Tortuga Grille

Stopped in for lunch on our way back to Charlotte. It’s very close to hwy 77. This is a jewel in the middle of nowhere. The owner and staff are very friendly and the food is very good. The prices are reasonable and the service is prompt. If you’re in the area or passing by on hwy 77, you owe it to yourself to stop in and enjoy a tasty meal.

Pleasant surprise to find such a great place in the middle of nowhere! The plantains and wagyu burger were excellent!!!
Great friendly staff and welcoming chef/​owner. Chef came to our table to check on the meal!

Great food in an unlikely location. Amazing fried plantains, incredible homemade onion rings, and a Godfather burger with Wagu beef, grilled pepperoni, provolone cheese, and marinara sauce. Everyone enjoyed their meal in this beach motif restaurant. Food as good as you will find anywhere!

We ordered take-​out on the way to a local winery. Leah was very friendly and helpful in taking our order over the phone, and when we arrived everything was ready. We tried 3 different sandwiches (Reuben, Turkey Reuben, and Roasted Chicken Melt, and all of them were delicious. Our friends also split a spinach bacon salad, and they really enjoyed it.
We substituted either pasta salad or potato salad (instead of chips) for the sides to accompany our sandwiches. The pasta salad was very bland – good ingredients, but the marinade had no bite whatsoever. This is the only thing I’d say that TG needs to work on – a better pasta salad. The mustard-​based potato salad was wonderful, and I almost took my wife’s container away from her.
Overall, a great lunch with friendly service. The vibe inside when we picked up our food was quite relaxed and positive, even in the kitchen. We plan to visit again soon and perhaps eat in. Glad to know that another good eatery is within a 15-​minute drive.

This was my first time at the grill and it was a mostly positive one. The Wagyu burger was good, but not quite $ 16 good in my opinion. I had the spicy burger and it had good heat to it. It was juicy and they will cook it to your preferred temp. It was nice to get a burger that wasn’t over done. The plantains were the only real negative for me and it’s really personal preference. They were a bit dry and bland which usually happens if they are cooked before they are fully ripe.
I do have to say that the service was outstanding and the owner went out of his way to greet everyone who came in and make sure there experience was positive.
I’ll definitely come back when I’m in town again as they have a nice selection of dishes to choose from that sound very interesting.

Great burger menu with great service. The owner/​chef is very nice and always takes the time to make sure the food is good. Great place for lunch and reasonable prices. Ribs and all the burgers are pretty darn good.

Small little restaurant, you might miss it if you’re not looking! Extremely friendly staff, menu selection is alright and their burgers are great!

It’s always a pleasure dining here.
This is about the 5 or 6^th time I have dined here and I thought I had already written a review for Tortuga Grille. Unilocal tells me otherwise so time to make up for lost time.
Tortuga Grille is a small restaurant situated on US Hwy 21 about a mile south of Troutman and about 2 miles north of Exit 42 on I-​77. Easy to get to put kind of isolated so pay attention for their sign and you will be rewarded with great service and food.
The theme of Tortuga Grille is Caribbean although the menu is contemporary American. This is one of the few places where you can get Wagyu burgers with the meat imported from Australia. They also have Certified Angus as well and as good as CAB tastes, you can tell the difference. Music and décor compliment the theme quite well.
Three of us from work visited yesterday and as usual, it was excellent. One had a Caesar Salad which turned out to be hugh, one had an Italian themed CAB burger and I had a spicy grilled Chicken Sandwich. All were considered to be excellent.
One note is that prior to placing you order, you’re served Pita Points with taziki as a dipping sauce. Nice touch.
Again service is excellent and the owner/​chef came out and introduced himself and kept checking back to see that our needed were being met.
Nice dining experience and I would recommend to anyone in the area.

OMG! Just passing through and based on Unilocal took a chance. Did not expect to find Wagyu burgers on the menu! Best ever! My wife had the ribs and they were to phenomenal. The staff is super helpful and the chef took the time to talk to every customer. If we lived near, would be here several times a week. What a great find!

The people that run this place are down right rude and degrading to the employee’s, I herd the woman who works there tell a waitress she was slow and then said that’s right all southerners are slow. Who dose she think she is to be putting down people that work for them not to mention southern people. Go back to where your from lady your no better than anyone else.

Good food, nice décor, excellent service. Appetizer arrived hot, food cooked correctly, burgers were very tasty. Will come again. Good secret in Troutman!

This place has quickly become my favorite restaurant. Tonight my husband ordered the tropical ribs, and I had the spinach salad. We were not disappointed! It was even better than the breakfast.
The price is really reasonable too! Can’t wait to go back!
Wow!
We went for the breakfast buffet. It was fantastic. The chef makes omelettes to order. The ambience is nice and the food was delicious. We will definitely be back. Thanks Craig!

This restaurant is definitely worth getting off the highway for a quality meal. The Reuben
And chicken sandwich were very tasty. Everything was fresh and we loved the pita and Tzatziki sauce served as an appetizer.
It has a charming appeal when you walk in and the smell was absolutely delicious.
The servers are very pleasant and the chef greeted us. I will definitely come back when I pass by again.

