Mill House Brewing Company — Restaurant in City of Poughkeepsie

Visited yesterday before Nate Bargatze. We were a party of six with no reservation, however I had called ahead of time knowing there were no reservations available and was told we could put our names on a waitlist upon arrival.

Almost the entire experience was phenomenal. The almost was quite puzzling - from the moment we parked our car at 4:45 we were immediately approached by an otherwise friendly employee telling us basically not to bother even entering without a reservation - that there was at least a two-and-a-half-hour wait and we most likely would not get a table.

We explained that we had called earlier and had been told we could add our name to a waitlist and that two people in our party were already inside at the bar (where there were four plus stools for the the rest of us.)

We had no problem sitting right down and getting bar service from incredible bartenders who were very attentive. The whole parking lot thing seemed bizarre as there were still many empty tables AND spots at the bar. The tables were marked with RESERVED, which is completely understandable, and we were perfectly happy staying at the bar.

Seeing the table right behind us preparing to leave, I went to the hostess stand to ask if we could be put on a waitlist. Again, looks of amusement from staff, and being told it was highly unlikely we would get a table before the 8:00 show. Basically, I was being laughed at and I nicely said - "Well, it doesn't hurt to ask, right?" One of the hostesses seemed annoyed and literally sneered at me. A young gentlemen host was much more welcoming and took my phone number. Mind you, this was maybe ten minutes after we had arrived (so 4:55) and everyone in our party had already been served drinks.

Not five minutes later, a gentleman who I assumed was a manager approached me and said - "I think I can get you a table right now, but you're going to have to be done in 90 minutes, when the next reservation is for that spot." We quickly agreed and assured said gentleman we had no problem with the time limit.

From that point on, our experience was fantastic. The beer flights and cocktails were superb. I had the First Class and it was chilled and delicious. Our appetizers (Buffalo Brussel Sprouts and the Deviled Eggs) were both outstanding, with extra points given to the brussel sprouts. Three in our party enjoyed the tuna taco special, and others ordered burgers and the kielbasa. Everyone enjoyed our food and we were expertly and attentively served by Nathan.

We were prompted to vacate the table which, again, was totally fine as we were expecting that. What I didn't understand and left with a bad feeling about was the immediate accosting from the parking lot guy, and the poor attitude from some at the hostess stand. Soon after we were seated (again, within twenty minutes of arriving, not the 2.5 hours I was "promised" I would be waiting,) I needed to get something from my car, so walked outside for a second, and saw another couple discouraged from even entering because they didn't have a reservation. They were understandably upset.

I also saw the parking lot employee question a couple on the way in about their reservation, and when they said yes they had one, he asked their name and the reservation time. In the parking lot! He then personally escorted them to the hostess stand - which to me seemed like he needed to confirm they were not lying.

The two people in our party who arrived first were approached in the parking lot before they even parked their car to ask if they had a reservation and upon being told no, were also discouraged from entering and told the wait would exceed 2.5 hours.

I would return in a heartbeat, but would absolutely make sure I had a reservation ahead of time to avoid the unwelcome reception if they were busy. It's a great place, terrific atmosphere, and an overwhelming majority of friendly employees and patrons.

Still giving five stars, just hope they work on the...

I’m surprised at all of the good reviews, quite frankly. I had a feeling we were in for it when we were seated on the second floor in a packed room with one server. That’s right, one server. It took 45 minutes to get our first round of drinks. I told the middle manager that she was going to need help. She responded in the most snotty way that our server would be right with us. Oooookay! 15 minutes later, she did indeed return with our answers to the questions we had about the menu. The food came out in dribs and drabs with no more than a few of us eating at the same time at our 12 person table. The food was adequate at best. One of our guest’s orders was completely forgotten about and didn’t arrive until we were all finished eating dinner. Against my best wishes, dessert was ordered. I would have left hours ago had we not been with a big party and was long ready to bail from this never ending nightmare. Of course, this was a further debacle with only two of four coffees coming that were ordered. Finally, we had enough after being at this place for over three and a half hours. I asked our server to please make sure our bill was correct, with everything off of it that wasn’t brought out and to please send up the general manager. Of course, she didn’t correct the bill and we had an over $400 bill for lousy food and even worse service. The manager Jeremy came up and I told him about our experience. He should have come up earlier knowing we were having issues but couldn’t be bothered. He condescendingly told me about all of their good reviews and how it’s an anomaly. Whatever. He offered no explanation or compensation for the ridiculousness we experienced. He gave our three families $50 gift cards each and said we could use them or give them away. I don’t know anyone who would want them really. All in all, not a place worth going to. They don’t need your business and they will let you know that and feel that. I don’t wish anything bad on anyone but if they went out of business I wouldn’t feel for them...

My family was meeting in town for an event at Vassar College. It was a rare and special weekend together. We went to Mill House based on a recommendation. It was such a disappointment I am spending precious time to leave this review tonight. Four out of six members of my family were seated early. The four could order drinks but were unable to order ANY food until my sister and I arrived. They sat there for 30 minutes with no Apps. as we looked for parking. Our passion is dining all over the country and beyond. This is the first time this has happened. Steve was our server who was less than concerned about our experience. Not friendly at all. We were told all food had to go in at once because of how the software worked. Is that really what you tell customers who are spending hundreds of dollars for dinner? The food overall was too pricey to be average. I will say the ravioli was delicious but too cool. It came out last so I assume it was sitting in the kitchen. I ordered a drink around the time Steve asked about desserts. I guess the system can handle desserts separately. We said no to desserts and Steve brings the check without my drink. I said I didn’t get my drink and he said “You’re right you didn’t.” I was rendered speechless. We had been nothing but nice to him. It was shockingly rude. He also failed to mention the tip was included which we fortunately noticed. It saved us 10% as we generally tip around 30% as former servers. However, tonight I would ‘t have. It’s common it is added for larger parties but he should have mentioned it. You will never see us there again. Unfortunately one of our two precious dinners together had to be such a poor experience. Not a customer focused...