Turtle Jack’s Muskoka Grill

My husband and I went to this location yesterday for New Year’s day for our first lunch date of 2016. This restaurant was just as good as the Clarkson location. They weren’t very busy yesterday since it was a holiday so we pretty much had the place to ourselves, besides the group of people who were hanging out in the bar area. I was immediately greeted by a friendly face upon entering and she gave us the choice of either sitting at the bar area or in the dining room. I opted for the dining room as it was more quiet and my husband and I are very introverted.
The menu selection was only one page so I wasn’t overwhelmed with a long list of items to choose from. We ordered and shared the calamari appetizer, which came with white sauce (don’t know the name but it had a nice flavor) and cocktail sauce and it was the best calamari I’ve had in a while. Usually, other restaurant calamari is very rubbery but this one melted in your mouth. For my main, I ordered the fish avocado tacos with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy and the presentation looked nice when it came out. The mashed potatoes and gravy tasted fresh too and I pretty much cleaned that out quickly. I was a little disappointed with the tacos though. They tasted good and had a nice flavor but it was a little on the dry side and I think it was because I asked to have the pico sauce on the side since it had jalapeños and I’m not a fan of spicy food. However, I still took the second taco home and I’ll eat it for breakfast today and add some of my own seasonings.
Our server was pleasant and she checked on us regularly and at the right times and I like how she asked about any food allergies that they should be aware of. I’m allergic to mangoes and I usually would have to take the initiative myself to tell people that. Also, the restaurant manager came out once to check on us personally to see how we were liking the food.
What prevented me from giving the perfect 5-​stars was the price, which I think was a bit high for a casual restaurant setting with pub style menu items and the tacos as I tasted more meat and barely any avocado. However, this didn’t really ruin our overall experience and we would definitely come back here whenever we’re looking for a good sit-​down restaurant.

Went here for a late lunch today on New Year’s Day (yes, they were open). Great place! Solid 4-​star restaurant.
We started with the calamari, which tasted delicious. The breading was nice and crispy, and the inside was nicely cooked (not chewy).
I had wings with fries as my main. You have a choice of whether you want larger wings or smaller crispier wings. I went with the smaller wings. The wings were great! I tried their NY buttersauce as my wing sauce and it was really, really good.
Portions were not bad too. The price could have been a little cheaper ($ 16 for wings and fries), but no real complaints — the prices are fair.
Overall, great meal with good service for a decent price. Easily a 4-​star place.

Love this place. The staff is always friendly and attentive and the food comes out in good timing and is always fresh. We will definitely be back. ⁵⁄₅!

I do like the food at Turtle Jack’s. However, I haven’t frequented this location for anything but drinks. The bar area is nice and rustic, really good for a winter-​time date.
I ordered my usual margarita. Here goes:
Margarita Rating: ⁵⁄₅
They didn’t serve it in a proper margarita glass, or even a cocktail glass; and they put ice in it. This is never the usual way to serve a margarita. But taste-​wise? Top-​notch!
Can’t wait to go back for food.

Visited here for the first time, overall the service was pretty good but the food was really average, nothing really stood out that would have us coming back regularly.

I had a pretty good meal at Turtle Jacks two nights ago.
My niece loves the place and this is the first time I’ve visited this location since they became somewhat more upscale. Besides her and I, I’m not sure the rest of the family likes it.
My sister in law and I shared the Valentine’s Special which was an appetizer, 2 entrees, and a butter tart for $ 50.
We had the cheese dip, I had the 4 cheese pasta, she had the steak.
My pasta was cheesy, fatty, and delicious. It reminded me of the chicken pasta at the Pickle Barrel. The dip was delicious, even the kids ate it.
My dad who also ordered the steak said it was really tough.
I tried some of the blackened basa (also on the 2 for $ 50 menu) and it was quite tasty but pretty small.
The butter tart looked like a giant cork. It was hard, but boy was it good!
I’m not a fan of butter tarts but I liked this one.
It is served with ice cream.
I think their food is a tad overpriced but it’s tasty and I like it.
Our server wasn’t too attentive, our glasses were only filled when we asked and it took a while for her to come back around before we could order a second pitcher.
The manager was extremely friendly and good with kids.
I had an enjoyable dinner.

Overall, good experiences when dining there. Most recently, we were served by John who, although very busy, was very friendly and made sure to check in on us. He was also amazing with our 15 month old. I had the stir fry, my husband had a steak, and our daughter had a burger with gluten free bun. My only criticizm of the stir fry is that the green onions in it were far too plentiful, especially since they were large slices and not diced/​chopped.
Overall a great family dinner out and we’ll definitely be back again.

Had seen various locations and was interested in checking it out. Went to this location few months back. It wasnt bad but I did not find it worth spending money eating out on. Actually had high expectations but have to say it failed to deliver. Food in general did not have much taste, very plain. Forgot what I had for main but also ordered wings. Wasn’t bad but i found the sizes seemed smaller than most place. I will not be returning to Turtle Jacks.

