The Old Mill Inn — Restaurant in Town of Southold

My experience tonight unfortunately confirmed my fears that this place is built to capture tourist revenue and is not meant to be a local watering hole, contrary to the article in the Northforker...

My husband and I went after work on a Monday to avoid the larger tourist crowds. We chose to sit inside and the entire place had a great vibe, nice hostess, good music, and beautiful views.

The cocktails we tried were great - the Spicy Paloma and the Pain Killer. They are expensive - like high-end cocktail bar in Brooklyn expensive, but worth the occasional splurge.

The food was very meh, with really only 1 stellar dish of the many we tried. We wanted to do mostly apps and if the food was great, we were going to try an entree or 2. We were also scouting the place to see if we wanted to bring my MIL this weekend.

We ordered the smoked beet dip, smashed artichoke, the squid app with shishito peppers, fried oyster sliders, and the tuna tartare special. Worth ordering are the oyster sliders - amazing!!! Everything else felt a bit one note.

Most things needed more salt/ some kind of seasoning to elevate the dish. All the dishes (besides the oysters) were served at weird temperatures - beet dip was straight from the fridge with steaming hot fresh pita, artichoke was room temp, squid was room temp, tuna tartare was cold and the chips it was served with were also cold (but seemed house-made?).

The only dessert they offer is a key lime pie, which we skipped.

Our waitress was wonderful from start to finish. She checked on us, asked for feedback, joked, and gave us great service. She's not the reason for the 2 stars...

However, the GM, Cass, was the polar opposite. She came over (we did not ask to see a manager, but assume waitress might have told her to come over as we were not thrilled with the food) and asked for honest feedback. I told her my opinions about the dishes generally lacking salt or other seasoning (tuna tartare would be 10x better if there was acid somewhere on the dish - we suggested salt and vinegar chips would have been exactly what it was asking for) and she told us that's because they have a lot of older clientele.

I mentioned the beet dip would be better as a different texture (blended with some fat and salt would do it wonders, some acidity for brightness and the smokey sweetness would sing) and she said "we've been rocking since we've opened, a lot of repeat faces."

Overall, she is the determining factor in why we will not be returning. It was very pricey for what it is and if she had come over and thanked us for the feedback, even tried to offer an olive branch by maybe comping the beet dip we didn't eat or a drink, said come back why they work out kinks - any of those things would have resulted in us giving it another go. Instead, she was cold and dismissive.

Overall, the Old Mill Inn is just another tourist trap with not enough substance...

What a beautiful new place. First off, the old mill turned into restaurant is a great idea, tucked in by the marina, after a long drive through a beautiful neighborhood. It's at the bottom of the hill. Just gorgeous. From the outside deck to the inside quaint decoration, it is a comfy, cozy place for a drink with friends or a burger with family. Dress was casual to California casual, depending on your mood and time of day. Some criticism I have is one, the staff was closed lipped, at least with us they were. It was busy but there wasn't much conversation about the menu or drinks we ordered. I like some back and forth about what's popular, or "a great drink!" When you order. None of that, they were very quiet. Secondly, the valet group said not to park because we didn't have a reservation, no room tonight, even at the bar. We decided to park up the street and try the bar and we got two seats pretty quickly. So luckily we decided to not listen. The restaurant made some extra money on our diligence to eat there. I guess some growing pains there. Overall I'll say the drinks and food were pricey for the amount you get, I would have liked to have three pieces of fish instead of two for the price. But ...it was delicious. The burger was one of the best I've had and the fish and chips were cooked perfectly. Drinks were amazing as well. It is a great addition to that area and it will only get better. Tell em...

What a lovely afternoon at the old Mill Inn. We had drinks on the beautiful deck ( lower deck) for an hour before dinner service and they were great. The view is gorgeous and the staff was so attentive and welcoming. We had dinner on the upper deck. Our server was amazing and so professional! No “ no problem “ responses here! We saw that they had a ribeye special and couldn’t resist. It was big enough for 2 so my husband and I split it. It was one of the best steaks I have ever had! Local herbed butter melting on top and awesome fries on the side. Delish! The manager, Pete, came over to greet us and ended up sending over two delicious appetizers for us to try! How nice is that? Fabulous calamari skewers with the most incredible peppers and sauce on top. Everything this chef creates is loaded with flavor! Unique and delicious. The other appetizer was the artichoke. Again, unusual and delicious. So creative and flavorful. We were “ checked on” by several people during our meal other than our server …. How nice is that? I can’t say enough about the Old Mill Inn. The local, the service with professionalism and a smile, the outstanding food , all 5 stars. Can’t wait to go back, and back and back. Thank you all for a...