The Mill House — Restaurant in Scotland

My friend and I visited this restaurant for the first time based on the good reviews we'd read so we decided to make the 30 minute drive to have lunch. We took them up on their offer which was 2 courses for £14.50. We both ordered burgers which are described on the menu as: "Slow roast & shredded shin of beef, chorizo & cheese melt & crisp maple bacon, Cajun fries".

"Sounds delicious" I thought but I specifically asked the waitress for no onions. She was a gem and went to the lengths of coming back to me to tell me that there were small pieces of onion throughout the burger. I settled for that and settled down to enjoy lunch.

Then the fun began. I swallowed the first mouthful and immediately thought "That's a bit spicy". After another couple of mouthfuls I was feeling it! I asked one member of staff, who might have been a manager, if the sauce on the burger was spicy. He replied, "No, it's the meat". "Don't you think that should be made clear on the menu that the meat is spicy?" I asked. I went on to say "Spicy food does not agree with me and my mouth's on fire" but he wasn't really interested.

Our lovely waitress returned to take our plate away and, by this time, the chilli's had taken full effect so, when she noticed my half eaten meal and asked if I'd enjoyed it, I told her that the menu should have stated quite clearly that this was not a traditional beef burger but was laced to the Nth degree with hot stuff. She was very sympathetic and agreed with me totally, saying that she would feedback my comments to management.

We had our dessert and asked for the bill. I was curious to see if they'd maybe make a goodwill gesture. For example, remove our soft drinks or maybe the desserts from the bill or even remove my main course from the bill entirely.

Did they? No! In keeping with our awful experience so far, they did none of these things but what they did do was - wait for it - overcharge us!!!

They had "forgotten" to bill us for the £14.50 offer and charged us separately for the two mains, two desserts and two Cokes, resulting in a bill of over £40. I queried it and got a new bill for £36 without the merest hint of an apology from the male staff. As I said, the waitress was very sympathetic but, other than that we had a terrible lunch.

I really struggle to understand why any respectable restaurant would spoil a burger without making it clear that it was actually a...

We are generally fans of buzzworks, however although the interior is very stylish and comfortable and our waiter very professional ( clearly trained in some fine dining establishments) the menu was as we expected, unfortunately the execution and food translation sadly lacked. The butcher's choice shareboard was plentiful, tasty and nicely presented. I chose the house speciality burger, the menu giving the impression that it would be a venison burger topped with haggis, a mustard and whisky sauce and cheese ( rarebit ) sadly the reality is venison and haggis mashed together in a burger, totally losing the haggis taste, a fifty pence size blob of something red on the middle of the base of the bun and a blob of the same size of what I can only assume was the mix of mustard, whisky and cheese on the lid of the bun. Neither blobs being significant enough to taste or have any impact on the dryness of the bun, the burger was topped with a slice of tomato and the tiniest saddest looking lettuce leaf ever. Although it wasn't bad it certainly wasn't great and the menu description and food reality were miles apart. My husband had the steak pie, the meat was tender and tasty but it swam in a meat soup which could have done with being thickened slightly. Our side of onion rings were way too greasy. Hubby said his caramel cheesecake was lovely and our lattes were very good. We only had one drink each and our bill totalled £64.95. Had the food been of the standard that The Longhouse and Elliots serve we'd have been delighted with that, but it has to be said that The Millhouse is definitely the poor cousin of the three. Unfortunately we won't go back we'll stick to the buzzworks quality of elsewhere. It should be said that the meal wasn't bad it was just ok and below average of comparable eating places...

Again for a Buzzworks establishment the Mill House falls below the standard that they've set in their other premises. Was fairly busy and they never seem to have sufficient staff to cope. There is plenty of staff, however give the impression of being short staffed. Took a drinks order as they delivered the first of the main meals and never returned. Never asked if we would like any condiments with the meal and never got a chance to ask as they never appeared at any point to ascertain if the food was okay. As it was I'm still adamant the the chef in this establishment has a severe lack of taste in relation to seasoning his dishes. Ordered the spicey chicken burger and it was extremely salty as was the chips. This isn't the first time I've had meals in the Mill House that have been way over seasoned. On completion of our meals we had to wait and wait for our drinks that were ordered at the start of the meal. Eventually was going to give up and just pay when a waitress appeared to clear a table close by. I highlighted the lack of ordered beverages which was then rectified and on the house. This is what it has bumped it from a one star review to a two star review. The restaurant itself is really nice and the staff are well mannered and polite... just not very attentive or switched on to their covers.

If another establishment ever opens up in Stewarton to rival the Mill House it will easily steal...