Turtle Bay Tavern

(888) 449-6845

987 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10022 40.756261 -73.967512

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Neighborhoods: Midtown East (Turtle Bay), Midtown, Midtown East

TURTLE-BAY.COM

Hours:

Daily: Noon - 4am

Last updated 8.17.11

Category:

Bars & Pubs, Catering, Taverns

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Diners Club, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Brunch, Private Rooms, Group Dining, Live Music, Food Delivery, Fireplace, Bar Scene

Cuisine:

Traditional American

ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “Definitely recommend for parties, or Thursdays through Saturdays for a really great night of dancing and fun!”
  2. “Service is great and friendly, the atmosphere is intoxicating, and we all had a BLAST for my friend's birthday!”
  3. “It gets a bit crowded but the bartenders are friendly, women are good looking and you've got a good chance at a buy-back every three rounds - overall a fun place to hang out and tie a load on.”
  4. “like the atmosphere of the upstairs bar.”
drinks
78.13000202178955% positive
  1. “must say this is the worst bar ever in NYC”
  2. “Open bar of top shelf liquor for them meant taking empty bottles of expensive liquor and filling it up with dollar store brands to trick everyone.”
  3. “The food is really good, in fact, surprisingly so for what I initially thought was just a bar.”
  4. “went with a friend who had a half-off happy hour deal, and the drinks were still neither good nor cheap.”
  5. “Basically if you never untuck your button up shirt, enjoy dancing to hiphop with your arms above your head holding a bottled Bud Light, dig girls in fishnets and uggs, and think lack of breathing room is the sign of a great bar?”
  6. “Turtle Bay is a great after-work and weekend spot to enjoy drinks with friends.”
  7. “So I had to order another drink from another bartender down the bar.”
  8. “It's a shame a fairly decent bar can be completely ruined by horrible service.”
  9. “The service was great, fast drinks no hassles for anyone in my group, just one big PARTY.”
  10. “think that Turtle Bay is a great local bar and restaurant.”
  11. “This bar has rude, bigoted bouncers that discriminate patrons based on sexual orientation.”
  12. “The 2nd floor bar/lounge with 3rd floor catwalk lounge is easily the most impressive space one can find along the East Side 2nd Ave strip.”
  13. “They were all very attentive and made great mixed drinks (epecially the female bartender).”
  14. “Great music, great people and they have the large windows open in the bar in the summertime to let the air in, it's very nice.”
  15. “We got so frustrated with our waitress, who stopped by twice over the course of 2 1/2 hours, that we had to order everything from the bar.”
  16. “like the atmosphere of the upstairs bar.”
food quality
60.0% positive
  1. “The food is really good, in fact, surprisingly so for what I initially thought was just a bar.”
  2. “The food is also very tasty and comes in good portions (I highly recommend the barbecue chicken wrap!)”
  3. “The food was terrible, and several of us felt sick because of it.”
  4. “Great staff- two floors, tunes and food.”
  5. “The pizza sauce tasted like it came out of a 79 cent can of bad tomato sauce.”
overall
90.0% positive
  1. “If you are looking for a good place to have a birthday, DO NOT go to Turtle Bay.”
  2. “think that Turtle Bay is a great local bar and restaurant.”
  3. “Lots of regulars, but it's a good place to meet, too.”
  4. “It gets a bit crowded but the bartenders are friendly, women are good looking and you've got a good chance at a buy-back every three rounds - overall a fun place to hang out and tie a load on.”
  5. “nice place, but rude bouncers”
service
67.7400016784668% positive
  1. “lousy service”
  2. “There is a bartender named John who makes a great mojito.”
  3. “friendly bartenders.”
  4. “The music is always fantastic, and the staff is hilarious.”
  5. “It's overcrowded with slow service.”
  6. “Awful clientele, rude management”
  7. “So I had to order another drink from another bartender down the bar.”
  8. “Great music, great people and they have the large windows open in the bar in the summertime to let the air in, it's very nice.”
  9. “The service by the bartenders was abysmal and the bouncers were rude and misogynistic.”
  10. “The DJ was sick, I highly recommend this place, not to forget the hot bartenders.”
  11. “It gets a bit crowded but the bartenders are friendly, women are good looking and you've got a good chance at a buy-back every three rounds - overall a fun place to hang out and tie a load on.”
  12. “nice place, but rude bouncers”
  13. “The service was great, fast drinks no hassles for anyone in my group, just one big PARTY.”
  14. “They were all very attentive and made great mixed drinks (epecially the female bartender).”
  15. “He's friendly and mixes a perfect cosmo.”
  16. “Sadly, the service staff are completely rude about accomodating games for everyone, even when there is the same game on two TV's next to each other.”
  17. “It's a shame a fairly decent bar can be completely ruined by horrible service.”
  18. “heard they had good bartenders and wanted to check it out.”
  19. “Secondly, the service at Turtle Bay is awful, awful, awful!”
  20. “The bartending service is outstanding.”
  21. “It comes out fast and the wait staff is very good.”
  22. “This bar has rude, bigoted bouncers that discriminate patrons based on sexual orientation.”
  23. “While the bartenders were nice enough, they could in no way make up for the rest.”
  24. “Service is great and friendly, the atmosphere is intoxicating, and we all had a BLAST for my friend's birthday!”
  25. “The bartenders are amazing.”
  26. “Great staff- two floors, tunes and food.”
  27. “We got so frustrated with our waitress, who stopped by twice over the course of 2 1/2 hours, that we had to order everything from the bar.”
  28. “The bouncer was COMPLETELY rude and out of line.”
  29. “The daytime bartender is awesome.”
  30. “Great customer service & Hot Bartenders”
  31. “It took 5 minutes to get their attention back and get them to move out of the way for the huge line of people going up.”
value
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. “Open bar of top shelf liquor for them meant taking empty bottles of expensive liquor and filling it up with dollar store brands to trick everyone.”
  2. “went with a friend who had a half-off happy hour deal, and the drinks were still neither good nor cheap.”
  3. “It took 5 minutes to get their attention back and get them to move out of the way for the huge line of people going up.”
  4. “The food is also very tasty and comes in good portions (I highly recommend the barbecue chicken wrap!)”
  5. “Do yourself a huge favor and NEVER GO HERE!”
  6. “(they have blue moon on tap) and prices are great.”
wait time
50.0% positive
  1. “It's overcrowded with slow service.”
  2. “It took 5 minutes to get their attention back and get them to move out of the way for the huge line of people going up.”
3 Star Rating: Average

