Mill Creek Cattle Company — Restaurant in Mentone

I made reservations for this restaurant on 6/19/21 because I was looking for a place with character & a fun ambiance to host my season end's executive leadership dinner. The location was a little remote from the mainstream dining in Redlands, but I was ok with that. The atmosphere was unique & fun - old west/local history style - and I really liked that. But my review is so low because after we were seated things went downhill for the remainder of our visit.

For a busy, Covid-restriction lifted, Sat. night it looked like there were not enough servers to take care of the guests. We had a group of 8. We sat for at least 10 min before our waitress brought menus and took drink orders. It took even longer to bring the drinks out and take dinner orders. After another lengthy wait, only half of the food came out, incomplete for the order, and after watching it get cold while we waited for the other plates, those who were served first ate while we continued waiting for the rest, which finally came out after the first of us finished. The worst part was our waitress did not come check on us, nor did not communicate any delays or adjustments to our expectations. She said she was two months new to the job and I'm guessing, by her attitude, was not happy there. When she did finally make it over to us, we asked her about dessert and she rolled her eyes and acted put out by us asking. Then she disappeared again. We couldn't get her attention or service at any time when we needed it. We only left a tip out of courtesy for the profession. Food quality was "meh" - edible, but not notably delicious. Actually, the sides were much better than the meat. For any of you who like sweet corn muffins, steamed veggies (which I did like) or very boozey bread pudding (which I absolutely didn't, but couldn't change because our waitress was MIA) this restaurant will do a decent job of it. The tri-tip & brisket was not seasoned, and the barbeque sauce was average. I don't like to leave negative reviews because I know folks are only human and all of us can have a downer day (or more) and deserve a bit of compassion. But this is a well known, local, supposedly quality business and I'm obliged to share my honest experience with other potential customers for the same reason I read other's reviews - to know where to best spend my money & what to expect from my paid for experience. I will not be back nor recommend...

I thought I would try this place for a burger . . . had a sample of their fare which was decent when they provided food for an event at our church. First thing ordered was "fresh" coffee - I was told it was brewed within the half- hour; I'm not sure that was the case - $3.50 charge. Next time when folks won't brew fresh coffee, I'll just say I'm not paying for cup that isn't fresh brewed. I asked about the "creamy" coleslaw and the server couldn't answer the question, "why is it called creamy"; I pursued the issue and she told me she couldn't give me the recipe when I asked what it contained, not specific measurements The server seemed to be oblivious to the description of the coleslaw as if she had never read the menu. Hmmm . . . When the meal was brought the coleslaw was drenched in mayo, and I had her take it back for potato salad. During my time there, my server was going around the dining room with a towel full of smelly disinfectant cleaning the condiment bottles (why can't they clean during off hours?). After waiting five minutes after the bell was rung in the kitchen, I had to call the server's attention, who was socializing, that the bell was rung in the kitchen indicating my order was ready to bring to my table (I was the only customer being served at that particular hour). The burger was somewhat charred and a bit overcooked for medium well. I managed with my meal and felt sorry for my server. She appeared to be rather simple minded and was there just be one of the girls in the saloon. I wonder sometimes as a single woman in a restaurant whether staff actually care to serve me since they know the tab won't be a large one. It seems strange in these times of service being "half-baked" that they would not try harder for precious business. The boss at Mill Creek Cattle Company should take the staff out to Two Guys in Highland where the service is excellent and...

We have been eating at Mill Creek for several years and have always had a good meal. We eat there at least once a week, usually for lunch. Unfortunately, they have changed during the past month. I have ordered the tri tip at least twice a month and it has always been excellent. Well smoked and done medium or medium well, very tender. The last two times the meat was raw to rare, no smoke flavor whatsoever and tough. It is like they didn’t smoke it at all, but just warmed it up in the oven. Last Tuesday we were there for lunch and overheard another customer complain about the same issues with the meat. When I complained to the server, she said they had received complaints that the meat was too well done. I find this interesting as they have been serving it the exact same way for over two years at least and everyone seemed pleased with it. They have also ruined their pulled pork. For the past several years my wife has ordered the pulled pork and I must say it was the best we have ever had. Tender with great smoke flavor. This past week, the pulled pork tasted as if it was cooked in an oven then placed in a pot of beef broth (yes beef with fake smoke flavor). There was a definite off taste to the meat. I had ordered the pulled pork because of the problems with the tri-tip and I ended up throwing away half the sandwich. It appears they either don’t have their smoker anymore or that they are using the old lumber from the renovation to use for...