HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern — Restaurant in Milton

My sister made reservations for brunch for my mom's birthday. She had been to this location for a birthday, where they were most likely drinking more than eating. I was only familiar with the original location (now closed) on Piedmont and Monroe. The last time I was there was close to 12 years ago, and it was not good then. I think it's safe to say that the original location was more of a bar than a restaurant. It was for drinking, and eating was definitely secondary to the drinking.

The restaurant is fairly open, and it was busy, but it was shockingly loud. The server came to ask us for our drink order, but my husband and I had just sat down and my mother was not there yet. My sister and her family had been there for a few minutes, so they ordered. It took a LONG time before he reappeared to then take our food order. He did not ever come back for the drink order for the second half of our party.

Everything on the menu is unhealthy, unless you want a salad, grain bowl, or egg white omelet. There is nothing in between. The brunch options are basically all a version of eggs, meat, cheese grits, and potatoes, unless you want shrimp and grits or chicken and waffles.

We ordered fried green tomatoes. They were good. There was a sriracha roumelade and a tomato jam. It did not need two sauces, but I like sauce. They did seem to try to use a lot of fancy sauces to elevate the food (i.e. tomato jam, bacon jam, sriracha, truffle oil, etc). Again, I love sauce, but it does not make mediocre food better.

I ordered the southerner with the gravy on the side. My husband got the egg white omelet. The egg white omelet was disgusting. He put feta on every bite to make it through. I would not have had more than the first taste. To me, it was literally inedible.

The southerner comes with eggs, a biscuit, gravy, meat, cheese grits, and potatoes. The eggs were bland, but okay. The biscuit and gravy were actually good. The biscuit was soft and fluffy, and the gravy was flavorful. I ordered the gravy on the side since I didn't get scrambled eggs. I believe the server did offer some jam, which might have been good.

The sides. The potatoes and grits were bad. The bacon was also not good. The grits were cheese grits, yet they were kind of runny and had no flavor. Even with ketchup, the potatoes had no flavor. The bacon, which looked like really good bacon, also had no flavor. I don't know how you create three nice looking, simple side items, that literally taste like nothing. Also, it is too much food. Most places give you grits or potatoes. I can't believe they cook that many grits and potatoes for every dish for brunch. It just seems like a huge waste. All of that is just going into the trash. At least, mine did, because I'm not boxing up flavorless food to not eat later.

Now, back to the service. The server did offer me the jam, which was nice. However, he never came back for another drink order (second half of party or after that), or checked in much. It seemed like because we were a family, he wanted to get rid of us. He always had a smile, but it was more like it was being used to hide a smirk. I don't have children, but I have been a server. Kids can be messy and families are not always drinking, so there's less of a tip. It really doesn't matter. If you don't want to serve people, then get a different job.

When my mom was opening her presents, a terrible odor started coming from the kitchen. Maybe it was related to brussel sprouts, but if it was, it was the ones rotting in the trash. It was not just lingering, it was taking over the resturant, and no one was doing anything about it. The servers were all just standing around talking outside of the kitchen. Take out the trash! By the time we left, it had just part of the atmosphere.

Overall, there was not one major thing that was horrible. It was more of a cumulation of several tiny bad things that makes this place worth avoiding. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures, as I was trying to spare my family. In retrospect, that would have been the least annoying part...

Reservations on Open Table had us waiting only long enough to clean the next table, or no more than 5 minutes at 7:00 on a Saturday night. For context, last time we came on a Saturday without reservations and it was a 45-60 min wait.....so reservations are the way to go!

Their booths are comfortable with cushioned benches but the stand alone tables have hardwood chairs that will have your tailbone poking your tonsils before the appetizers arrive. So if you need some extra cush for your tush, I'd highly suggest waiting for a booth. They only seat 4-6 at them though, so if there's less in your party, make some quick friends or grab someone's coat to sit on!

The one confounding experience that I still don't understand is the manager who refuses to turn the NHL hockey game on any of the 7 TVs facing our side of the restaurant, when all 7 of them are playing the exact same game....with some a foot apart from each other...no joke. With the explanation that "the 3 booths behind us requested the Final 4 game be on". On all 7 screens?...the same game? The 3 booths who we didn't see look up at THE game once? This manager obviously has no concept of how to run a "Sports Tavern" (emphasis on Sports being PLURAL). He thinks he's running a "Same-game-on-every-TV-We Have Tavern". It felt like we were a horsefly watching court-side. They really could have saved some serious money by buying one giant screen for everyone to watch instead of 15 separate little TV's if they are all going to show the same game. But I digress.

Honestly, my company and conversation for the evening was far more interesting than some hockey game anyway... even though she's a die hard Bruins fan. I just found the manager's TV policy a little denser than my wooden chair. Thankfully, I'd rate the food and drink quality higher than the manager's IQ.

The cocktails were spot on (we had a French 75 and a 1551 Hobnob Old Fashioned) and were respectable portions as well. The Appetizers were excellent and came within minutes. The meals were by far the best part. My wife didn't leave a single crumb of her crispy fish sandwich, and she's from the coast of Connecticut and Florida, so she has a high bar for anything sea borne. It sailed over the bar and made an excellent impression on her. I on the other hand was feeling fairly unadventurous, and just ordered the buttermilk chicken tenders. The dish had to be the best tenders and sauces I've had in years...maybe decades. Even the fries were perfectly cooked. And honestly, who is impressed by chicken tenders nowadays? But they found a way to make theirs a memorable and tasty dish that I will crave and definitely return for!

All things considered, we had a great meal, delicious drinks with excellent service from Ryan our server (in spite of his boss), which added up to a very nice Saturday night out at Hobnob...

With a plethora of restaurants in this area that provide delicious food, and good service, our family has found HOBNOB to be a notch above the rest. My, now husband, had our first date at this restaurant a handful of years ago and we have been coming back ever since and not just because of the fond memories we share here. We have come into HOBNOB during both slow and busy times, in large parties and small, with our children or for a date night and every time we have been catered to and cared for with exceptional service. A few months ago my husband had Achilles heel surgery and so we showed up to HOBNOB for Fathers Day brunch, with him wearing a boot and maneuvering around on a scooter. We realized soon after arriving that the chairs at HOBNOB were going to be too difficult for him to use and so turned to leave and find another place to go. The manager, David, noticed and came out immediately to ask what was wrong. When we explained the situation, without batting an eye, he looked across the way and asked if one of the chairs, with arms, from their sister restaurant would work, and promptly walked over brought a chair over and exchanged that chair so my husband could sit comfortably. It was Fathers Day, so clearly, it was a busier day than usual, but that didn't affect the way in which David treated us and made us feel like we were truly "one of the family". It is clear that his example is contagious, because whether we sit at the bar, inside, outside, or upstairs, the staff and servers are always kind, knowledgeable, and welcoming. Thank you so much to David and everyone at HOBNOB for creating an atmosphere where people and families can fellowship together with food and drinks in a positive atmosphere where they feel valued and...