Mill St Brewpub
Categories: Restaurants Brasseries Restaurants Burgers Restaurants Sandwiches Food Breweries Brasseries, Burgers, Sandwiches, Breweries [Edit]
555 Wellington StreetOttawa, ON K1R 1C5
(613) 567-2337
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Drive-Thru:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
9 reviews for Mill St Brewpub
9 reviews in English
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Review from Joe H.
3/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've always been a big fan of Mill Street beer. They have a serious collection of different types of beers at any given time and guess what? The Ottawa brewpub has some "Ottawa Only" beers that you can try.
In terms of beer, you can't really go wrong with Mill Street, whatever type you're feeling like they have it. I'm actually a big fan of their Cobblestone Stout. It's really thick and creamy and probably the closest thing I've had to Guinness well... that isn't Guinness. Note that they can't serve it in bottles or cans cause Guinness has the patent on that nitrogen ball of theirs.
Anywho, in terms of their food, we ordered the calamari, a burger and the smoked chicken poutine.
The calamari was pretty good. I would definitely suggest ordering it. I think the best part about it was that it wasn't too bready. You know when calamari tastes more like flour than calamari? Ya, it's not really like that. The burger was overcooked supreme. It was a char-burger. Bah... basically it was dry and flavourless.
As for the smoked chicken poutine, everything was really good about it... except the fact that they put meatball sized chunks of chicken into the poutine with the fries. Note to Mill Street Brewpub; make the chicken the same size as the fries so it isn't a piece of chicken with a side of fries. Other than that, it was really good. Guess being close to quebec has it's advantages. Oh... they also use St. Andres (or whatever that cheese place is nearby) cheese curds. These are AMAZING. Seriously... how do you know cheese curds are good? Well for one, they still squeak when you chew them. For sure this was my favourite dish in the whole place.
It's a shame that the place decided to put my burger into a volcano, but otherwise everything else was really good. I would highly recommend the poutine, but maybe ask them to cut up the chicken? Maybe they'll read this and take it into consideration. I mean, it's like eating mac and cheese, but having a steak in it. -
Review from Brian G.
Ottawa, ON
3/5/2012
I was really looking forward to visiting the pub after having spoken to the manager at another pub a few days prior. We made a reservation for 7pm on a Sunday night. While there appeared to be 40+ servers working there, the service was anything but great!
#1 Waitress knew nothing about the beer, didn't mention anything about the chaudiere or portage local brews, maybe it's a bit much but I was somewhat expecting a little information on them or a sales pitch of sorts. She ended up bringing us the wrong beers for the flight sample, which we didn't realize until we had left.
#2 We waited, and waited for beers, and waited for the waitress to come back to take more orders. The food arrived quickly, but we had no idea where she was disappearing off to.
#3 The food was ok, it wasn't great, it wasn't terrible. You can hit up the lieutenants pump for the same prime rib meal on a sunday night for $6 less, and much better food quality and service.
Overall for a place that's out of the way, I thought we would get a little something special. The bar itself is gorgeous, just the service and lack of any enthusiasm on the servers part was kind of a bummer.
I'm definitely going to go back and try it out on another night and give it another go, but for my first visit, I was expecting a little more.
One other thing, no debit?? really? -
Review from patrick t.
Toronto, ON
3/4/2012
We tried to make a reservation for a Saturday evening but were told they do not take reservations. We went anyhow and I regret it.
We waited two hours and fifteen minutes for our table. We were a group of eight and were told that it was difficult to fit us in.
The menu was pub fare. Not worth the wait at all.
The building is gorgeous and a nice location, but the restaurant was very loud, ridiculous wait for a table and average food at best. -
Review from Coy W.
FINALLY, Mill St is open in Ottawa!!! The only thing is my visit was comparable to flat beer sitting on the counter for a few days.
I like hanging out at the one in Toronto. It's in a beautiful neighbourhood and area and is surrounded by a lot of things. Even thought he one in Ottawa is not surrounded in a lively neighbourhood at the moment it's in a beautiful location. The view through the back windows is really nice.
I've only went for appetizers and beers at the Toronto location. This visit to the Ottawa location we came by for lunch. Honestly the building is awesome! I wish it was my house. The building has a restaurant, bar and beer store...and of course the brewery. They do tours on certain days and times which I don't know at the moment.
For my meal I ordered a burger with fries, a coke and a side of gravy. I was with 3 other friends and they ended up bringing my friend something that she was allergic to and asked to have removed. They were extremely nice and apologetic about it and told us there was actually a bug in their system that was uncovered by her order.
The fries were decent but the gravy not so much. My angus burger was small, and extremely overcooked. It was charred and beyond well done on the inside. The bun is kind of weird and it's not something I'd order again especially considering the meal was pushing $25.
Service was ok. I think we saw more of the manager than our waitress but I might not have been paying to much attention.
They do have their wing night on Tuesdays as well as an appetizer deal on Mondays. I'll go check out their wings one night and will want to come back at least once in the summer to see how the patio situation in the area is. However I'm still extremely disappointed in my first experience here. -
Review from Dawn M.
1/26/2012 4 photos
Heard this place had opened up a few days sooner than expected - probably to give the staff a bit of experience before the grand opening on 1/27/2012. Hubby suggested we head over for lunch, since we'd had such a good experience at the original Mill St. pub in Toronto's Distillery District. Let me just say, our expectations were high going in, based on prior experience with this restaurant line.
