44 Mills Kitchen & Tap — Restaurant in Kannapolis

We're from out of town and were looking for a place to meet with some old friends with a few important criteria: A good looking menu, a good looking tap list of things not on tap at home, and outdoor seating since our children are still unvaccinated. This place seemed to fit the bill.

It turned out that their outdoor dining wasn't really set up because no one wanted to be out there on a chilly evening. The owner himself came out and set up tables and a heater for the kids.

Then, when finding that I was a beer enthusiast, took me inside to explain the beer menu. It basically works as follows: they rotate the taps daily, whilst always keeping the styles consistent with two lagers, two sours, two or three IPAs, and at least one stout and cider. All regionally sourced unless there's something extraordinary from further afield that deserves a spot. That night's was an Imperial Stout from CA that was a rich, high-octanne blast of chocolate and lactose that blew everyone away.

Our server was lovely, handling an outdoor table that she wasn't expecting to have very attentively and with charm and attention while we sampled rather thoroughly from the menu. Deviled eggs topped with a small crisp of prosciutto were the perfect balance of mustard, and a little cast iron skillet filled with Brussels sprouts and topped with an egg was much heartier than expected and would make a nice lunch by itself. Livermush croutons were the most divisive item, but I think that's to be expected, with the table evenly divided on whether it was a good idea. The soup course was a rich tomato bisque with rosemary that the kids devoured, and the owner then brought us out an autumn soup that they were experimenting on: a butternut squash with cinnamon crunch that was a little sage shy of perfection.

For the entrees, we ran the gamut, trying the chicken sandwich with slaw and pepper jelly, the shrimp and grits which came with an unusual sauce that was rather like a remoulade and was a great addition to an old favorite, and the filet mignon with asparagus was perfectly handled.

We decided to have a cocktail for desert, and at the owner's recommendation I tried what they call a "Campfire" where they smoked rye whiskey in the glass with marshmallow simple syrup and walnut bitters, with a torched marshmallow garnish that soaked up just enough of the whiskey by the end to be a decadent little finish. Interesting, unusual, and not actually over-sweet in spite of the sound of it. It was a truly great end to a wonderful evening.

So, in summary, our service was not just attentive, but truly warm and friendly at every level, from the waitstaff to managers to the owner. The food was upscale comfort food without being pretentious, and had good presentation by a kitchen staff that obviously actually cares about what they're doing. They didn't miss a note or even a beat the entire evening, and I will definitely visit here any time that we are in this part of the country.

Highly...

We had errands to run in the shopping center nearby and dinner was approaching for us. We could turn back and dine in our Town of Davidson or try something new. So glad we decided on the latter!

I told my husband I have driven by 44 Mills Kitchen & Tap many times & was curious. So we of course “googled” it. After peeking at the online menu, we decided to go for it!

A very sweet young hostess seated us and I introduced myself as a Google Guide.

Something about the decor had me asking questions. The manager Paige came up to say hello with Maddie our server. They explained that the 44 Mills” is based on the 44 textile mills that were operating in between Concord & Kanapolis. I love that history!

I especially like that incredible piece with the drawers that looks like it came from one of the mills where the hostess stands! The people who designed this place have taste!

Now, let’s talk about the food! We tried the butternut squash ravioli, the Mac & Cheese, the seared Ahi Tuna, the crispy pork loin sandwich, and we upgraded to the truffle fries. (You must upgrade! Get the truffle fries people) I promise they don’t disappoint!

My husband added the wedge salad to get some greens into the mix and balance things out.

The Mac & Cheese is one of the best we have ever had! Addictive!

When I tasted the ravioli, I felt as if every morsel on the plate was jam packed with flavor. My husband agrees!

We heard the very cool story about Luke Bryan (the country singer) coming in and trying the crispy pork loin sandwich and saying, “ I’ve been a lot of places, tried a lot of different foods and this is in the top 5! We agree. It’s quite good! BTW, we were going back & forth on the pork loin vs. the chicken sandwich (that’s now on our to-try list!).

Here’s what we also noticed. Instead of the typical ranch on top of the wedge salad, it felt like the dressing was house made with this unique blend of flavors. It felt like it had a bit of a citrusy undertone. We loved it!

44 Mills is an elevated dining experience! Paige is one of the most superb managers! She made our visit incredibly special & because of her hospitality- we will definitely take the drive & come back to try more off the menu!

A helpful tip! The restaurant got pretty packed soon after we were seated. Make sure you RESERVE your seats!

Thanks to all for making our first visit so...

Got into the restaurant at 6:46, left at 8:24.

My parents and I went to 44 Mills to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary and my graduation. I will preface this by saying that we were not on the reservation list. We did not expect to be seated quickly and were fine waiting.

The staff was helpful, but service was insanely slow after being seated. We spent over an hour waiting for our food. We ordered the salmon, filet, and steak pasta. We also got truffle fries and salad as our starters.

Starters were good- fries did lack a lot of the truffle we were expecting. We enjoyed the salad and wanted to take it home, but by the end of waiting it had become warm and soggy due to slow service.

After finishing our appetizers we waited 45 minutes for the rest of our food and observed the disorganization of the kitchen and the runners. Some parties received food, some only received half of their order. Our waitress said the kitchen ran out of carrots for a side item, but we said it was fine and changed it. We continued waiting, and eventually we did get our food. The filet, that we had ordered medium rare, was completely overcooked and uneven. This item was both the most expensive and most disappointing of any restaurant we’ve been to in years, especially on such a happy occasion.

We had to wait more to be checked on where we informed them about our steak, and I will say that the staff handled this well. They apologized and offered to remake it, but at this point we’d been waiting over an hour just for our meals and we knew we would’ve had to wait even longer for the steak to be redone, so we ended up just leaving it. They did comp it on our bill, and we were incredibly grateful.

Unfortunately we did have one member of our party who had to go to McDonald’s after dinner because of the food not being what she ordered. The staff was very kind throughout the whole process and while I understand that servicing so many parties at once can be a lot, I would make a recommendation for the servers to be a bit more attentive so that the people they serve may have an opportunity to speak up about their food before hitting the hour mark.

General service was good, but incredibly long waits and lack of attentiveness from servers. Would recommend making reservations and clearing your schedules before dining. Unfortunately we will not be...