Tortuga's Saltwater Grill — Restaurant in Port Aransas

My husband Dr. John Schmitz and I tried to get in to Tortuga’s for dinner on Saturday night but there was a two hour wait, despite the fact that the host did not say that when we called on the phone. We went back for my birthday lunch today and because we had our elderly Bichon Frise Tucker with us, we were happy to be seated outside. An elderly woman from Port A was there with her dog and the two pups sniffed each other and wagged their tails. We sat down to order our lunch and a couple with an aggressive pit bull came up the staircase and the dog attacked our dog. He was not injured and they were seated far away from our dog and the other friendly dog. The manager came out and asked us to leave, despite the fact that it was clearly the pit bull causing the chaos. As a former lifetime news anchor and reporter, I have done many stories on pit bulls (and especially what can happen to children and the elderly when they are attacked.) It was clear the manager knew he could make more money from a native of Port Aransas and he would not allow me to explain what happened with the pit bull and inaccurately said our dog was “off his leash, at least twice.” That is not true. He came out with our food and asked us to leave. This could not have been a more unhappy experience for my birthday and I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Port Aransas. We are guests at Cinnamon Shores resort and our condo accepts dogs and this is the only rude behavior we have encountered on our trip thus far. We went to Doc’s last night and Tucker became the hit of the restaurant (all the waiters asked to take pictures with him.) He is nine years old and has NEVER bitten a person in his life. This experience ruined my birthday and leaves me saddened that Tortuga’s manager would throw my husband Dr. Schmitz, my dog Tucker and me out of his establishment. Go ANYWHERE else (Finn’s, Trout Street or the Roosevelt) for a FRIENDLY dining experience. Sincerely, Dr. and Mrs....

Not sure why Google is asking me about rooms, but the ambiance in the restaurant and outside was fantastic.

We looked at a lot of menus, reviews, and recommendations for a fun girls' night out dinner that we could get dressed up. We are not drinkers so didn't need a bar feel.

For starters, we ordered the truffle fries (3/5 because they needed more of all the toppings and were a little expensive, but were great and there were a lot) and the clams (5/5 - I did not order the cajun butter, but got the beurre blanc sauce instead). For entree, we got the seafood pasta (5/5 the scallops were amazing and even though there were only 2, they were huge) and the pesto pasta with chicken (4/5 because it needed more parmesan, which the staff brought). For dessert, we got the tortuga cake (4/5 because it had a lot of sauce, but cinnamon and nuts were delicious. Couldn't really taste the date butter), creme brulee cheesecake (5/5 because it was so light, airy, smooth and the homemade whipped cream was amazing), and the chocolate lava cake (5/5).

When we arrived, we stood at the host desk and they ignored us for a few minutes as if we weren't even there. It was very odd to not even say hello.

We chose to sit outside in 60 degree weather with the heaters on and it was so delightful.

The best part of our night was our waitress, Emily F. She was so friendly and personable. She took time to be with us, answer questions, make recommendations, and was very attentive throughout the meal.

We...

2025: We have passed this restaurant for years and finally decided to stop in. There were six of us including two yutes. I was very surprised to see the inside of the restaurant - modern, great decor and up scale for a beach and fishing town. We chose to sit outside under the covered patio in May. The service was great and the food was great. The bill with tip was $300 so a bit pricy and not alcohol drinks. The shrimp cocktail was yummy. They all like the mostly meat crab meat appetizer. Our guest couple had the shrimp poboys with a ton of french fries. They like the poboys a lot, no iodine taste on the shrimp. I didn't have any, but the fries were my kind, thinner, crispy and no seasoning. One yute had seafood pasta when he scarfed. My lady had crusted (mahi or flounder) that what cooked just perfect, on orzo with grilled asparagus. That plate was cleaned. Our yute had a large Caesar salad which was emptied. I had an amazing amazing pear salad with grilled shrimp. This was one of the best meal experiences we have had in 20 years of coming to Port Aransas. Great job. The server was just a nice gentleman and friendly. We...