Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks

Great environment, supports local farms. Food is great, order simple the specials are hit or miss. Fantastic wings and beer. Good service.

Banging food. So worth the drive out to the middle of nowhere lol. Awesome live music. Cozy interior. Parking isn’t the best but you can’t have it all right!

LOCALE: The town of Millheim: cute, quaint, with an art gallery across the street, and more Amish buggys passing by the front window than any other conveyance.
AMBIANCE: Wish there was some art on the walls, but every other detail was fantastic, from their jugband stage to the variety of vintage serving dishes and wares. I hear you can catch some toe-​tappin’ jugbands on the weekends.
BREWS: Delicioso! Best local beer ’round here! My man had an Elk Creek Copper Ale, which tickled his taste buds. I was in heaven with the Pale Ale. We had seconds.
EATS: I appreciate the local and in-​season eats– these elements are key in fresh delicious food. The fried Brussel Sprouts are a must! My man ordered the Mac ‘n Cheese– it was delectable– creamy, filling, warming. I chose the grass fed burger, asked for it to be cooked «Medium” — it arrived Rare, so raw it was bleeding and hollering, so I literally could not eat it. It was the only disappointment to the meal– but it was a major one, hence the subtracted star.

I have visited Elk Creek Café as an out of towner 4 times now and have had wonderful, friendly service every time. I have ordered a burger each time and will order one when I go back. Definitely worth the drive from State College.

We were en route from New England home to Ohio, and we’re looking for something that served actual food (as opposed to industrial food) close to I-​80. This was 30 minutes away, and after a beautiful autumn day drive through some really pretty country, we came upon this gem, brewing their own (very good) beer and using organic ingredients in their (very good) food.
Big thumbs up.

This place is top notch. The staff and owners are amazing. They make you feel so welcomed special and appreciated. You instantly feel like you are part of the community. The food is spectacular. I had what could easily be the best sandwich ever. Fries were delicious and as an avid craft beer enthusiast and occasional craft beer j judge I can honestly say that of the literally thousand-​some beers I’ve tasted over the past few years elk creek Aleworks is hands down the most beautifully balanced beers of them all. Great quality. Delicious food. Impeccable service but that’s just the beginning. The patrons of this Place are so incredibly friendly. The stage is awesome. The sound is great. The entertainment is quality. The beer is so good. I would drive hours just to visit this place. Add it to your list of places you must experience. Can’t say enough good things about this establishment. Go there. Eat drink and be merry! You will not regret it!

Every time I return the menu options seem to be getting worse. This place used to have great vegan options (tempeh Reuben, seasonal vegan risotto, and more), as well as a rotating seasonal menu with more veg-​friendly options. And all them were incredibly delicious. However, in a recent visit my only option was a Spinach Salad. Unimpressed, I decided to just have a beer and leave. Very disappointing. Hopefully they will start to turn their menu around soon or I will probably start to decide against making the drive just for their beer.

This review cost me $ 4. The last two times I’ve eaten there, the cost on the credit card monthly summary did not match the receipt in my pocket. The first time it was just a dollar, the second time like $ 3. Now, I could call them, and leave a message (they don’t tend to pick up their phone during busy or slow times) and I could then report it to my card issuer. Or, I could just eat the $ 4 and give you the review.
Their food is good to pretty good, their beer can’t always be taken away in growlers (you would not want it, they say), and the service ranges from extremely dodgy (thumbs in glasses with beer left) to overcharging your credit card (probably an honest mistake, happens twice, and in 10 years only there (hmm)).
The music is nice, and they have a nice zibe at times, and it’s conveniently located to meet folks from down the valley, but, gosh, there are a lot of negative things that I’m tired or can’t let them know about, so I thought I’d spend the $ 4 and write this review.
Almost on the list of places I only eat when I have to.

After hearing so many great things about ECC, I decided to make the trip and give it a try. It is well worth the drive from State College! The restaurant is in an old store front. They kept the original hardwood floors but updated most everything else. The décor is so much fun and the lighting is excellent. Not too dark, not too light. There are a few tables that are in the «showcase» area of the front of the restaurant.
Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. She knew the menu very well and was able to answer all of our questions. We ended up with non alcoholic bevys, the beer cheese appetizer, a burger, trout salad, and brownie sundae. Everything was excellent. All toppings were fresh and delicious, prices were on par, and the helpings were sufficient.
I love that this is not a chain restaurant and the employees wear their own clothes instead of the typical black pants and black shirt. Everyone working here had their own personality and it nicely showed. Good job, Elk Creek Café. I can’t wait to come back.

Came here with a big group and had a wonderful experience overall.
We ended up eating an early dinner here and even then it was quite busy. There was a mix up with our reservations and they seated us at the wrong table and had to move us to the correct one which was not a big deal. The only annoyance then of the afternoon was that it seemed to take our Server a long time to stop over and take our drink orders. After this things went very well and our Server was quite prompt.
We got a couple beer samplers for the table and I must say it was an excellent deal! The pricing on the sampler was amazing and I enjoyed almost all of the beers (just not a fan of IPAs but I get they are popular). The variety was great and everyone at the table found multiple that they enjoyed.
The foot was great as well and while I found multiple things I wanted to get nothing really jumped out at me. The fried pickle starters were a great choice and really happy that we ended up getting them.

