Turf Club - Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

[nedlanders]

Headed to SSR in Jan and considering an arrival meal at Turf Club. Any recommendations or should we avoid?

 

[peabody58]

We've eaten there 2 times in the past year. It was good but could be better. Service was top notch. The convivence factor of not having far to go for a sit down meal makes it worth the effort. DW really liked it, but I'm a bit more critical, especially when I pay the bill.

 

[nedlanders]

Thanks, @peabody58. Any menu or cocktail recommendations ?

 

[OKW Lover]

We've eaten at Turf Club several times and always enjoyed it. It's a somewhat quiet, out of the way place. Pretty much a hidden gem.

 

[DVCjj]

I've never eaten there but my DD/SIL absolutely love it. Crazy about their Prime Rib and for years (until they closed) our family went to Lawry's downtown Chicago a lot for prime rib so if they say they liked Turf Club's, I really need to try it soon.

In fact. I was just looking today at my MDE reservations and noticed (because they are on Family & Friends) the first place they are going when at Disney in a couple weeks is Turf Club (for I'm positive..Prime Rib).

 

[zackiedawg]

Over the decades, it has varied in quality - but I'd never consider it thumbs DOWN - it's either thumbs sideways or thumbs up. The past year to year and a half, I've found it to be thumbs up - a chef change around that time resulted in some notable improvements in quality.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We enjoyed our most recent visit. DW had the prime rib and I had the salmon. I consider it comparable to Ale & Compass or Trattoria al Forno in terms of food quality, service, and price point, a reliable choice for a resort meal. We usually eat there one evening if we’re staying at Saratoga Springs.

 

[nedlanders]

I do love some prime rib! Looks like Turf Club is a go.

 

[cluvsdisney2]

It's one of our favorites and try to go every time we're in Disney. We've always enjoyed our meals and except for once, had great service.

 

[nickster91]

Headed to SSR in Jan and considering an arrival meal at Turf Club. Any recommendations or should we avoid?

Ate there this past Sunday.

The service was great.

The rest of it, not at all great. We all had the prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables (zucchini and yellow squash). Both of the sides were tiny, especially the vegetable, which was also terribly salty. Honestly, they were like the sides you'd get at one of the food courts when you're ordering the roasted chicken or salmon meal (not surprising).

The food came out too quickly (which makes it questionable) and was not hot. The prime rib was terribly fatty. It was a good size, though, and tasty, albeit salty as well. I should've got the red wine reduction au jus on the side, because it too was terribly salty. In fact, the overall salt content of the meal was questionable.

Not sure when the restaurant was last renovated, but they haven't done much with it. It's dark and a bit on the dated side, but some may feel that's what gives it character. And honestly, it wouldn't matter if the food was stellar (which it is not).

Prime rib was $39. It was not worth the money. The restaurant was also not busy, so the lack of quick turnover of food might have contributed to its mediocrity. But also, from doing some research, it looks to me like some of these restaurants are just piggy-backing off each other. For example, both Boat Wright's (at Riverside) and Olivia's Cafe (at Old Key West) have the same item on the menu, prime rib, with two sides that vary. And judging from the candid images and YouTube candid reviews I've watched, it looks like it's all the same food. They're all receiving the same prime rib and using the sides from their food courts.

Oh, they served Parker House rolls with the meal. They were slightly stale. Once again, Disney was using old bread and toasting it. At the end of the meal, the bread was falling apartment in my hand. Disney has a bad habit of toasting non-fresh bread and rolls. We typically request that all bread not be toasted because of this, but didn't mention it this time.

We are often stunned when people well-praise these Disney restaurants. I think it may be that where these folks live there are just chain restaurants or they don't often eat out. I'm not sure. We live in a big city in New England and have access to so many independent, unique restaurants with good food. We've never understood Disney's incessant need to be terribly underwhelming and overpriced at their table service restaurants, with much of it being food court food kept in warmers, unless the only concern is about making a buck (which seems to be the case). Also, not sure the Disney Dining Plan helps the cause any.

Again, the service was great. And it's sad because the restaurant is so underwhelming. I'd like to see these great servers be able to serve food quality in which they can take pride. What a disservice to the average worker, but that's capitalism at its finest for you.

 

[ilovebassets]

Ate there twice. Service and atmosphere are fine. The first time the food was quite good but more recently, it wasn't great. It's fine if you're in the area but I probably would not go out of my way to eat there.

 

[justinslot]

So I don't want to start a new thread for single question, and this appears to be the most recent Turf Club thread: when did Turf Club get a burger? It always struck me funny that this place, the only sit down restaurant in a huge, sprawling resort, did not have a burger on the menu, despite being classified by Disney as Casual Dining. Hope I am not misremembering this, I remember the menu being all entrees, not a sandwich to be found.

Were the adults were ordering off the kids menu for cheeseburgers and chicken fingers before? Perhaps the new chef (mentioned upthread) decided the adults deserved their own burger. (I'm just glad they didn't mess with the prime rib.)