Midgley's Public House — Restaurant in Stockton

UPDATE 06/12/2025: Dinner service

I don't know if the staff was having an off night or the change in ownership has caused a paradigm shift, but I'm updating this review as I'm seated in the date in the update. We had a large party for a birthday; the food came out at all different times, one of the waitresses specifically was dismissive to my older relatives, when asking about plates or missing items, nothing was remedied until the third and fourth ask. Dessert as part of courses had to be asked for multiple times, and though the good waiter we had took the order initially, we had to repeat the order multiple times. An item was forgotten and for amends was given complimentary. The same referenced waitress provided the desert utensil to one of our party by handling the spoon portion (not the handle) with her hand.

I'm not without sympathy as I've worked front facing customer service in Stockton but our party was/is here for 2 hours now. Unfortunate turn - I've heard the lunch service is better, but I don't think we'll be back. Miss you Mike.

Remainder of this review is for Midgley's circa 2019:

Mike and his staff at the restaurant provided the venue and service for our wedding reception on 7/27/2019. I can't say enough good things about him and his staff. John and Jacob were the primary floor staff and were helpful, attentive, and more than willing to cater to specific requests I or my guests had. The floor manager helped to facilitate the event the day of, and everything went so smooth.

From the asparagus cigars, to the oysters, to the avocado fries, the cocktail hour was incredible, the food was hot and readily available. My guests were expecting catering size portions but were served full size portions of NY Strip, salmon filets, and he was also able to roast a whole pig (sourced locally and fresh that day). As with the vast majority of the reviews, all of the entrees couldn't have been done any better.

To cater to my 100+ guests Mike sat down with me and my wife and decided on a plan of action that included having an open bar. Mike made himself available to us should we have any questions or concerns and found time in his schedule to meet with us whenever we felt necessary. On our walk around, I confirmed that yes, the guests enjoyed all the fare, were taken care of, and enjoyed the whole event.

I've been to Midgley's during regular hours and the level of service doesn't change. The food is amazing and was a big motivator in choosing this as a place to share my wedding with my dearest friends and family. If you want a place to eat, or want to do something similar and buy out the restaurant for a certain amount of time, I cannot emphasize enough that you should pick Midgley's.

Mike...

We didn't even get to eat! Haha.... Read along...

Reserved a table for 4 Saturday 6.45pm. the reservation was fine though their site and open table.

We got the restaurant a little early and asked to be seat by the hostess. Okay, let's talk about Riley, the hostess.

Before we get started, here is the thing, the fact, this is a service industry, better be nice and on your best behaviour. Well we're instructed to follow OUTSIDE for a seat. Ok, so here is the thing, NO. I reversed to sit inside and eat. Well, this is when things went weird. Riley shows us theta the reservation was for outside. I show her the open table selection and there are no options for inside and outside, then yes unless specificed on open table, reservation are for inside dining.

I kindly asked them to move us inside. Riley replied by saying 'its a 2 hour wait and there is nothing I can do'.

I ask to speak to the manager. The manager Jared come by about 10 mins later after Riley had had her conversation in the back. He tells us the same thing and just blows us off and leaves.

I thought this place shared owners from Prime Table and Market Tavern. Oh what a difference, and it shows in their lackluster 3.6 review.

I have never had any issues at Prime table and or Market Tavern, such high end awesome places.

Jared the manager: Owners, get him trained or find a manager that is customer oriented, what is it with this companies hiring? This is unacceptable.

For Riley, the hostess: I get it, we all don't have the best days, but you can't be mean, rude and unaccommodating on an error that's Open Table and MSH issue, not us, the customers. Don't feel like being nice? Not having a great day, no happen? Then please find something else or just don't come in.

Customer service shouldn't be an afterthought for any customer oriented businrss, get it to be your priority!!!!

Requested: Party of 4, inside, 2 individuals and a fully trained service animal.

Service: Riley and Jared the manager were very unaccommodating, rude and non customer oriented. I hope this business gets it's staffing CS up, starting with this weird manager. :) hahahaha.

I hope...

My husband and I LOVE steak and Google said this place has tomahawks. While the hostess was not the nicest person, all other staff was absolutely amazing. Our servers were all very friendly, patient, and went above and beyond when we asked for substitutes or for help to take our food home (because we were SUPER FULL). The atmosphere was nice and chill, much more casual than I expected. Booth seats were not the most comfortable, but good vibes here. Now, most important, all the food we ordered was delicious but indulgent. Tomahawk steaks were huge, great crust, perfect medium rare, and simple seasoning to really showcase the beef. Obviously, it's the most expensive thing on the menu, but my husband and I were here to celebrate our anniversary so it was fine. Their steak sauce was next level too. We did ask for a substitute for the asparagus, so our server mentioned a pesto pasta and it was delicious (rich in flavor, but delicious). Fries that come with the steak are a little under seasoned, but perfect crunchy to soft ratio. The prime rib sliders are also delicious but you MUST dip it in their au jus sauce for the 10/10 yumminess. The ahi nachos were also delicious, but (again) rich in flavor. Also the chips used were fragile, so a little difficult to eat. They had bread and butter too, but feel free to skip it. Nothing special on that end. Finally, I got their sangria and it was a delight. Very fruity and fun.

Other patrons looked at us a lot, but our servers made us very comfortable and the food did not dissappoint. Would we come here for another special occasion? Probably. Is this a "let's go out on weekends" place? For that price, nope. But it's a great time and place for a nice celebration :)

UPDATE: brussell...