Milly's Tavern

waughbrew

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -29.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | food: 2

Under the bridge street bridge, in the basement of an old mill building. Dark, dirty,and a little smoky. Three main areas - first you walk into a big open space that is where the dancing/djs/bands must happen. Down a few stairs brings you to the dining area with a bunch of tables and a couple of video games. Procede further and you get to the cavernous bar area, with plenty of seating and room to hang out, a TV, a chalkboard with the beers on tap. Right behind the bar is the brewery with all of the tanks out in the open.
My party sat down in the dining section on a Thursday at 5:30PM and waited for 10 minutes. Nothing. Went up to the bar to see if we could get some attention, and it took me 5 minutes to get the bartender's attention. I was practically waving my hand in the guy's face. After ordering some drinks from our new waitress, we waited another 10 minutes. Nothing. The place was almost empty except for the bar, and the waitress had "forgotten" about us! The porter was nice. After waiting 30 more minutes, our appetizer sampler was served. Pretty crappy. Seemed like microwaved frozen food. The IPA was not good. The scotch was decent but not much to my liking. We decided to eat our main meal somewhere else.
This place is definitely a bar and should not try to be a restaurant. Despite the crap service, this strikes me as a good place to hang out with your guy buddies and have a few beers. Might not be a place for the ladies (the two I was with said it was dirty, shady, and not a place they would go to again). With happy hour from 4-7pm m-f including 1/2 price apps and $1 pints, I would go again just for that.

A guy's place to relax and have some beers.

07-18-2004 18:10:10 | More by waughbrew

jamescain

Texas

3.03/5  rDev -22.3%
vibe: 1 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

So the reason my score for the atmosphere is low is because of the band that played there the night we went. I'm sure on a night that they are not there it has a nice environment. Apparently when we were the the original band canceled and they had to find a replacement act. Instead of just not having a bad they chose (I would hope with out prior knowledge) some screamo band. Well lets just say that is not the best music to drink to. In typical screamo fashion their music was too loud to hear the conversations of others next to you. The waiter was nice and she understood that we were not into the show and joked with us about them. Their beer was good from what I had, they had a lot of stuff that was out so it was a little disappointing. Their selection was relatively diverse. I believe the only food that I had was french fries, which were good, but it is hard to mess them up. If it wasn't for the band I would probably go back, but I didn't appreciate having to pay a $10 cover without any knowledge of who was going to be playing. If they had told me I would have come back another time.

07-26-2011 16:41:52 | More by jamescain

NEhophead

Massachusetts

3.1/5  rDev -20.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5 | $$

Located in the basement of an old mill, Milly's a bit tough to find if you're not familiar with the area.

Once inside, the establishment itself is quite spacious: small stage immediately on your right, a dining area in front of you that gives way to a wrap around bar with additional seating and a lounge area in the back. I'm told that the scene usually hosts metal bands and local DJ's; not quite my scene, but luckily there was no act the evening I visited.

The beer list boasted approximately 8 regular offerings, and 4 seasonals; however, a total of 5 brews were kicked. Taps that were pouring during my visit included: Pumpkin, Manchester Mild, Lil' Ivan's Foreign Extra Stout, Mybock Yourbock, Bo's Scotch Ale, Oatmeal Stout, and Fisher Cat.

The Foreign Stout and Oatmeal Stout were tasty; however, the Scotch Ale was ridiculously over-sweetened (as our waitress warned) and the Pumpkin was standard for the style.

Although Milly's was 'unusually' crowded for a Tuesday night, there was really no excuse for the ridiculously slow service, not to mention how spacey the waitress was.

As for the food, there's really not much to say besides the fact that the black & blue burger was basically frozen and re-heated in the microwave.

Don't get me wrong, fresh beer is fresh beer and I wouldn't complain if I lived in the Manchester area considering how limited the options are; however, this is not a place to go out of your way to check out.

11-07-2010 13:29:31 | More by NEhophead

ecoboy

Rhode Island

3.3/5  rDev -15.4%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4

From Stark Mills (whose coasters they still use) to Milly's I have seen evidence of slippage in several facets of this location's pub. It makes me a touch sad because, like Charlie Brown's Xmas tree "it's not a bad little [pub,] it just needs a little love."

The space is enticing in a nice New England mill way. Visible beams and ducts. But on a recent Tuesday evening visit, the men's bathroom looked really worn, my stool had a tear in the cusion, dead bugs lay unswept up on the windowsill. It's got a cigarette aroma even with the door open for fresh air. The place needs to be refurbished, bigtime.

