Descendants Brewing Company at the Old Ship Inn — Restaurant in Milford

This is not the Ship Inn of my youth, and it 100% suffers as a result. I stopped by for a mini-reunion with a few of my OG chums this past Saturday night. All of us grew up within a few miles of this place (probably .25 miles for me, or close to it), so we all have vivid memories of coming here as kids/teenagers. This was a unique watering hole with ye olde wooden architecture, 90% locals and great tater skins. As soon as we walked in though, we could tell that wasn't the case anymore - this is now an official tourist trap (most of the patrons were wearing khaki shorts and clearly wandered in from their nearby Airbnbs) and a lot of the genuine personality has seeped out of it. If the kitschy Bill Murray cardboard cutout by the door doesn't tell you that, I don't know what will. That's not to say this was a terrible experience - and anything with this crew would have been great/memorable anyway. But I was not-so-secretly hoping we'd have an awkward run-in with one of our high school classmates or something, though it's clear they've dispersed to a different locale now (maybe Artie's in Frenchtown?)

Despite it being the Saturday of MDW, there was actually quite a few empty tables and we had our pick of areas (I opted for my favorite section to the righthand side overlooking the creek - still one of the best Milford viewpoints, in my opinion). Curiously, there was this weird makeshift dock/pier in the creek, and it wasn't clear what its purpose was. We thought it might have been there for an edgy musical act location, but it wasn't utilized while we were there and virtually every passerby on the bridge also stared at it quizzically. Mysterious. Anyway. Sit over there if you can.

I wasn't insanely hungry so I opted for a bourbon-based cocktail (not sure the name - the website doesn't reflect the one I got from the speakeasy menu) with harvest-y vibes. A little too sweet for my palate but pretty tasty overall. One of my chums went with a Milford Mule - I'm sure the tourists don't know, but that's a fun play on words because the Mule was literally the mascot of our school - and wasn't crazy about it. I did end up getting the duck sliders app, knowing there would be leftovers (I had one out of the three while I was there), featuring my first experience with ground duck, gouda and I think bourbon caramelized apples. It wasn't bad but honestly it was on the bland side, which is surprising since they clearly tried to boost the taste profile with the toppings. I'm assuming that ground duck isn't really a thing for a reason. And if we're being honest, I was also a little glum about the fact that they took my beloved tater skins off the menu. Felt like an unforced error.

No issues with our waiter - he was chill and accommodating, and when my chum the Shanimal stumbled in off the streets, grabbed a chair from a nearby table and made herself comfortable, no one gave us pushback. I don't recall a significant wait for anything, and it was a relaxed situation so it was nice that he sensed the vibe and gave us some space. I thought the price point was pretty competitive too, given that they're not going after the true blue Milford posse contingent.

I can't say this is a bad place; it's not. But it's not as good as it was back in the day, both in terms of overall quality and vibe. And honestly? If I'm in the area looking for an edgy mixology cocktail to imbibe with my posse, I'm probably going down to Lambertville at this point. Bring back the...

Cocktails and food were exceptional! Cheers to the chef. Unfortunately, that is where the cheer ends. From the moment we walked in the door to the moment we walked out the door there was absolutely no hospitality. No friendliness. No glad to see you. No thanks for coming. No eye contact. The entire waitstaff kept their eyes on the floor boards never to look up at the customers in case they need something. We were sat at a dirty table that was never wiped down even though we asked. Our drinks were finished no one came back to check on us to see if we want to do another. Our food came out and was put in the wrong places. I can understand that. But a good server remembers a 2 top who ordered what. We sat for the longest time with our plates empty sitting in front of us that no one came by to clear. I had to get the attention of the bartender who also won’t look up to see if a customer needs something. And when I asked if he would come he wanted to know what we needed. We needed the plates to be removed and possibly order dessert. No one asked us if we wanted anything else. And I know we live in a time where a female can pick up the check So the check was delivered to our table and put in front of me. My boyfriend picked up the check and put his credit card down. When they finally came by to pick it up and deliver it back to the table they put it in front of me. This is basic common sense. Put the check and credit card in front of the person who gave it to you. I don’t know about you but I don’t get to go out to dinner very often so I appreciate the whole experience. The atmosphere the food the servers. We are generally big tippers as we know servers work very hard. But I believe we tip because the server is pleasant and or attentive and appreciates our business. We did to 15% and regretted it all the way home. The only person that was informational and enthusiastic was a guy waiting in line with us they had created the cocktail menu. He described every drink on that menu and had our mouths watering. But we were not prepared of the lack of basic...

We went to the ship many years ago. The food was British as was the atmosphere. Being british it was like being at home. Over time it deteriorated, so far nothing new, we stopped going. A few months passed, well many months and as we were passing and the beer was always excellent we went in again, the beer as always was good. Their attempt at british food was lacking. As we were the only people there we discussed the food with the bar tender who took a great interest and notes. Then came the change of management and Covid. Today, again we were passing and decided to give it another try. As expected the beer was excellent. They have an excellent wine list and an Austrian white that has me remembering my youth in Austria drinking basically the same stuff. I was impressed. They are doing renovations but they are open and happily busy. The staff were very busy and doing an incredible job.hence the four stars. Then we have the food. I'm not sure if it's still classed as an english pub, but lets assume that it's not. The menus was varied and competent. I ordered a philly cheese steak which wasnt bad. My husband ordered fish and chips, we got fries not chips, yes theres a difference. They were very well cooked but alas not chips. The fish was greasy, which means it may have been frozen. No biggie it's a pandemic, we dont expect perfectly cooked Michelin star fresh fish in a pandemic. Then we had desert ... the base was uncooked, or tasted that way. So either the blind bake wasnt allowed to cook correctly, or it wasnt cooked correctly, it tasted and looked/felt raw. Something I'm not going to risk eating. We sent it back they comped it, which is fair, but it was disapointing. BUT, we are in a pandemic, they have just taken over, and they were busy, I'm going to put this down to a combination of those factors. Will we go back? Yes the beer is good and as i said the Tyrolian wine was superb. A suggestion. IF you want to have fish n chips on the menu, string fries wont butter any parsnips as...