The Pioneer Mill of Tiffin

I have to agree with Charles F. This place is amazing!...to look at.
It's in a beautiful location and would be a wonderful place to take out of town guests IF they could be counted on to be more consistent. The food is terribly overpriced for what it is. It's good but not excellent to justify the high price tag.
The first time I went was before I moved to Tiffin. My fiancee was trying to show me a nice time. We went in on a Friday night and there were very few people inside for dinner. I fell in love with the restaurant itself but my love quickly dissipated as we sat and sat and sat and sat waiting for someone to come and wait on us. There was a restaurant full of employees yet no one could come help us. Finally my fiancee had to ask someone to be sent out to wait on us. We finally ordered after a looong time of waiting. My fiancee has a dish that was supposed to come with bacon wrapped scallops. After waiting for what seemed like forever, when we should have had our food we were told there were no scallops, but the rest of the food was done. They asked if they could sub shrimp instead. but 3 shrimp are way cheaper than 3 scallops so my fiancee asked if they could bacon wrap the shrimp. They acted like this was a big problem and had to check with a bunch of people to see if it could be done. It was a little ridiculous. When they finally brought out the food it was kind of cold (as it was probably done when they initially came out to tell us they had no scallops and then just sat).
The waitress we had was pretty awful. Very unprofessional. Took forever getting refills on drinks and food was brought out with no silverware at the table so we had to sit and wait again for her to come back so we could get silverware. It was as if the employees were so into doing "side work" that they couldn't wait on the few customers  they had. The place should have been packed on a Friday night. It says a lot when you have an empty parking lot.
About a year or so later we tried to give it another chance. My fiancee took us there for  Valentine's Day, but said to go downstairs in the basement to Tinker's Dam. He thought it'd be a better experience and he was correct. It was busier than our first trip together. They had specials but no prices on the special menu so you have to ask the price of each item which kind of puts you on the spot to make a decision. My fiancee got a steak that was $25 and he wasn't too impressed. I got the chicken cordon bleu which was good but not amazing for the price. The fried mozzarella was GREAT! Not normal sticks but was in triangles. Very tasty! We DID have a nice time though and had an older waitress who was very nice and a lot more professional than our first younger waitress.
For the price of the restaurant the food quality needs to be upped a little or prices need to come down and the help could be a little better as well.
We will try it again but only for special occasions.

Sorry, but this is a mixed bag and could be a lot better. Let me start with the positives and then I will offer some cautions. My review here is based on several visits over the past 18 months, for both inside and outside service. This location is touted as a 'premier' location in town, but visitors should be aware of the strengths and very real weaknesses.

The location is beautiful and the mill building itself is interesting - it is a visual good time. If you go in nice weather, sitting out on the deck is a really great way to relax and enjoy the weather and the view of the river. Definitely worth stopping on a summer or autumn afternoon for a drink or two outside! Count the building, the deck, and the deck bar as good things!

Moving inside and looking over the dining experience - well, this has been consistently bad for me. Dinners are over-priced. The food quality is average and comes from standard distributors. Cooking is inconsistent and the wait-staff is not trained to be as professional as the prices indicate. If you are going to pay $28 for a steak entree, then the service and food quality need to come up to this level. As horrible as it sounds, my experience is the food here is on par with the steak-joints like Ponderosa.

There is a wine list and it is modest and caters to those trying to avoid sticker shock. I am not sure if they offer a corking service. The bar service is competent but lacks a true "top shelf" pour.

This restaurant is another that is tough to review... within the small town it is a nice place and a local "fancy place" to go for a night out. But compared to other places in other cities, they need to either drop prices or increase quality and service. The setting and building are too nice to squander on mediocre food and unprofessional service... maybe over time things will improve. But for now, enjoy the patio on a nice day and explore the menu with caution.