Main & Mill Oyster Bar & Tavern — Restaurant in Winterville

This is a beautiful space for a restaurant. I assume the low lighting is to help build the ambiance however, it could be a little brighter and not take away from the feel imo. Our server was amazing. She made recommendations when I asked. She was attentive and friendly. Our food and drinks came out quick and were brought by other people who were also very friendly. Everyone was welcoming and friendly. The apps I ordered were good and the presentation was very pretty. Alot of things just seemed to be lacking opportunities for flavor.

For example one of the apps I ordered was pork belly cubes and roasted brussels sprouts over a bed of grits. The sprouts were perfectly seasoned and absolutely delicious but the pork belly although it was very moist and seemed to be cooked well, had no flavor. I loved the consistency of the grits but they also had no flavor.

The fried green tomatoes looked great and the sauce was delicious but the actual fried tomatoes had no distinguishable flavor.

The baked mac and cheese looked amazing on the surface but was also bland. It also has a layer of what I assume was butter at the bottom of the dish. It wasn't creamy like I expected and it had no flavor other than the layer of cheese on top. There was no trace of seasoning, not even salt and pepper.

The one thing that I absolutely have no flavor complaints about was my burger. The patty was perfectly seasoned, moist and absolutely delicious! It's the best burger I've had in a long time.

My husband said his shrimp and grits were good but he felt like something was off with the grits. They looked the same as the grits in the pork belly appetizer but the consistency of some of it was off, it wasn't the same throughout the dish but it tasted good in his opinion.

He also loved his drink. I didn't fully read the description of mine before ordering. My drink was good but the thick layer of egg white foam/froth on top was too much for me. It would have been better with less, and I ended up just leaving some in the glass after I finished the actual liquid of the drink.

Overall I think it's a great place to try especially if you have a more mellow palate and appreciate milder flavors. I will give it another try because there were alot of drinks, apps and entrees that sounded promising like the pork chop. It also seems like a great place to meet for drinks and apps just don't come in a large group. They don't seat groups greater than 8 people per a note on their door. Great service is hard to find at restaurants now a days so I always return to the ones that provide exceptional service even if I don't think...

First time visiting Main & Mill. And let me tell you. They did not disappoint. From the moment you walk to the front doors you can tell this is going to be an enjoyable evening out. Upon entering we were immediately greeted by a host who was able to seat us right away. Upon being seated we were greeted by Chelsea who was an absolute joy to be around. She knew the menu, the different types of oysters and where they are from, she knew the ever impressive beer and cocktail menu, and what paired well with dishes. We ordered the Jersey devils, about 2 dozen oysters (mixed variety) and the Blackberry Duck. My wife who is an oyster fiend loved the oysters here. She stated they are fresh, salty and mmmmmm delicious. The Jersey devils were the ⭐️ tonight in my opinion. If you’ve never heard of them they are four bacon jalapeno deviled eggs topped with a fried oyster. I loved the different layers (each stand on their own), the mixture of the creamy egg with fresh diced jalapeño, and bacon with the saltiness of the fried oyster 🦪 mix together to give you a whirlwind of flavor and excitement, making you crave the next bite. As far as the duck 🦆 goes…….let me start off with saying I don’t get the opportunity to eat duck all that often. The presentation was gorgeous, well plated, it was everything your eyes look for when seeking out that delicious first juicy bite. In my personal opinion the duck was over cooked which gave it a lackluster flavor. The grilled squash, onions with the butter broccolini were delicious 🤤 and let’s not forget the drizzle of that blackberry sauce!!!!! It was damn near perfect with the level of sweetness and the tart from the berries. It paired great with everything on the plate. The only picky critique I can state is the music was loud for my liking as it made it very hard to have a conversation given that the other guest were also having to speak up to over come the music which made it a louder environment (again that’s me being very picky). I would highly recommend Main & Mill to any and all foodies! This location is the perfect spot for friends, families and those special date nights! I have to give another shout out to Chelsea who never failed when delivering the most PERFECT sweet tea (or 6 but who’s counting) a southerner could hope for. 👍

-The Red...

The food is okay. Not great. Not terrible. They only have 3 or 4 beers on draft, a decent selection in cans in bottles, but only had one local beer. Oddly, they didn't carry any selections from the brewery next door.

This tells me they don't care about other local businesses, and because of their Covid-19 laxness, they don't care about you.

They do not require that their customers wear masks when entering the restaurant or when getting up, and there were parties from separate households that sat together.

Stay away from this restaurant until after the pandemic. They don't care about you. They aren't concerned if a a customer or staff member contracts or transmits Covid-19 causing them to shut down temporarily, as long as they don't have to require their customers to wear masks.

A poster at the entrance states that they DO require masks, but they do not. We sat close enough to the door to see that more than 3/4 of the customers walking in did not wear a mask. The staff did not ask them to wear a mask. I asked the server why the front hosts didn't require masks, and he referred me to the manager.

I kindly asked the manager the same question. I wasn't antagonistic, or rude, but his immediate response was to ignore the question and to tell me that we could eat somewhere else because they "had to work", and if I had a problem with it, I could take it up with the owner.

Wow.

On the day we ate at the restaurant, the country had 166,555 new cases and 1,266 died. The day before, there had been 184,000 new cases. There is a surge of new cases, and it's because of businesses and individuals not taking this seriously.

Requiring a mask won't hurt this restaurant. They'll be full on Friday and Saturday nights. If they don't take this seriously, immediately, they'll continue to stretch this pandemic out and they'll continue to be part of the...