Turf Tavern

The food is fine, the people are frustrating. When we had to cancel a baby shower due to the death of the baby, we weren’t treated the way I would treat someone similarly bereaved.
This is not the kind of business I could recommend to anyone.

Slooooowwwww. And mediocre. A poor choice for our small wedding anniversary dinner.
We arrived at 5:30 as per our reservation. This was our first visit to Turf Tavern but we wanted to try it for our wedding anniversary. We had a party of five. We ordered drinks but no appetizers, anticipating a good meal and dessert. Our meal didn’t arrive until after 7:00. Our waitress stopped filling our water glasses and asking if we wanted more to drink shortly into our long wait. When we finally received our meal, we were pretty disappointed in the quality. Our food was mediocre at best. We all remarked that our local diner serves higher-​quality food. I couldn’t finish my dish but others made out a bit better. We paid and left, not staying for dessert.
We decided to keep celebrating our wedding anniversary. But we will not go to Turf Tavern again.

Solid food, solid service, great value. A neighborhood gem. Must try the shrimp genovese. Will definitely return for more!

In my opinion, the Turf Tavern is a gem in this area.
If you are looking for fairly traditional continental fare, this a really good option. My wife and I have dined here at least a dozen times over the last few years, and it has never disappointed.
The décor, is nice enough, although probably the weakest point of the restaurant, as it is a little dated — I do enjoy the large historical paintings of Scotia that they have on the walls.
The word that sums up the Turf for me, and what makes me really like it, is consistency. I’ve never had a bad experience here. The food, while not super creative is always very good. The service, has never once been a problem.
Unlike some places I frequent, there is not just one menu item I enjoy, but could probably be satisfied with almost any of the menu items — although I do have some favorites — notably the herb encrusted pork tenderloin, and the Savanah’s with chicken (one of the more creative options actually)
Prices are very reasonable for the level of food and service they provide, and there is always the option of getting a 3 course special for a reasonable price.
This is my go to place for an evening out with another couple, since you know the food will be good, and I don’t worry about the service here.

Apparently the Turf Tavern isn’t all that interested in acquiring new business or customer satisfaction. We had friends in town and figured we would try them out. I called the listed phone number to check for the availability of a table for four on a Saturday night. To my surprise an answering machine picked up even though they were open for business. The greeting went on to say that if you are interested in making a reservation please leave your name and number and someone would get back to you, so that’s exactly what did. After waiting for about an hour and no return call, I called again with the same result. I have never experienced such a lack of concern for potential business from a restaurant. There’s really no excuse for not having a host/​hostess available to take a phone call and even worse to promise a call back and not follow through. I can only assume they simply don’t care about potential future business. Why then should I care to give them my business? I’m giving one star only because I have to in order to post this.

This is an outstanding restaurant, my wife feel it is the best in the area. The Fra diavolo is the best I have ever had. Service is outstanding and the prices are reasonable.

I thought this place was ok. very dated inside. the staff was very freindly and was always checking on you, which is nice. the salad dressing was homemade. rasberry walnut I think. super good. the crab chowder was nice and thick. the dinner was good but nothing to rave about. my husband got prime rib and I got the filet mignon with the crab cake. it was all done to our liking but not alot of flavor. the vegetables were super fresh and very tasty. I am glad we tired it. I dont think we would go back. the crowd was on the older side. I guess I like an all around experience to give something more than three stars.

Great quality wholesome food. Friendly service. A nice family restaurant in a simple setting. It’s an older crowd but at least you can trust that you’ll get a good deal for the money you pay! If you have the time to just relax, this is a good place to have a nice meal.

Three of us went last week to celebrate a birthday. It was excellent! Yes, it is an older crowd, but that worked for us to have a quiet dinner. We started with French onion soup. RIch brown stock with plenty of cheese. Salads were fine. Baby greens, tomatoes and good dressings. We ordered one filet, and two prime rib. Each was cooked perfectly. The «birthday girl» ordered an end cut and it was far larger than the 10 to 12 ounces ordered. I liked that the vegetables were served family style. The potatoes on the side were a bit bland but easily overlooked. Service was efficient even though she also had two large parties she was serving at the same time. Prices were reasonable for what we ordered. A real gem of a restaurant!

