Purple Turtle

Overall awesome yummy experience.

Three for the ice cream because that’s really good but their food is kinda greasey and not very good. The service has always been very friendly. So of you go I would recommend getting the ice cream.

Oh the purple turtle. Not just a landmark that you tell people to turn at, but rather, a Utah institution. As it should be. But, have to say, if it wasn’t for the nostalgia that is tied to this place for me from my childhood, it would just be another burger joint. Nothing special, just decent fast food. But sometimes that is just what you need. It was a tad bit pricier than some other similar burger joints but with a name like The Purple Turtle I guess they can afford to be a little more liberal with their price range.

Stopped in here on the way from Phoenix to Salt Lake on a roadtrip one weekend.
We each had shakes and they were fantastic. Hopefully next time I get to try their tater tots.

Purple Turtle is a weird one for me. I grew up in Pleasant Grove, where everyone knows what the Purple Turtle is. When I was a kid the only restaurants that I knew existed were Purple Turtle and Taco Amigo. When you gave directions to someone over the phone, turn right at the Purple Turtle was a key part in how to get to your home.
While it is the iconic PG restaurant, it is only 3 to 3.5 star food. Every once in a while as I drive by I’ll get the weird craving. Some sort of craving that can only be satisfied by mediocre burgers and tots or english chips. When that happens I try to fight it and then go through the PT drive through.
The food isn’t bad, it’s just not that good either. Purple Turtle is always a visit of regret, but it does make the craving go away for a little while, and it’s always nice to visit a place of childhood significance.
They do have great fry sauce and decent shakes though. I would avoid the burgers though.

This is the best place for tots and fry sauce. Their shakes are so yummy and thick and delish! You won’t be disappointed :)

This place is ridiculous! It has a fast food feel to it, But restaurant quality food. And the employees are SO funny and friendly, and don’t even get me started on their ice cream. My family has been going here for years, all the food here is fantastic. If you don’t like purple turtle, YOU’RE WRONG.

I’ve been to this place up and down the country and back and forth and though they all have different names, I can tell you exactly what kind of place it is. This is small-​town burger joint, which means that it’s good (enough?) for the area, but not competition for any sort of vibrant food scene, typically around population centers. The locals throng in to buy the local football team some burger combos if they win and gather to commiserate, if not. Families come here when they want to «eat out», etc. etc. I won’t ever be there at night to find out, but this wouldn’t surprise me if it’s a local teen hangout. It’s fine for all of that. Indeed, if there is any «small town» place left along the I-​15 corridor from Ogden to Springville, it’s probably Pleasant Grove, that doggedly insists on rejecting the sweeping «progress» changes experienced by its neighbors American Fork and Lindon.
In another way, this really reminds me of the Iceberg chain, with a heavy, heavy preponderance on shakes and little regard for the food. I will never likely be there at a time when I want a shake, so I probably won’t be able to confirm that. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing; they seem very proud of their fish (especially from a price point — yowza!), but the listing for the restaurant here is for burgers, so I’m going to presume that’s what brought them to the table.
As to those burgers, instead of grilled jalapenos on the jalapeño burger, as listed, there was basically just those pickled jobbies. Little flavor and less heat. Pepper jack cheese was not noticeable because of whatever dreadful sauce they used to soak the lettuce on the bun heel. I had to toss most of it. Burger flavor on that flabby slab is nearly entirely absent (this doesn’t seem like a quarter pound patty, either) and the bacon gets entirely lost as well. I’ve had worse, sure, but then we get into damning the place with faint praise.
The sweet potato fries were good and they did have a passable Coke Zero mix on the fountain, so points there. The place is also very nicely decorated and inside is extremely clean, far cleaner than I would have expected and definitely cleaner than many of those other small-​town burger joints I’ve wandered into… but I never went to the old place and part of that may be due to newness. After a while of driving by and not stopping in, I did and now that’s done and it’s doubtful it will be repeated.

Nice and welcoming on the outside… Depressing on the inside. Food was decent. Big burger. Not a bad price

A fantastic landmark, Purple Turtle delivered as expected. The food was good, the service was average, and the experience was decent overall. I would return to Purple Turtle for lunch in the future. I enjoyed my food but was underwhelmed by the taste. The bacon was good, albeit it tasted more like McDonalds. The fries were awesome and the fry sauce was incredible! I throughly enjoyed the fry mountain that came with my meal. Overall, very deserving of its landmark location.