Some good things on their menu but most doesn’t entice me. Everything I’ve tried has plenty of flavour though.

You’re eating up in Muskoka somewhere. No, you’re not. You’re eating at a chain restaurant made to look like a cottage. If that’s true, why are the servers dressed all in black with short skirts? They should be wearin’ plaid or something.
Now onto the review…
It’s OK. Just like how the décor isn’t related to the uniform, the food doesn’t really scream COTTAGE. In fact, I’m sure a good majority of it is similar to Jack Astor’s, Shoeless Joe’s, Milestones, etc. Menu-​wise, it’s pretty standard, nothing stands out. There’s burgers, wings, fajitas, blah, blah, blah.
I ordered Basa Fish Tacos ($ 12.99). Wished that it was a better kind of fish, but it was the cheapest and blackened as opposed to battered. There was too much stuff going on top: lettuce, guac, pineapple salsa, and some sauce. It came with a HUGE side of your choice (soup/​salad/​fries, etc.), but they weren’t listed on the menu.
My meal was ok. I was full after the 2 tacos, didn’t touch my salad. Apparently the Blackened Basa was really good with garlic mashed potatoes underneath. Calamari was just standard. Fish ‘n Chips looked a bit greasy, especially fries since they were underneath the piece of fish.
Nothing super memorable and nothing I’d go back running to.

I come here every so often and I always leave happy :)
I like the staff, they’re friendly and attentive.
the décor is alright with me, nothing fancy but nothing tacky.
I’ve actually never been to that bathrooms, I usually look out for that because they say you can tell how clean a place is based on the cleanliness of the bathroom lol
but from the eating area everything seems clean so that good to me
the food is great but I find it to be inconsistent at times…
sometimes ill order the same thing and one day it will be delicious and other time it will taste different, I don’t know why that is, I don’t know if they have different cooks or whatever, but it makes me unsure of what to order.
the cocktails are nice very tasty, I love those
and the desserts are undeniable :)
food = ⁴⁄₅
service = 4.5÷5
cleanliness ⁵⁄₅

fast and nice service i believe we were served by the manager or someone with higher power cuz he did not have a standard uniform. he was super friendly and nice, we ordered nachos with chicken and they were absolutely delicious, and the seasoning was fantastic! definetely the best restaurant in the meadowvale area, been there a lot of times and will be definetely going back!!!

We decided to try out Turtle Jack’s through a WagJag promotion. It was an overall good experience — the food is reasonably priced, the portion sizes are what you would expect from one of these chain-​type restaurants. The food that I had was done well, although not outstanding. So, I would say that the restaurant was good, but not great. But I certainly would be willing to try it again. Our server was outstanding though.

Love this place! I am never disapponted when I go here. The food is great the service is good. It is a smidge expensive but it is worth it. Tip, try their wings roasted dusted they r to die for.

The food is really good, but maybe overpriced a bit. The portions are okay. I got the Chicken Parmesan with Alfredo pasta. It was really good though, i wouldn’t mind having some right now actually.
Our server was really nice and attentive, but not overly attentive. She kept checking on us for refills or if anything else was needed. Overall my part of the bill came around to $ 23 plus tip, which is okay. I got stuffed so that’s important. I would definitely come back for more.

I am torn between three stars and four for Turtle Jack’s because we actually had a really bad mishap during our visit but the food was surprisingly all right.
We had a party of four, and I ordered a veggie burger without cheese with a side of fries and my husband asked for the same. I’m not sure how, «I’ll have the same thing» = beef burger? (Especially when you brought me a veggie.)
The waitress didn’t apologize and eventually the manager (I guess?) came over and asked how he liked his veggie burger but didn’t apologize for the mishap or even offer to compensate for the fact that he had to wait an extra fifteen minutes for his meal while the rest of us ate. I guess because my husband didn’t yell or get upset, I guess they didn’t feel the need to go out of their way to adjust our first impressions. Something like that is really not okay in my opinion.
That said, mistakes do happen and I know that I wouldn’t be opposed to eating there again if our family in Mississauga wants to dine out. If it was a habitual thing, obviously this review would have fewer stars.

A group of us went mid week for a late dinner. It wasn’t very busy and service was mediocre. Food was as expected for chain restaurant. Tried something new. deep fried pickles! Yum!

Not sure about meals, but it gets 5 stars for drinks and appetizers. The schooners are HUGE. About as tall as the butter knife on the table. There was Heineken, Coors and a handful of others on tap for pretty cheap. The beef nachos were delicious. We also got the three cheese dip, which was served with pitas and nachos. Make sure you get them baked instead of fried! The guys were also able to watch the game and service was pretty good too.

Meal portions are small, unappealing and totally overpriced.