Glad I finally made it to Turf Tavern. Very good food, diverse menu, and wonderful bartender! Appetizer platters were plentiful and tasty. Veal scaloppine was delicious.

Very nice place with good food. Fabulous service– fast and friendly. We told them we were going to a show at Proctor’s after and they kept that in mind at every turn (even to ask if we would be able to have dessert or would that be cutting the time too close!)
This is a good find.

Good spot for a family get-​together. Catering room in the back.

We went there for restaurant week, it wasn’t too busy. The restaurant is comfortable and the staff is nice. We were seated for about 25 minutes before our order was taken. The food was very good along with the salad dressing. The menu is pretty limited and the portion size was on the small side. I don’t have a huge appetite but I was still a little hungry after salad and dinner. For the money I would probably go somewhere else next time, if only for a larger menu selection and a little more food.

The Turf Tavern is Scotia’s only real choice for fine dining. The food is consistently good and is your standard American fare. There are always unique daily specials. The atmosphere is nice as well — including large murals highlighting Scotia landmarks. I highly recommend the Turf Tavern.

It’s not over the top or fancy and you can tell it’s a bit older of a place but the food is solid and the service is fast. Haven’t run into any huge crowds or wait times there and always walk out satisfied after a decent meal. Won’t knock your socks off but its consistently good and that’s enough for me.

Been meaning to come here for a while. My father in law has been here and said that I would like the food. It is my understanding that they have renovated the outside of this place and it looks alot more inviting than it did before.
So seeing though my in laws had their grand daughter we thought it would be better if we ordered pickup. So my review is solely based on takeout food, although the menu is the same. I wasn’t even sure if they would take a pickup order being a Saturday night but the girl that I talked to said let me ask the chef and she said it wasn’t a problem. I ordered their filet and shrimp Genovese, my wife ordered, wait for it… chicken parm (baked not fried which is a nice change) My in laws split the seafood fra diablo. All dinners were served with a house side salad and bread.. I ordered their balsamic dressing. They said it would be 25 minutes, I thought that was pretty fast especially for this type of restaurant, on a Saturday night.
As I entered to pick up the food I was met by the hostess, she said you are here to pickup food? I was like yea, how did you know? Did my sweatpants give it away? She got a good laugh at it. They were just wrapping the food up as I entered so it was great timing.
As we arrived back at my in laws house, all of us were starving. All of our meals were wrapped in plastic wrap over the to go containers. I started with the salad, it was ok but the dressing was phenomenal! I eat half of the loaf of bread they gave us dipping it into the dressing, it was delicious. My entrees was perfect, the steak was cooked correctly and the shrimp were different, in a good way though. They were breaded and pan fried with some type of yummy sauce on the top of them. I only wish there was more of them, they only give you 2 with the dinner. I tasted my wife’s chicken parm and it was one of the better chicken parms I have eaten, she loved it especially because it wasn’t fried. My in laws seem to like their dish as well.
I will definitely be coming back here to eat in their restaurant. If they can master take out food off their menu I can only image how good their food is «in house».

Headlines of reviews abound in the place, one really struck me as 100% spot on: Scotia’s Turf holds to tradition.
Very traditional restaurant, which is *not* a bad thing, if it’s your’re thing. Slightly older demographic, definitely «fine dining» — I was only person in blue jeans, and was promptly seated in the bar area by the hostess. I was the only person in the mid thirties not driven by a parent as well. In short: not the place where one can discretely write a draft. The glare from the waitress when I had my cell phone out typing…
OK, so the good:
Perfect portion size. 20.10 four course meal is a steal if you order right. 4 different protein options on entrée, apps, salad, desert.
I ordered crabcakes which were very good and a nice flavor. Slightly overdone on the outside but not to the point it ruined them. Awesome cocktail sauce.
Desert: 5-​star chocolate peanut butter pie. Very contemporary presentation, lick off the plate good. But if jeans were a faux pas, I’m sure licking would have been as well.
Keeping from 5 stars? Greens. Specifically, salad greens. Had a dry quality to them — almost gritty. Fresh though. Slightly smaller portion than the bloated bowls most places serve. Balsamic was OK — more of a cream base. Ranch was horrible — tasted like sour-​cream w/​o the Hidden Valley Packet.
So, worth checking out? Absolutely. Just leave your phone in the car.