The beer is a mixed bag: the scotch was a sweet hammer of a big beer, the IPA was crisp and hoppy. When I gave a friend a taste of my "red tail" he reponded with "that's the worst beer I've ever tasted." Unexpected sour notes dominated this brew.

There was but one cook in the kitchen at 6 p.m. on a weekday. A round of six appetizers took 30 minutes to get to the table. The food is pretty good: fresh chunks of jalepeno on the nachos, rather than canned. Real zing to the buffalo sauce on the fingers. But isn't a place destined to fail if they are unprepared for a party of 7 on a weekday mealtime? Our bartender did her best to guide our taste buds; one friend noting the 8-choice menu, but unable to read it asked if they did a pilsener. She said no, but recommended the commendable cream ale.

Caveat emptor, BA's. Plan ahead (dollar pints at happy hour!!!) and this place may reward you. But I found it a disappointment on my most recent visit.

09-10-2003 16:25:55 | More by ecoboy

warriorsoul

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 1.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

Stopped in for lunch and a pint while visiting some local contractors today.
Easy enough to find...right downtown near the Civic Center and easily spotted from afar thanks to a large Milly's sign above the pub itself. Milly's is located on the lower level.
Walk in to a fairly dark building with hardwood floors, a large area for bands, etc.. with the PA monitors still there.
A decent sized bar to seat a dozen or more and tables to seat quite a number of parties...a worn look on the tables and chairs as I felt like I was about to drop through my seat at an adjacent table to the bar itself.
Not used to the smoking anymore, but I was able to stay clear of the smoke quite easily with just a handful of drinkers enjoying a smoke on their lunch break.
The bartender was also the waitress and took my order fairly quickly...asked for the bleu cheese burger, but received the bbq/bacon cheeseburger instead in about 15 minutes or so. No biggie, as the beef was awesome and the burger and fries were both piping hot and delicious.
I only enjoyed one beer...the Manch Vegas IPA which was a solid IPA yet served too cold. Probably goes over well with the locals, as every one of them were drinking bud bottles...sad really, because there were at least 10 different craft brews to choose from. A red ale, IPA, porter, scotch ale, barleywine, imperial stout, anniversary ale and a few others I can't recall.
Reasonable prices on the food and the pint was just $3.25...great deals on happy hours with $1 pints from 4-7 I believe.
I asked the waitress if I could get one of the stronger brews to go and asked to speak with the brewer since he is quite active on the site, but she never came back to me with and answer on the growler and never saw Mike...oh well. It's a shame...would have loved to bring home a nice growler of the Impy or Scotch, but I wasn't going to wait around for an answer...had to get back home to work.
A great place to enjoy a few beers and burger if you don't mind the smoke. Not sure I'd make this a place I would take out of town visitors as the service was a bit inadequate, but I'd come by with a handful of BA's and work on depleting the brews.

03-10-2006 00:40:19 | More by warriorsoul

ColForbin

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5

Milly's Tavern is located in the basement of an old textile mill in Manchester (hence the name). There is no obvious sign outside that they brew their own beer. It has nice brick walls and big old windows, but unfortunately, not much thought was put into the decor. The tables and chairs seem like they came from a rummage sale. Some people might like this, but I think in such a grand old building, it might be nice if it was a little more put together.

We were there early on a Friday night and the crowd was dominated by locals. My wife and I sat at the bar. I ordered a Manch-Vegas IPA and my wife (being pregnant) ordered a root beer. She was told that they were all out of home-brewed root beer. Later, however, we saw another bartender serving the root beer to someone else. I flagged him down and asked him to get one for my wife - he had to go to the fridge in the kitchen to get it, but at least he didn't lie like the first guy. I was pretty disappointed.

The IPA, however, was not disappointing - extremely hoppy and fresh with a ton of grapefruity cascade goodness. The food was pub fare - the menu wasn't extensive, but what they had, they made well. The chili for 4.25 is a huge bowl with fresh jalapenos on top served with chips. It was a great meal for not a lot of money. I was traveling, so I only could sample one beer, but if it is any indication, the rest of them should be pretty good.

We missed the happy hour by about 15 minutes. It was advertised as being from 4-7 Mon-Fri and sounded like a great deal: $1 drafts, 1/2 price appetizers and $2 well drinks (yes, they do have a full liquor license). They also serve a couple bottled macros for those of you with less-enlightened friends. Milly's is a pretty good place to stop for a pint if you are passing through, and with live music on the weekends, would be a pretty good place to hang out if you live in the area.

