Millpond Gatherings — Restaurant in North Branford

I’m not sure who will take the time to read this , but I think there is some quality constructive criticism. I gave this “steakhouse” 3 stars because the Short rib dumplings app and creamed spinach & artichoke side were amazing, the atmosphere was spectacular, and our waiter was really nice. Otherwise, it would probably be a 1 star. I had to refer back to their website to see how they market this place… we had such high expectations for this restaurant because we thought it was fine dining. But it fell short to say it nicely. This place has HUGE potential, but needs to make some adjustments before they can call themselves fine dining. To be fair, maybe we were seated in a bad spot so this could have changed our experience… but we did have reservations that were made in advance so should have had the same experience as anyone else. We were seated in the small bar area of the steakhouse (not the tavern), with the door to the kitchen and the raw bar area. Our low table was one of 3 amongst numerous high top tables. It was very chaotic and busy in that area with the door to the kitchen there. I feel this space would be best utilized as a bar area with all high tops that are first come first served. This way you’d expect the more loud, hustle/bustle atmosphere. Also, there was a tv in the bar, which is not normally seen with high end fine dining. This would go along better with having that area be more of a bar scene. We were hoping for a romantic night out at a fine dining atmosphere as we haven’t had a date night in a really long tome. On to the meal, This is the first time I’ve ordered a bottle of wine in a restaurant that we had to pour ourselves. Our server never came over to pour it for us. The tuna tartare needed seasoning, it was very bland. The huge amount of guacamole as a bed for the small amount of tuna was flavorful, but it was all you tasted; The tuna got lost. We ordered the Tomahawk for 2 medium-rare. Some areas were medium to medium-well and the center was closer to rare than medium-rare. For a high-end steakhouse, I’d expect my steak to be the exact temperature ordered throughout the entire cut of meat. As I mentioned earlier the creamed spinach side was outstanding. We also ordered the mushrooms and caramelized onions side, the mushrooms had zero seasoning and the couple pieces of onion were far from caramelized. They were crunchy and borderline raw. Also, A small detail but something they do in most fine dining is to take the scraper and clear crumbs between courses. As i said earlier, our server was very nice and we felt bad he was running around so much… but only time one came over to our table was to apologize for not being able to be more attentive. He asked our forgiveness because he had 10 tables that night. Perhaps they should limit reservations so that the waitstaff doesn’t feel overwhelmed and would have the necessary time to spend with each table. We heard him apologizing to his other tables as well, he was very nice and we appreciated the apologies. However, the time spent apologizing could have been spent pouring the wine, refilling our water, letting us know how much longer before our meal came out, etc. This place has SO much potential, and it’s absolutely gorgeous inside, I hope they make some adjustments to make it more of a fine dining experience no matter where within the steakhouse you’re seated. Maybe also try to hide some of the chaos with the servers , and confusion with tables and food orders so that the patrons of the fine dining restaurant don’t see those details. Some of the staff had no idea where certain tables were located, which food was going to which table. I would definitely be interested to try the Tavern downstairs if we...

With a reservation at 7:45 p.m. you would think that there would be no problem getting good service. I'm currently sitting here at 8:50 p.m. and still haven't received any of my food. Will update this review after we've eaten.

So here is my update. We did have a reservation for 7:45. We showed up 10 minutes early to let them know we were there. The person at the station said okay let me go check. She disappeared and never came back. We did sit down and some rocking chairs near that front station and one of the owners saw us discussing the barn doors at the front of the steakhouse. He then was kind enough to discuss several of the things that we're done to make this building as beautiful as it is. Another person who seemed to be a manager came over to us and said where we being helped. I said a woman asked us about our reservation and disappeared. She then said okay let me check. She disappeared into another room and came back a few minutes later. She said okay let's go sit. I did make sure she knew we had an Open Table reservation and I wanted her to check us in.

Now that we were seated the waitress came over somewhat quickly. She asked what kind of water we wanted and we let her know. When she came back she asked if we wanted appetizers and I stated no we were going to have dinner and dessert. She never asked about our drinks so I let her know which bottle of wine I had selected. Almost 10 minutes went by before a different person came over brought our wine and opened it. We ordered our dinner around 8:10. Around 8:50 I asked where our food was. I was told they would check and the waitress came back out and told us it was almost ready. We ordered risotto and a double pork chop both of which take under 10 minutes to prepare. Finally around 9:05 we received our meal. Given that our meal didn't take 15 minutes to prepare I'm assuming that someone forgot our ticket completely or forgot to put our ticket in.

The good news is the food is absolutely fantastic. The risotto was done perfectly as was the pork chop. Both or delicious meals and we thoroughly enjoyed them. Once completed we waited almost 10 minutes for our plates to be cleared and the waitress to come over and ask us if we wanted dessert. I indicated yes. We then received our dessert menus and I clearly asked if this was going to take good period of time to get or whether everything would be ready quite quickly. She explained everything would be ready quite quickly. Well, my espresso and my wife's cappuccino both came. Our chocolate bomb cake did not. I finished my espresso and my wife was half done with her cappuccino before the chocolate bomb cake ever arrived. The coffee's and the dessert were fantastic in taste.

We spent over 2 hours to have dinner and dessert. The food was fantastic! The service was atrocious. The building is beautiful and I wish the company well. The only way they will survive is if they weed out poor...

I'm only giving two stars because my wife and I have enjoyed dining here in the past, but our recent experience (likely our last) is a one star.

I called to make a reservation for 7 on Friday night and told the hostess (she said her name was Elodie) that it was my wife's birthday and that we were celebrating her first Mother's Day as new parents. I asked if we could do something special to commemorate her (something like a dessert with a candle, and I was willing to pay), but she said they'd provide a complimentary piece of cake and I said that sounded great. She said she'd make a note with our reservation.

The next day we arrived about 15 minutes early and the hostess (not sure if it was the same person I'd spoken to on the phone) said we could order a drink from the bar while we waited for a table to open. First off, the barman gave us happy hour menus after happy hour had ended, so we ended up accidentally paying double the advertised cost for a cocktail a piece. Then, I watched as the hostess seated 2 or 3 couples that came in after us without even glancing in our direction. There was even a couple that arrived 10 or 15 minutes after us that sat next to us at the bar. The hostess walked RIGHT past us to offer that other couple a table.

When we finally were seated (I had to approach the hostess station twice to ask for our reserved table), the service was terrible. A woman I hadn't seen before came to bring us our bill from the bar (over $30 for two drinks) and when I asked if it could just be added to our table tab she told us we needed to pay now because her shift was ending. I paid, but this was a lie-- I saw her, still behind the bar, as we left an hour and a half later. Our server left us with empty drinks for about 20 minutes before asking if we needed more and was otherwise inattentive, and I slipped on a pile of french fries on the floor next to my chair. Worst of all, the night came and went without as much as a mention of the cake I'd been promised for my wife's birthday and Mother's Day.

The food was overpriced, but it was at least tasty. Otherwise, this was a top-to-bottom terrible experience on every level. I'm not sure if there's new management or something, but the Millpond we used to love visiting...