It is a big deal when Troutman gets a new restaurant. Tortuga isn’t exactly what I’d call new anymore. They’ve been here for about a year now. But that alone is the testament of how worthy they might be to pay a visit. You see, restaurants tend to be a hit around here but often times they don’t stick around long. Working in the area for 5 years I’ve seen plenty come and go. I do hope Tortuga continues to stick around though.
From time to time I drop by for lunch, so I can’t speak for the dinner-​time atmosphere. I’ve heard they also have a morning breakfast buffet on the weekdays but that just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed the lunches every time. The chef/​owner comes out to greet you while you’re having your meal and makes sure it was acceptable. I won’t lie though, he is a bit awkward but I certainly appreciate the effort. Beyond that, service is great. But if you’re pressed into a short lunch break you will want to order a simpler item on the menu or just avoid the place if it’s a bit crowded.
I have ordered the turkey sandwich a few times. It comes cold standard but you can request it warm and man is it good! Boar’s Head brand meat is all they serve here on their basic sandwiches. But of course you can see they have the «Wagyu» beef option for burgers. Sandwiches and burgers make up the majority of their menu but they have some other excellent sounding items such as the pecan crusted trout (or something amazing sounding like that). They also have plenty of salads to choose from. My main disappointment with the sandwich I got was that the «chips on the side» was literally a bag of Lay’s plain potato chips. Placed beside an inventive sandwich creation it can really dull the whole meal.
If you have a bit of time to spare come in for some beachy jams and try to feel like you’re at a fancy restaurant by the beach. The summer is upon us and there would be no better time than now to swing by. Grab a loyalty card like I did and be sure to come back frequently.

Stopped in the restaurant for lunch after my cat’s checkup at SNIP clinic next door. I ordered the roast turkey sandwich with fries. The sandwich wasn’t very large, but was definitely more than enough. The fries. Let me start over, the fries, tasted like they peeled the potato, sliced it, and then cooked the fries. I didn’t check my watch, but my guess is it took a good 20 – 25 minutes. They were lightly sprinkled with seasoning and were perfectly cooked. The inside was hot and I decided these were the best fries I have ever tasted! Service was great, as was the atmosphere (it was just approaching lunchtime). I look forward to my next visit to SNIP so that I can get more fries!

Wagyu burgers in Troutman? Yes please!
They also have Angus burgers for those that don’t want a 15 $ burger, though I will say that ours were well worth the expense!
We entered late one evening and were seated right away. They were about 15 minutes from closing and we offered to come back but they said the grill was still hot and to come on in. Glad we did!
The waitress was very welcoming and sweet, but it did cause me a moment of mirth that she shared with us that she’d never worked at such an upscale place before. It’s cute, it’s cozy, it’s yummy and well run… but not upscale.
We were served a complimentary appetizer of very mild tzatziki sauce and pita points. I would have liked a little more ‘zing’ in the sauce, but the creaminess was exactly perfect! I liked that the pitas were toasted but not overly done, I don’t like when they break apart upon biting them, so the bit of ‘chewy’ left was just perfect for me!
Neither my husband nor I am a fan of shredded lettuce on burgers, so we asked for a leaf of lettuce. They did not have that but substituted fresh spinach. SCORE! It was such a nice change of pace and went well with my mushroom Swiss burger! I could have done with far less seasoning, but my husband enjoyed his. I asked for horseradish mayo on the side – it was nicely done and one of the few foods I really like zesty so it was a little mild for me, but perfect for those who want a little zing.
My husband loves fries and these were NOT a disappointment! Excellent size (³⁄₈) for the cut, perfectly cooked and seasoned with the exact right amount of salt – I stole one off his plate and while my waistline doesn’t need them, I sure considered having them next time. Exceptionally well executed.
The owner, Craig, came out and introduced himself, was genial and pleasant and seemed genuinely interested to hear our input on the food. We did not order any beer or wine, but they do serve those items there. We also did not have any room for dessert, but would be willing to try in the future based on how enjoyable the burgers were.
Ask for a punch card and earn a free burger after making the requisite purchases.
An absolute WIN for Troutman – this is worth the drive!

Yes! Quaint little place that serves burgers and ribs and typical lunch fare. I hear they have a liquor license for those that enjoy a glass of wine or a beer with their dinner. So far so good! I had a spicy chicken sandwich that came out perfect. I like the fact we can watch chef cooking thru the line. Wish the place we’re bigger, maybe one day!

Excellent food! Excellent service! The owners make it a point to stop and make sure everything is to your liking… Delicious!

I love this place! Walking in the door I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautifully decorated intimate space with lovely music & exceptionally warm attentive staff. Craig the chef & co-​owner was friendly & approachable making a point of coming out of the kitchen to great & speak with everyone.
The menu had a good selection of various hamburger options & their specialty Wagyu burger, along with boars head brand of deli sandwiches, salads & a daily special. A full dinner menu is coming along also.
I had the mushroom burger and my husband had the Wagyu burger. First, I have got to say, as a native of Chicago the Portillo’s burger is what I measure all others against. In the almost 10 years I’ve been in NC I had not found a burger that measured up until the one I had tonight at the Tortuga Grille. From the first bite to the last my happy taste buds said «this is a little taste of Home»
I enjoyed a bite of the Wagyu burger as well and it was simply to die for. I most certainly will be ordering it on my next visit!

Another great restaurant in Troutman! Don’t be fooled Troutman maybe small but it has some of the best locally owned restaurants around and Tortuga Grille does not disappoint! I have been a couple time sampling sandwiches and burgers and the service and food has been stellar. The environment is warm and friendly and it’s a great place for casual dining. I am very impressed with this new little restaurant!