Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks — Restaurant in Millheim

This past weekend, one of my best friends (Chad) and I embarked on a great fly fishing/craft beer tour of central PA. I'm from the Pittsburgh area and although Chad also grew up around Pittsburgh, he now works for the Navy in Arlington, VA as well as does part-time work with a local VA micro-brewery. We fished some of the best limestone streams PA has to offer. and enjoyed some great beers from Otto's and Happy Valley Brewing. On our last day, we fished what is regarded as the crown jewel of PA, Penns Creek. Since its just a stone's throw from Millheim, we made it a point to fish until dark, but made sure to save enough time to cap our trip off at Millheim's own Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks. We had a blast at Penns Creek, catching trout on dry flies on some of the best water he and I had ever fished in our lives. However we had made it a point, to get out of the water with enough time to stop at the cafe to end our journey with some brews from Elk Creek. We arrived at the cafe at 10:20pm, knowing the place closed at 11pm. This would give us time to sample a few beers and take in the small-town atmosphere for the better part of an hour. As we approached the door, we were met by a man who told us they were closing up. He said the taps were "turned off" (as a man with a home draft system, i'm not sure how you turn off a tap system) and that we couldn't enter the bar. As he blocked us from entry we pointed to the sign on the door which clearly showed the bar was to be open until 11pm. When Chad asked, "Why does the sign say 11?" the man could only simply say, "well not tonight, we're closing up." I can't tell you how disappointed the two of us were by this poorly managed decision. While I was upset, it didn't come close to the disappointment Chad felt. As a bartender at a micro-brewery himself, he knows that if you're going to run an establishment the way it should be, you stay open until you're supposed to be. It wasn't 10:55pm, it was 10:20pm. That's a big difference, and on a Saturday night to boot. It really put a damper on what was an otherwise amazing fishing/craft beer weekend. I'm not sure if the man who turned us away was the owner, manager, or otherwise, but I hope he understands what a poor business decision he made and I encourage anyone who may be in the area looking to make a stop to realize the hours are far from what they appear to be on paper. I didn't give this review 1 star because we did manage to go to another establishment a few doors down which did have several Elk Creek beers on tap. Reluctantly, I gave in and tried the Brown Ale and enjoyed it, however Chad wouldn't give it the time of day because of our experience at the actual brewery, and as reflect on it, I wish I hadn't either. In the growing world of craft brewing, small places like this should appreciate all of our business, as we'd rather give it to them than the domestic corporate America. I like to support local brewing and local business and as a Penn State Alum, I was saddened by being un-thoughtfully turned away at the door. In hind sight, we wish we had just fished in our head-lamps for that 40 minutes as other die-hard Penns Creek anglers do. But instead we wanted to cap our weekend with local beer at a local business making local brews. We won't make that decision next time. You blew it Elk Creek. ...

Disappointed by Managerial Conduct:

My recent dinner outing at Elk Creek Cafe with four friends left me deeply disheartened by the manager's behavior and overall disappointed with the experience.

Upon ordering a ribeye steak cooked to medium well, I was dismayed to find it arrived at the table completely well done, lacking any hint of pink and notably tough to cut. I promptly notified our waitress, Cecelia G, who kindly agreed to take it back to the kitchen for a replacement.

However, what followed was a jarring encounter with the manager that overshadowed any hopes of a smooth resolution. Instead of acknowledging the mistake and offering a sincere apology, the manager approached our table with an inexplicable defensiveness and passive-aggressiveness. They insisted that the steak was prepared according to their restaurant's standards, almost implying that my expectation of a medium-well steak was somehow unreasonable. Their offer to bring out the steak again to "show us the pink" felt more like a challenge than an attempt to rectify the situation. Eventually, they begrudgingly agreed to prepare a new steak to medium, but the interaction left a palpable sense of discomfort lingering in the air.

In stark contrast to the manager's demeanor, our waitress, Cecelia G, provided exemplary service throughout the meal. Her friendly demeanor, attentiveness, and efficiency were commendable and stood in stark contrast to the manager's behavior.

For prospective diners at Elk Creek Cafe, it's important to be prepared for potential encounters with such passive-aggressive management and deviations from the national standard in steak doneness. Additionally, while some menu items like the chicken sandwich and burger proved decent, others, like the poke bowl, were utterly disappointing, to the extent that one of our friends had to seek an alternative dinner option afterward.

In summary, while the food at Elk Creek Cafe may have its hits and misses, it's the manager's unprofessional conduct that truly tarnishes the dining experience. Based on my encounter, I cannot in good conscience recommend this establishment to anyone...

I've visited the cafe a few times to enjoy the band's that were performing. Both times we Chris Strait and the Crooked Line. We enjoy the band and try to watch them every chance we get. The Elk Creek Cafe is very near our home. Both visits were enough to make us not want to go back. The staff seemed annoyed at our presence, very bluntly telling us it would be an hour and a half wait for a table, when we did get seated they never offered us drinks or menus, we had to ask for them ourselves. The bar ran out of the ingredient for the drinks we were ordering. When we did finally get to place an order, after asking for menus, they got our orders wrong, and then tried to bring us orders that we didn't place. The hostess was especially unpleasant, avoiding eye contact throughout the evening and glaring on our way out. It's very disappointing to us that the customer service here is so sub par, we would visit much more often...