Turtle Jack’s London — Restaurant in Ontario

The good, bad and the ugly🤨 To begin I have to admit that this was my second visit when the first one went really well. That was the good, I gave them 5 stars but now I am taking them back, because consistency goes a long way. Last visit was a complete disappointment and here is why: 1- ordered sirloin steak medium rare, came well done. Don’t order it cause obviously they don’t know how to make it 2- ordered sort of none alcoholic cocktail, and yes was our mistake we should have had asked them without ice but we forgot, so we asked the waitress to get it without ice. Guess what they did, they strained it and brought it back half empty. Now really would it be hard as a good hospitality to top it up? Obviously they don’t know what a good hospitality is. 3- we ordered 2- three course meal $50 each, the waitress asked we could choose sides with the main dish of two, so I picked soup and salad. They charged $17 extra; however, we complained that we were not told for the extra charge. The waitress took it back and we could see the what looked like a fight inside with seemed to be a manager. Wasn’t professionally handled. Our bill for two was $145, ain’t cheap eh. THEY DID DROP $10.. Now comes the ugly: Near table, young lady had her birthday as she told the waitress. The waitress came back with a candle and could hear her say I am not going to sing for you, no body asked her to begin with and by the way she said that to me too as it was my birthday too, NO ONE ASKED HER NOR EXPECTED HER TO SING, so silly , just wasn’t nice . She brought my dessert (part of the three course meal)and stuck a candle on the ice cream instead of the cake. As a customer on my second visit, the overall experience was ugly. When I compared it with Beertown restaurant, onetime waitress made a mistake when we ordered gluten free, the manager came himself apologizing and refused to charge us for the meal, now it is not about the money, but the experience and hospitality makes...

I have recently been to Turtle Jacks twice with my husband, and definitely will be back. The atmosphere is nice, I like the simple upscale cottage vibe from the decor. Our servers both times were very knowledgeable and attentive, we found they had a really nice balance of checking in on us, being proactive, but also giving us space to enjoy our meal. The general manager is also actively walking around and helping out which is really nice to see, you can see he cares about what’s happening in the restaurant.

Food was REALLY good! Came here because my husband had been to a turtle jacks near the GTA and said the chicken tenders were amazing. We both got the NY butter sauce buffalo chicken tenders meals and they were amazing. My husband also got the extreme NY butter sauce buffalo chicken fingers and liked them too. The sides were nice and hot. We thought the portions were great. We also got the garlic chicken rolls as an appetizer both times, and those things are very very good! First time we went we had the butter tart for dessert which was good but maybe a touch too sweet, and second time we had the limited edition fried cherry cheesecake. It was ok, but definitely sat ready in the kitchen for a few minutes because it wasn’t as hot. I got a poolside peach fizz to drink and it was very good.

I only took a star away and I was very torn on this but both times I went, I had the NY butter sauce on my chicken. The first time, they came out a bit more dry on the outside but had a nice buttery flavour. The second time, they came out more saucy but also spicier. We were told that the sauce is hand made, so I’m guessing there’s maybe a bit of inconsistency in their batches. I do love to hear it’s fresh but it’s also nice to know it’ll be consistent when you like something. Would honestly only take away a half star for this because the food was still...

Came in to Turtle Jacks tonight for a quick bite to eat for myself and my partner - I used to come in a lot as a child and LOVED it, so I figured it was a good option.

Once we had arrived, the atmosphere was somewhat disappointing. Very little people - to be fair, it was a Sunday evening - but the environment was somewhat lacking. Our server, Robyn, was very kind and friendly when greeting us. She brought our drinks quickly and they were well done, however that is where the good experience ends.

The French onion soup tasted like burnt onions and a horse’s salt lick - not to mention the fact that it looked like motor oil. There was hardly any cheese. Quite frankly, Madame de Pompadour would roll over in her grave if she saw what you call a French Onion Soup.

We had hoped the entrées would make up for the disappointing appetizer, but it only made things worse. I had ordered the Cajun Four Cheese Penne, which was covered in oil and void of seasoning, while my partner had ordered the Blackened Basa. The fish was cooked properly, yet the seasoning was so subpar, one-noted, and wrong that it completely ruined the fish. The vegetables were so raw it put a new twist on farm-to-table. I might as well have pulled them from the ground myself. The lobster mashed potatoes? I could have made better mashed potatoes from a box. I find it important to mention that both entrées are marked as ‘signature’ dishes.

The most simple way I could describe my experience is that it is akin to the airport restaurant you stumble upon when you have a couple hours to spare before your flight. Completely subpar, completely unworthy of the hundreds of dollars I had spent.

Please return to everything this restaurant used to be, or fire your line cook because he most certainly took too many puffs of the J in the back.

Thanks for taking my money xx

Update — your mints suck...