We last visited ‘The Mill’ two years ago and it’s interesting to note how little has changed.
Firstly, you’d think with another two years experience under my belt that I’d nail a few decent shots, despite the really poor light. Nope.
Secondly, just like our last experience there were some big hits, and some even bigger misses.
With ownership of The Mill apparently turning full circle in recent months, we had heard that the menu had changed somewhat. In reality we only noticed a few tweaks here and there, but mostly for the better, with additions such as pigs ears, stuffed rabbit and a pig’s head terrine!
We began the evening with a couple of drinks; a fantastic lemon sorbet and blood orange liqueur cocktail for myself (only $9!), while Karen ordered a glass of the ‘08 Sugarloaf Ridge sparkling wine ($10). At the time we both thought the wine to be very average; laden with sugar and harshly effervescent. It was only on receiving the bill at the end of the evening that we realised Karen had actually been served a glass of the ‘House Sparkling’ ($7). Very disappointing.
The enthusiastic and bubbly service throughout the night was fantastic, although I suspect our server was still finding her feet in a restaurant environment, as I ended up giving her an impromptu, yet much needed lesson on how to use a ‘waiter’s friend’ to open a bottle of wine (her efforts to that point had been futile at best…how we didn’t end up with a broken cork and chipped bottle lip I’ll never know)! It was great that we could all have a laugh about it at the time though 🙂
Scallop Ceviche: A delightfully delicate hint of scallop coming through, with a vinegary and tart dressing. Unfortunately we couldn’t detect the ‘scorched’ flavours promised on the menu, however the garlic flowers were nice – 3/5
Galician Squid: We both agreed that this should have been called a squid potato salad, with the emphasis on the potato! The squid was there in body, but missing in flavour. Fortunately the creamy house-made mayo with crispy pork and pillow-soft potato more than made up for it – 3.5/5
Crispy Fried Pig’s Ears: The highlight of the meal for us both! Perfectly crispy and salty on the outside, with a slightly chewy and gelatinous centre. Lip-smacking decadence – 5/5
Chargrilled Calamari: Another stand out dish. Well balanced char, tender meat showing great restraint by the chef, and a fantastic pickled onion to add some pep – 4/5
Spanish Stew: As it was placed on the table we knew this was a bowl brimming with turgid disappointment. An unpleasantly grainy texture, little seafood, and an over exuberance of oil resulted in a slick layer forming across the top of the stew. One of two dishes to remain unfinished – 1/5
Lamb Rib: A mixed bag. What meat there was was supremely tender and packed some sensational flavour, yet there was far too little of it to satisfy, with the majority of the rib consisting of unrendered fat. As much as we wanted to, we couldn’t finish this one either – 2.5/5
Goats Cheese Gnocchi: Surprisingly, this was our favourite dish the last time we visited The Mill. Unfortunately it didn’t reach the same giddy heights this time around. Perhaps an unfortunate result of having just consumed so much fat in the previous dish, or perhaps not…by this stage the red wine was in full effect! I’ll be diplomatic – 3/5
Churros with Chocolate Sauce: Our Spanish amigo saved the day! What a way to finish…so many places can’t seem to get churros right, but these were cooked just perfectly. A delicately soft outer shell, moist and fluffy on the inside, with as much rich chocolate sauce as you can handle to top it all off! Simply sinful – 4.5/5
Overall?
With any venue offering such a vast array of dishes, quality control is going to be a challenge. With time you would expect to see that quality improve, however for us this hasn’t been the case. I do understand that there has been a lot going on behind the scenes in the last few months, but we still walked away feeling a little disappointed.
Would we return? Probably, as we love the flexibility that a tapas-style menu brings and those pig’s ears are a revelation! But not any time soon.
I tried unsuccessfully to find their opening hours online, but I know they’re open for lunch and dinner.
For more information (other than opening hours), drop by their website – The Mill on Morrison
Alternatively, you can find them on Facebook – The Mill on Facebook
Interested in other tapas options? How about The Black Footed Pig?! You can find our review here – The Black Footed Pig
