The Turtle Club — Restaurant in Bonita Springs

We did not have a great overall experience at the Turtle Club. It first started with trying to get reservations: we were going to be in town over specific dates and I could not find reservations online even though I was looking about a month in advance (for the non-busy season too, early June). I decided to call instead - couldn’t get a hold of anyone. I tried over multiple days during business hours around lunch and dinner, and ended up calling about 10-12 times - no one ever answered. I finally found one spot available online for when we would be in town and I snagged it.

First, parking: you have to park in the beach parking lot down the road about a block and walk if you don’t want to valet, there’s no good parking nearby.

Second, we walked in to see about 5 hostesses standing at the check in area. Five? And no one can answer the phone?

Third, the indoor seating is cramped and not relaxing. We were seated next to the aisle (it’s hard not to be, there’s only two rows of tables on each side of the main walkway between the kitchen, bar and outdoor seating) so it was incredibly busy with hustle and bustle of servers and hostesses and management. NOT relaxing at all. It’s super loud. Also - for as hard as it was to find a reservation, we were there a little over an hour and only half the tables were seated at any given time. Odd.

Fourth, food was overall very good but I unfortunately ordered the “special” for the evening of a seafood pasta and it had no sauce on it, just pasta noodles, chunks of seafood and herbs. It was honestly a weird dish. And, not cheap at around $50. We had chowder, bisque and oysters to begin with that were wonderful and my husband enjoyed his drink, but nothing here is cheap. Even a frozen pina colada in a plastic cup will cost you $18.

Fifth, we had flies all over us the whole time we ate. Our waitress was very apologetic and said it just happens this time of year but my husband could not focus on enjoying his food without swiping flies away from his head constantly. I don’t know what the fix would be, we were right by two different exterior doors that were constantly opening and closing so it’s hard to see a way to prevent this, but still - for one of the nicest restaurants in Naples, you don’t expect to be swatting flies away.

The positives: it’s a Naples institution and if you’re able to sit outside, the views may make up for other issues. Our waitress was sympathetic and addressed our concerns and they gave us a dessert on the house to make up for my pasta dish being underwhelming. The chowder and bisque were very good, as was my husband’s sea bass.

Overall: I think it’s probably hit or miss and in our case an unfortunate set of circumstances. If I had ordered a different entree and we didn’t come at a time of year when there are flies all over (although this is the only place we experienced this), maybe we would have been more impressed. It’s just so darn pricey though that they really have the burden to impress and unfortunately, this time...

Such a beautiful and wonderful dinner experience with my fiancé while watching a great sunset at the beach at the Turtle club!

Yes, reservations it’s a must! We decided to wait until till the snow birds were gone to enjoy this place since we are locals and figured it might be less busy. We decided on making a reservation for outside on a Saturday at 8pm knowing that we wanted to make sure we got the sunset view and we weren’t going to be going there during dinner rush hour/ traffic. Regardless this place is always busy. They have a decent amount of tables inside and outside. The parking situation-valet, some in the street but also there’s a parking garage which is free if you have a beach pass which is what we did, t’s a short walk, less than 5 minutes. We arrived early, knowing we would be willing to wait and walk around the beach however they were able to seat us early. Awesome! Our server Melinda was so friendly, helpful, she was very efficient, we were very impressed with the service she provided. For our drinks we went with the Lychee, Piña Colata martini, and Spicy Pineapple margarita all 3 were very delicious, they did not feel too sweet and had sufficient alcohol to not make you feel like it’s a waste, we hate getting watered down drinks that are full of sugar and no alcohol. For our appetizer we decided to share their Turtle bread and Cream Lobster bisque, WOW. We normally don’t care for bread but their pretzel bread and butter was unique and delicious. Their bisque was enough for both, very tasty, we would get both again! For my entree I went with the Sea Harvest, I don’t even know where to start.. shrimp, mahi mahi was the fish, lobster, scallop with their jasmine rice and oyster turtlefeller and asparagus was to die for.. I couldn’t finish it all and took some home for lunch the next day, it still was just as good. I would 100% get this again! My fiancé got the Miso Marinated butterfish and I got to try some, it truly melts in your mouth.. we couldn’t have been happier with our choices. This time we decided on no dessert, but will consider it for the future for sure. It’s pricey for sure but well worth it, not only do you get delicious food but also a beautiful view of what FL has to offer. We will...

This was our first experience at the turtle club. We received a gift certificate as a Christmas present and was very excited as this place seemed highly recommended by a lot of people. I think certain places just get hyped up because of the location and the amount of money that you have to spend at these places. Everything wasn't terrible. The view is gorgeous, as most are in Southwest Florida. The drinks we ordered while waiting where made well and the valet service was very nice... Those gentlemen hustle and we're extremely kind. My wife said her tenderloin sandwich was decent and the lobster bisque was not bad.

Now for the bad. My ceviche appetizer was what look like little pre-cooked frozen shrimp with a little bit of scallops, nothing to write home about. I normally eat very clean and have a very strict diet. I prefer to prep and eat my own food but it's nice to go out every once in awhile. So I figured I would have a cheat meal at a high scale place and thought their burger would be phenomenal. I was very wrong! Not only was it a very thin underweight Burger, it had no taste at all. They hype it up in the menu with a blend of meats... Not worth it at all! The best part of my meal was the romaine lettuce in my side salad which I could not finish because the love bugs were swarming everywhere. My wife threw her knocking over the other half of her sandwich and we both got up and left without being able to finish our meals. Apparently this is a known problem but they do nothing to try to prevent this from happening in the future. I understand these are insects and they're going to come back do what they want to do but there are options out there for these situations. Especially for the outside...