Stopped on our way home, which is an hour and a half from the Café. Came in at 6 to a place full of empty tables only to be turned away because there was a sold out show to a band that would begin playing at 8. They didn’t want to risk all their ticket holders to show up at once and so would not seat us. I suggest the café take reservations for their tables instead of giving ticket holders a 2 hour window to show up, while in the meantime tables go empty and patrons are put off. I’ve eaten here many times but won’t be back. The hostess actually suggested we go to the OIP across the street to eat. (How about suggest that you’d make us take out? We told them we’d not linger and just needed some quick food. Still, they would not seat us. The suggestion then became to go to Lewisburg, as there were «lots of great places there». So we did.).

First time at the Elk Creek last night. The server was nice but very slow and inattentive. We were with a large group, however, so maybe going with less people would change that. Food was average. The onion pita was very dry and bland. 2 of us ordered that and we were both disappointed. Had the beer sampler which was a good deal for $ 10. About on par with some of the other local brews. The back room needs an update to be on par with the front of the restaurant. We’d give it another try, but it didn’t live up to everything we’d heard. Unless the next time is spectacular, not really worth the drive from Bellefonte.

I Love coming to Elk Creek for lunch after hitting up Inglebean for a cup of coffee and browsing the Farmers Market on a Saturday morning.
What I love about Elk Creek is that they source a lot of the food from Local Farms and Businesses they list where they source it on the board behind the bar, the beer flight is awesome and allows you to taste a lot of the unique beers they have. The Ham Sandwich and Burger are both great and sourced locally, the farmer that supplies them with the pork even comes in and eats there on saturdays after the farmers market. They can fill growlers as well if you want to take some beer home.
The bad, since it is such a popular place they often have waits during the evening and especially when there is a band playing. It can put a damper in your plans if you drive all the way there and didn’t know that there was a band playing and the tickets are all sold out.

Deliciously locally sourced food in a sunlit spacious restaurant bar.
Walking in, I felt like that line from Cheers, ‘Where everybody knows your name.‘
My friends knew everyone in the bar, the barkeep, the hostess (who was the bartender’s partner), and ALL of the regulars. One of the regulars came to greet us, because we were a unfamiliar face. Then tried to guess our ethnicity.
Very friendly environment, in an odd sort of way.
My eggs Benedict had locally sourced smoked ham (delicious by the way! Smoked to perfection, moist, juicy, salty ham). My husband’s burger was from local cows, bought from the meat shop in town (Juicy, medium, well seasoned beef). The french toast had a rhubarb compote, which was amazing! (The soft toast was slightly sweet with a touch of butter, with the compote made from rendered flavorful rhubarb).
This place gave a whole new meaning to ‘locally sourced’.
Would definitely come back, if I am in Central PA.

Elk Creek is a local pub, café, restaurant with live music at night. That’s a lot to squeeze in but for a small town I call that a multi-​task social spot! The people are very nice and preserves the friendly everybody knows everybody’s names feel. We were visiting from out of town and quickly became the talk of the local spot it seems. Elk Creek has a wide beer selection of local brews. I love a burger with local meats and Elk Creeks didn’t disappoint, I did however order it medium rare and they made it medium which is fine with me since my policy at a new place is to be slightly conservative. The beers were great and very reasonably priced.

Elk Creek Café + Aleworks has literally put the little town of Millheim, PA on the map as a «destination»!
I have visited this gem of a restaurant/​microbrew many times and have always departed with a full belly and a smile on my face! If I am ever in the central PA area, stopping here is a must!
My all time favorite meal is the local cheeseburger with aioli sauce, well done homemade fries, mushroom soup all washed down with the world’s best «Poe Paddy» porter!

Now THIS is a place I like going to when I visit home in State College. Tasty, local, inexpensive food and delicious beer to go with it! The only complaint is that sometimes the staff is a little out of touch, but not too bad.
It’s definitely worth the drive!

I went here for dinner last night and have to say the food was so delicious. I had the pork cheek pappardelle and it was incredible. The pork is slow cooked in white wine and they use that same sauce on the pasta. The beer was also great and I can’t wait to come back.
Finally have a favorite restaurant at/​near state college.

Very good lunch. Worth the drive. I had fried walleye sandwich special with chips. Wife had ham and cheese with apple chutney on cranberry bread. Well done. Food came quickly for a busy place and service was decent.
Will do beer sampler on next visit.

What does this small town brew pub have to offer a vegetarian? Plenty! It’s exciting to say they have always had a nice vegetarian sandwich or two and a vegan hummus plate. More recently have been dedicated to all of that plus a vegan entrée and vegetarian soup choice every evening meal.
Sitting at a high top table or on one of the elevated stages with good food and a local drink makes anybody, loner or huge family, feel like they belong at the Elk Creek Café. They feature Tait Farm Shrubs and local wines as well as their own established list of beers.
The food menu, self dubbed Nouveau Dutchie Cuisine™, is dedicated to fresh, local foods and we have enjoyed many a wonderful soup and «vegan bowl» with a house crafted micro brew.
Awarded the Elk Creek Café + Aleworks, «Pennsyltucky Veggie 2011 Best Specials,» this place is one of our favorites.