07-12-2004 18:01:00 | More by ColForbin

MugOfGoodness

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $

Happy hour with some co-workers so that means $2 drafts and 1/2 price appetizers (chicken tenders were great) - had the Hopnoxious IPA and a Oatmeal Stout. The IPA was great, very tasty and the Oatmeal was okay, a little too smooth for me - I wanted an Imperial which isn't the fault of the stout. They were out of the Burton which I bet was good and I did have a taste of the Manch-Vegas IPA which was also very good. The crowd was primarily male which was fine, but the women with us felt a little outnumbered. The waitress service was pretty overwhelmed but the nice bartender took great care of us and delivered the goods.

12-13-2007 21:41:35 | More by MugOfGoodness

BlueHammer

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $

My team and I made a trip up to New Hampshire just to visit Milly's. I'd never been and they wanted to take me as I am a pumpkin beer fan and theirs had garnered support from the non-pumpkin beer fans among us.

I'd heard a lot about Milly's and had a vision of what it might look like but I was wrong. It's down near the river in the old mill section of the town. Inside looks like a dive bar but in a sense, that can add to the atmosphere - a no-frills type of place.

While we were there, they were setting up for live music. Evidently, the place turns into something of a night club later on in the night.

Not many people were there to eat, most were sitting at the bar. There was only one waitress working and she seemed a little "out-of-it". She forgot to put in an order for our appetizer. The food was good, but not unforgettable. The beer, was another story. It was superb.

I don't think I'll be driving up to New Hampshire again for a trip to Milly's. However, if I'm in the area I will definitely stop by for a brew.

11-22-2006 01:02:54 | More by BlueHammer

altgeeky1

New Hampshire

3.58/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $

Milly's is a brewpub, but can be disappointing if you are expecting a Marthas or Portsmouth Brewery. Ignore everything except the beer... yes the beer is excellent. If your expectations were not mis-set, you will enjoy Milly's for what it is. I am convinced the no smoking law is going to force some needed improvements in the place.

Atmosphere:
The place is dark, but the bar areas have a cozy feel to it, with heavy dark wood and original mill hardwood flooring. What's notable however is someone thought they could get away with 'parkay' wood squares in the highest traffic area in front of the door, stage, and dining area.

Since the smoking ban, there is less of the death-metal-emo-kid and I have not seen any more of the occasional fat bikers with swastikas (not kidding - this was an element before).

Service:
The has always been high staff turnover, and service could be a downer. If your waitress is talking to another table for more than the length of one song (flirting, and not periodically glancing at your table...), it's one of those nights where you have to fetch your own beer. A manager making quick rounds could catch this problem before people complain. Most recently on a Saturday night, our waitress was good.

Food:
They could definitely use a menu review. Most selections involve fat or grease, although I've had an excellent cold Mediterranean platter, Greek stuffed grape leaves, and perfect salads. Fish and chips is something I'll try everywhere, but at Milly's it was far too greasy.

The beer selection is great. The barley wine, sweet stout, and the 'TNT' are not to be missed. The TNT in is a barleywine fermented in old Jack Daniels casks... served correctly at proper temperature, and low carbonation, the beer has a sharp taste you won't forget.

The 'sampler tray' is 6 two-ounce beers and is a great way to try all the beers. At $6 the sampler is very reasonable.

Happy hour prices are unbelievable, and Tuesday night is happy hour all evening... brewpub beers that start at $1 and go up 50 cents every 30 minutes. Tuesday gets busy very early!

Overall:
I wouldn't want to see the place change TOO much... it's not pretentious and not overpriced. The smoke was one of the biggest complaint... now fixed. It would be smart to fix the floor as it is a bad first impression.

10-08-2007 16:45:54 | More by altgeeky1

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $

A bit hard to find for a small city, do not follow the Google maps direction, rather we went one street after West Bridge and then turned South. Place is in a basement and the environment is a lot different than the more social and upscale Strange Brew. But it is a brewpub and they try to fill every tap. A number of very drunk though passive people as well as families here for a late afternoon. Lots of tables, this is primarily a band place. The brewmaster alone knew the beers, its the fifth one inside of a year, but he certainly knew his stuff. I can see him opening his own place sometime. The feature for me was the Hoplicious, like a 1.5X IPA. Guest taps would be a good idea, and perhaps lead to rationalizing the product line. $1 pints happy hour from their regular not high abv. You can't beat that, though the staff was somewhat overwhelmed pouring pints for people having several.

07-15-2009 14:42:31 | More by northyorksammy