Turbarlence Tavern — Restaurant in Queensland

So, Turbulence, what a fitting name for the experience.

Although we had issues with the entrees as well, my experience with the main will be enough of an example…

It wasn’t too busy and we placed the order at 6:05pm.. and out came our simple yet tasty garlic bread, bacon and cheese bread.

How ever at 6:55pm we received our mains.. AND GOD DAM.. I tell ya.. I need to take out shares in Bridgestone.. Yokohama, or Goodyear. What ever brand of rubber they served me, because I’m more than confident it would upset the car shoe market!

It was supposed to be Medium-well.. which even the home cook knows.. it’s pink.. and juicy.. yet no blood. It was very evident it was forgotten, because one side of it was PROPER BLACK! I mean crunchy charcoal, and the other not at all.

Check out the photo.. the whole Steak is the one I had first.. I seriously cut into while laughing.. and with those greens.

$50 for that! I was seriously laughing. $50 for 2 burnt beans, 3 burnt baby snow peas, and single 1.5” piece of carrot about 3mm thick!

I almost never return a meal. I eat it for what it is.. maybe say my piece and move on, but wow this was just unreal.

So I take it up to the staff and they agree to cook it again.. when I received it it was 7:40pm.. this time.. the amount of greens was decent.. still not $50 worth but it was cooked perfect.

How ever the streak was worse! Haha! Like fully over cooked.. this time..he/she took it to the next level. Even with no other orders present it was 100% void of moisture and colour, just the kind of product Bob Jane would be proud to stock.. (see second picture) if I had ordered well done.. fine.. but I didn’t and specifically told the stuff that is was over done the first time.

So how do you fix it? Well, If you look at the first picture, you will see the sauce is in a ramekin.. However, on the new steak, it was poured all over the steak I’m sadly going to assume..it was in an attempt to cover up it overcooked condition of the second.

I just ate it.. we had been there almost 2 hours for..well, really just 2 meals. You can basically forget the bread because it would have almost to bearing on the mains.

3 times eating here. I won’t be again..

I should have just played it safe with McDonalds. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Ps, short Asian guy holding the bar down was the only reason I didn’t demand my money back and leave. 100% professional...

I come to Mackay frequently and stay at the Ibis once a year, just to remind myself why I choose not to say here regularly. The Turbarlence tavern and Restaurant is always just a little off. The prices are exorbitant, a schooner of draft ginger beer is nearly $15, my local in Brisbane charges $9, just because the hotel is conveniently at the afield they shouldn't be asking these huge prices. Doesn't matter if you order entrees and mains, they always arrive at the same time so the main goes cold while you smash down the entree. My Caprese salad (3 ingredients to a Caprese) didn't have basill, so it was a two ingredient salad. Not bad, just strange, it's not Caprese without 33 1/3% of the base ingredients. The staff sort of float around is a weird daze, never making eye contact in case they are needed to do something outside their job description (or within their job description) my finished meal sat at my table for an hour before I finally asked for it to be cleared. Mackay isn't a metropolis or fine dining hub, I get that, but getting things right shouldn't be that hard. I guess I'll review again...

We wanted to try somewhere new & were pleasantly surprised by our awesome experience at Turbarlence! Our Server was absolutely lovely & nothing was too hard! It was a Special Occasion for us & we celebrated in style with our gorgeous coctails! I will even go so far as to say that this was the best Espresso Martini that I have ever tasted! It's my favourite drink so Ive had many, this was perfection & a great start to our night. The meals were top notch 100% full of flavour. The quality of the produce was pleasing & quantity was also satisfying. We ordered our meals via QR code scanning & paid via this option. This was convenient for us. However you are welcome to go to the front counter to order. The drive out to the Mackay Airport to visit this beautiful restaurant is definitely worth it. Thanks so much for a...