First of all - the location: Thankfully there's a big sign, because otherwise, it would be pretty hard to find! You have to take a sort of exit ramp to the right, off Wellington. When we pulled up, it was evident that they were still working on finishing touches, with trades people all around the exterior. Not a surprise, given their official opening isn't for one more day. Front door was not all that obvious - presumably some seasonal planters will be added in the next few days or so. Picked a door and went thru - lucky guess.
Inside, all of the staff were pleasant. Ground floor was still being worked on, so we were seated upstairs. We loved the menu! If you like normal pub fare (club sandwiches, fish and chips) they have it - but they also have some more interesting things too - like Duck Confit sandwhich and a Portk/Bison/Veal Tourtiere. There were quite a few things on the menu I would have liked to order.
We ended up trying the Smoked Chicken Poutine. It was smokey - and the cheese curd seemed a little sweeter than most poutine cheese - it was perfect. Next course - Hubby had the Duck Confit Sandwich - it had more duck on one side than on the other (learning curve!), but was otherwise delicious. The son had Chicken club - and it was actual chicken, not processed meat - bacon looked like it was cooked on site on a grill. Great eye appeal. He enjoyed it.
I had the Tourtiere. The pie itself was *great* - however very rich. If it was a larger portion, I would not have been able to finish it because it is so rich. It came with rice and peas... the peas, I got. The rice... ummm.. not so much. A bit later the manager came over and I mentioned the sides were not well matched - and he said it usually comes with mashed squash. Now that sounds perfect! So again - learning curve for the staff.. Oh well - we knew going in that we could expect slow service and little errors. That's the point of a pre-opening.
Overall I thought the staff did well, our meal was great, the building is beautiful inside, with a wonderful location on the river. Hope they have a patio overlooking the river in their plan somewhere. I suspect this will become a very popular place. I know we will be back. May warrant a 5 star rating once they iron out the kinks. Price is on the high end of "moderate" yelp range.
Would I return: Yes
Would I recommend: Yes. -
Review from Kimberly S.
Ottawa, ON
2/27/2012
We made reservations here for a Friday night a few weeks ago. We scored a great seat in the river room. The service was great (our waiter was Pepe?).
The nacho appetizer was okay. It could have used more toppings and more cheese (not just on the top layer). We also had to ask for more salsa/sour cream because it only comes with a tiny little bit.
The Angus burger I ordered was pretty dry and bland. It could have used some more flavour. I ended up trying to douse it in ketchup and mustard to give it some moisture and flavour. Not ideal. However, the fries were delicious.
The beer selection was good, but it's not cheap. -
Review from Michael J.
Ottawa, ON
2/2/2012
I wanted to love this place, and was super excited about the opening, but after going I have mixed feelings.
The beer on tap is great. I had a Bock and a Vanilla Porter. Both were fantastic. I will definitely go back for another pint sometime.
I'm less enthusiastic about the food. I ordered a blue cheese bison burger for $16.50 and it was crunch in places it shouldn't be. If I'm paying this much for a burger, I don't really want to munch gristle. My friend had the pork/bison/veal Tourtiere, however, and enjoyed it. -
Review from Eric S.
Ottawa, ON
3/14/2012
I'm not totally sure I understand all the negative reviews... I mean you kind of have to know what you're getting into here. This is Ottawa's latest big hot spot so you aren't going to just walk in at prime time and instantly get the best seat in the house. I've been four times now and each time have made sure to go at off times. As a result I've never waited more than 15 minutes for table and the tables I've got have been fantastic.
Now, all that said, waiting 15 mins for what has to be the most spectacular atmospheres in the city really doesn't seem too unreasonable to me. Two of the four times I've been there I was seated in what they call the "glass room" it is literally a glass room the built onto he side of this astonishing historic building that overlooks the Ottawa river. On three sides of you you have floor to ceiling glass windows and on the fourth you are warmed by a 200 year old stone wall. If you can get into this room you will not be disappointed.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the knowledge of the servers.... although I did not experience this first hand I can say that there are a lot.. and I mean a lot of exciting different types of beer on tap and a plethora impressive menu items. Mill Street is still very new and i'm sure this "lack of knowledge" will eventually start to work itself out as the staff settles in and the pub starts to develop an identity.
I won't dive too deep into the food as I have not fully scoured the menu yet. I have however sampled a few items off the breakfast list in addition to taking full advantage of wing night.
Breakfast was great. Huge portions at a reasonable price. Bacon was a little weird.... kinda rubbery but everything else on by plate was perfect. Oddly enough they only offer multi-grain toast but that served me fine as it was fresh, and delicious. I've been twice for breakfast and the first time I went we we given a basket of freshly baked chocolate chip muffins... so good! Not sure if that was a one off or not since it didn't happen the second time I went.
As for the wings, they were excellent. One of may favorite things about wing night here was that you could order in batches of five. I have NEVER been to a restaurant that allows you to order in less than tens. Meaning that instead of having to stuff myself on two flavors of 20 or still be hungry with one flavor of ten I was able to have the perfect amount of wings for me (15) with three different flavors to choose form. WIN!
When it's all said and done, I'd 100% recommend this place. Just make sure you aren't expecting to walk in and have a table ready for you at 6pm on a Saturday when you are a group of eight. -
Review from Eston L.
2/8/2012
Very loud! The beer was nearly flat and the staff all seemed a little confused (although friendly)! Food was unexciting and over priced. A very unfortunate first showing.
