Miller & Carter Milton Keynes — Restaurant in Milton Keynes

We was very disappointed with our visit yesterday evening. On arrival we were seated and the table was sticky, looking at other tables they weren't much better so we just made do...though wiped with the serviette and it was greasier than the kebab shop counter! Anyway, ordered the starters, and butchers block...asked the waiter for recommendations on how to have the steaks and his response was 'I dont know its up to you' - in general he was blunt and looked like he hated his job. Starters were lovely - halloumi fries and sticky chicken bites. Waited a while for mains, which arrived luke warm, for a near £80 dish you would expect it to arrive hot right?! Also brought the wrong sauce (ordered peppercorn and got something that looked like bbq) over. The additional side of greens looked like microwaved veg tossed in a dish, not worth almost £5 at all. The steak was cooked to the way we ordered, and did taste lovely- however over all not worth the money at all given the service and temperature of the food. Asked the waiter half way through if he could have the air con turned down - he looked at me as though I had asked him to cover the bill and questioned me with 'turned down?!' Which he obviously didn't do because it was still blowing when we left. He came to take our plates and asked if we want dessert. Which we declined. He then proceeded to ignore us when we were trying to ask for the bill, purposely looking the other way, so we asked someone else who directed him to us. You then have a £104 bill to pay and the option to tip the waiter....we declined this option on the card reader, and heard him scoff as we walked away. We always tip staff if it's deserved, in this case it absolutely was not good service let alone worthy of a tip. The restaurant itself really looked as though it needed a refurb, tired and not the dining experience they advertise. Also noted when booking they do not accept sportswear attire.....yet there was someone sat in a hoody with the hood UP the entire time, lads wearing baseball caps and tracksuits etc so really not what they advertise and price as upmarket dining...

A very disappointing experience. We had booked for 2 people at 7:30 on Saturday, and upon arrival (we had arrived 7:20) told that the table wouldn't be ready for another 30 minutes. The bar area was already full, so we said we would go grab a drink elsewhere and come back when the table is ready. We returned after half an hour, and told there would still be a "little wait" before the table was ready. Another 20 minutes go by, and the hostess called us over to follow her to the table, before then telling us to wait at the host stand again. A couple more minutes, then she tells us to follow her to the table (again). We follow her over, then are told to wait as they re lay the table. I honestly wouldn't have been bothered by this had we not been incrementally beckoned over to the table. What I did find frustrating was seeing 15+ plates of food on the pass waiting to be taken to diners. When we eventually sat, at 8:20, we were somewhat annoyed. When we found out that the couple next to us had been there since 6:20 and had been waiting 90 mins for their mains, we decided to eat elsewhere since we were very hungry and already nearly an hour later than our reservation. When we asked the reason for the delay, the hostess gave a very noncommittal response that a chef had called in sick, and "sometimes they overbook the restaurant, but they haven't today, things have just taken a long time."

Dave, who would have been our waiter, was very polite and understanding in our decision to go elsewhere.

I understand that sometimes service doesn't go to plan, but this seemed really extreme. I was mostly upset as I had booked for my partner's birthday meal and he usually loves m&c. It really put a damper on our evening.

When we had finished our meal at the other restaurant, when we were leaving xscape we saw another pair leaving miller and carter commenting on the state of things -- and this was around 9:30, so they hadn't gotten things under control by then which made us feel more confident in our decision to...

One job ... a steak house, cook the perfect steak. Well this place got 2 steaks wrong. Both ordered Medium Rib eye. One got rare and one got medium rare. The venue is never full. They seat you together in the middle bit. The floor was dirty, the mirrors and glass areas were smeared and had finger prints all over. There were these pointless oil lamps on tables. None were lit. A total waste of space. Had a table booked and lots of tables made up but the front of house spent 5 minutes clearing a table right next to someone else. There were plenty of tables already to go but no, wipe down one directly next to other people in a restaurant mostly empty. No salt / pepper nor drinks menu put on our table. We were deliberately given the main menu and I had to ask specifically for the Rare Treats menu. Starters were ok. Nachos were soggy. Why load toppings on tortillas ? Arranging the nachos around toppings would have prevented this issue. MAINS , as detailed, poorly cooked. My steak was like rubber. The lettuce wedge is a pretentious fad , the stilton was good but the mayo smeared all over it was tart in taste and did not go with the meal whatsoever. The onion loaf was foul. A greasy pile of onions trying to mimic some kind of unseasoned onion bhaji or hash brown without potato. Vile! The seasoned fries were ok. I was complimented a dessert, which was ok, sticky toffee pudding.Basic and outstanding how they manage to pack so many calories into it! The waiter was great, no issues with his work but the food served was below par. The restaurant felt dated, dirty and absolutely the managenent were not adhering to their own policy. Most people in there were wearing very casual clothes. I won't be in a rush to visit any...