When my family and I first moved to Utah we were told The Purple Turtle was a good place to have dinner. We went, it was horrible. Too greasy, quite honestly made me sick. About 6 months later, we decided to give it another try. Again, way too greasy. And yet again made me sick. Will not go back

Ahh the Purple Turtle. This place takes me back. Not only is it a landmark and perfect point of reference when giving directions (turn left at the PT, turn right at the PT, etc.), but they make great shakes and fries. And their fry sauce is arguably the best in town – I’m pretty sure they use fresh onions in it.
Stopped by on my recent trip to Utah and grabbed a Banana-​Peanut Butter shake and fries to share with the gf. Mmm.
I miss you, Purple Turtle.

Stopped in for a quick snacky-​poo
Whipped up a bomb Banana & Peanut Butter creation that paired quite nicely with the hot salty fries (always a winning combo if you ask me).
Also the fry sauce is pretty legit, I swear I tasted fresh onions in there.
Service was fine, and the place was quite purple. I can’t speak for the rest of the menu but I was pretty satisfied by my choices that day.

Sorry to say but our family’s first visit to this joint confirmed what I have long suspected, it can’t be the food that brings locals to this place, it must be the fact that it’s one of a few burger places in town and people have nostalgic memories of coming here for generations.
The food was overpriced and boring. Actually it was nostalgic for me as well, it took me back to jr high school lunch. Greasy tater tots, and nasty fry sauce. The onion rings were warm and seemed Like they had been under a heating lamp too long. I had a cheap replica of a pastrami burger (crown burger destroys this counterfeit attempt). The pastrami was thick and tough almost like a soft beef jerky.
If you’re in the area you can take your chances, it may have just been a bad night to come, or I would suggest going to chubby’s café down the road. The difference in my opinion is like night and day.

A little pricey for what you get, but still good. As always, the hubby loved everything. The onion rings are awesome! And the classic utah fry sauce. Yum. Don’t get the potato gems. They are the same kind you can get frozen at Walmart. Burgers are great. Chicken is great. Shakes? Amazing.

Awesome hamburgers and shakes. I love the English fries. Order the mile high burger!

I’d thought about going here for almost 20 years and finally I did. The burgers were decent, but my heart fell in love with the tater tots. Delicious! Anytime we pass through Utah County we get our tater tot fix! It’s a great Utah burger and shake joint. Always busy.

Cute, home towny, tasty, overpriced, needs larger beef patties and slices of cheese, tons of milkshake flavors. I’ll be back if I’m in the area, but won’t be coming here specifically for it. I would give 4 stars if the prices were more competitive.
I ordered the jalapeño burger. The burger was really thin, lean, and tasted good. The bun seemed almost like a deli bun, pretty good. It had pepper jack cheese, but so little that I had trouble tasting it. Bacon was nice and crispy. Good, but a bit overpriced at $ 6.14 with tax.
Purple Turtle has a great home town feel to it. Very cool looking turtle mascot too. There are several cute and well done water color paintings of the turtle inside. It would be fun if they had Purple Turtle stickers and coloring books for the customers. I bet it would raise sales with the kiddos wanting to visit more often.
Several types of burgers available. Some had ham or pastrami on them. LOTS of different yummy milkshakes available.
The tables have a monthly pamphlet with interesting things to read, cool stuff.
Bathroom was single occupant, spacious and clean.

About what you’d expect. Their ice cream sundae is way overpriced and substandard. Their fries are good. The place is a good memory for people like me who grew up nearby, but it’s a typical fast food joint that’s slightly better than chain burger flippers but not as homemade as other drive-​ins, diners, or dives.
5+ visits

I’ve been going here since I was a kid. It hasn’t changed much. Got a soft spot for the purple turtle. Its been here since 1968. Partly because of service, location and decent greasy food. What is not to love?
I got no illusions about this place. I mainly like it because its been here so long. The PT is a step back in time where you roll in, get a burger and a malt with your best gal, and leave full. Every city should have a place like this.
They’re not going to win any culinary awards anytime soon. Even so, I hope its around for another 45 years.
The halibut is a hair pricy, but they gotta do what they gotta do, and I seem to keep ordering it. A pretty good Jalapeño burger is on the menu. Throw in some tater tots and some fries… This is just basically good food. the service is good as well. They keep the place clean, they do their best. Ketchup, fry sauce and lots of napkins are on your table.
A privately owned old school hamburger joint with a little bit of style, and the flavor of shake you probably love. I hope these places don’t all disappear. Go eat here. This is the kind of business that should be supported.