experiences, it was clear that this was not just a case of trying to keep us happy as every plate that we saw served that night around the restaurant looked just as delicious, well cooked and presented.

As the previous time, the serving staff were wonderful throughout the evening and the kitchen staff really do deserve praise for the lovely meals and evening that we had at The Mill, Haslemere.

Already thinking of returning again soon, with our first visit fading as just a memory. Second chances do matter.

Thank you to the Kitchen and serving staff!

ORIGINAL:

We had Christmas dinner here today and unfortunately I wish we hadn't.

Upon booking, we specifically requested a quieter area as one of our company required a bit more breathing room, we were assured that we would be accommodated, but we were placed right next to the overcrowded bar. Thankfully we were able to be moved.

Food was served quickly, but was for a lack of a better word - disgusting. We expressed our disappointment, especially with the starters:

Firstly my “patè” honestly looked like piles of bird faeces and tasted like cold, watery slurry. No bread (apart from a coin sized filigree) was served with it until we requested it. After a single taste I left my plate.

The main: The beef was lovely tasting but was mostly fat sadly, the parsnip was almost raw and sadly I couldn’t get through the Yorkshire pud as it was rock solid. Strangely the whole meal was also tepid at best.

The drinks were very slow, though the bar was very busy, we understand. However, the waitress noticed and had to check twice if our single drinks order had arrived yet and had to chase them up.

We expressed our disappointment, but we were only told that the “chef would be informed”. Nothing else was offered or any attempt given to rectify.

We did not kick up a fuss further purely because we did not want to spoil the day more.

One positive point was the waitresses who served us were excellent otherwise. Lovely manner and attentive.

Shame about the kitchen staff and whoever approved this menu. We would be very interested for the manager to respond to us with their view.

We were not the only customers unimpressed as we witnessed the table next to us walking out with their mains virtually untouched. (They did not wish to stay for dessert by the...

Beyond abysmal service. I think this is the first time I have rated somewhere with only one star. Four of us met for Sunday lunch. I got the very last space in the car park - that did not bode well. We sat down and ordered drinks - no Guinness: what sort of pub runs out of Guinness??? It seemed to take longer than usual before a waitress came to take our order, but it was a rainy afternoon and the pub was crowded. It seemed to take longer than usual before our starters arrived, but it was a rainy afternoon and the pub was crowded. (Can you spot a pattern here?) We sat with our dirty starter plates in front of us for quite a while. Eventually, the waitress came over and said they'd run out of roast beef, so we chose something else. We waited. The manager came over and mumbled that they were out of beef. Again, we chose something else. It was a full 90 minutes after we arrived that our main courses were brought to us. They also brought us two dishes of cauliflower cheese to apologise for the delay. By the time we decided to order puddings, the pub had thinned out and there were very few people still there. We ordered our puddings and it seemed to take longer than usual before they arrived, but not as long as the previous courses. We asked for the bill, which was brought over. After looking it over, we had a query. We waited. I could see the waitress over a half wall and I went over to her to say we had a query. She was busy sorting cutlery rather than attending to customers who were waiting. She came over and resolved our query. When she brought the card machine, there were options: "press enter to leave a gratuity or press clear not to." I was dismayed not to find an option "throw the machine across the room to express how you really feel." I pressed clear. In summary, the food was good - no complaints there. However, although the staff seemed vaguely aware they have a problem with slow, inefficient service, we shall not be returning and unless you want an "all day lunch" I suggest you...

Mud and rubber - Even if they give you for free food here, do not take it!

Recently, we visited this restaurant for dinner, driven by the positive reviews we had read here and the anticipation of an enjoyable all-fresco dining experience.

Unfortunately, my experience was far from what I had hoped for. I decided to try one of the special menu items: mussels. I was expecting a steaming pot of mussels in a delectable sauce, but instead, I received a plate with approximately six mussels and a small amount of sauce. The first mussel I tried had something crunchy in it, which turned out to be sand. I managed to swallow it, but I had to spit it out a bit (I thought this might have been an unfortunate occurrence). However, when I ate the second mussel, I was hit with a large amount of muddy bits. It was absolutely unpalatable and utterly disgusting. Even after spitting it out, I could not shake the unpleasant taste of crunchy mud.

I took the plate back to the bar, where a very polite and apologetic service person took it to the chef for investigation, only to confirm the unpalatability of this dish.

Ordered in replacement a rump steak, which was given at no additional charge with full apologies (I had already paid for the near-poisonous mussels). To my total dismay, that steak was one of the worst I have ever encountered - impossible to chew, leaving a rubber-like substance in the mouth. My co-dinner had the same experience with a steak, so apparently, it was not just a matter of bad luck.

We left, and vowed never to return, even for drinks!

On reflection, my health was compromised in this restaurant, where the mussels had come from a sewer that polluted a coastal bed? Decent mussles are cultivated along ropes in coastal waters and are not in contact with sand; where did they obtain their muscles from?

I hope it won’t take someone getting food poisoning or worse, before their “kitchen” is closed down (or...