12/13/11

Nothing really special

by egeiaicacm

Drinks are cheap, the bar is crowded and there is some room upstairs. The staff is inconsistent, some are very friendly, some are not, or annoying (like this Brazilian girl who is hitting on you just to sell you shots). The music is OK, sometimes it's too cheesy though.

Nothing really special about that place, but I can't say i had a bad time.

PS: the bathroom guy is very annoying, I don't need to pay someone to hand me napkins.

1 Star Rating: Poor

09/30/11

Horrible/Discrimination

by jt103

I, of asian decent), just got into from the city celebrating my friends birthday and upon arrival at the door, the bouncer told me i wasnt allowed in for wearing a white shirt. so i abided by the rule and began walking away. soon as i start walking away, a patron (white boy) walks out wearing the same exact shirt. i go to the bouncer and asked why he was allowed in. the bouncer (black, 6 ft, big man) told me to f* off and learn the rules. i go towards the other bouncer (little spanish man, 5 ft 5) and ask the same thing. the black bouncer told the smaller bouncer to not tell me a damn thing cause he doesnt need to explain anything to me. the little bouncer just told me that i was rude and i was a mother f*er. the big black bouncer then told me and my friend (her birthday) to f* off or else. Stuff like this happens in NYC? i doubt it. ive been to NYC a lot and this is the first. i felt humiliated in front of everyone. when i spoke to the bouncers and told them i would call up and complain. they laughed and said it wont do any good. They said they would guarantee they would still have their jobs.

im skeptical about the other reviews on this page. if you cant even get past the bouncers, how do you even make a review about this trash.

1 Star Rating: Poor

09/30/10

Definitely DO NOT Recommend

by LuTs

I considered having a birthday here in July. I spoke with Erin on the phone, the coordinator listed on the site, and stopped by after work to make the arrangements in person so I could check out the space. I was completely ignored for a while and then the waitress kept saying she would get her for me. When Erin finally came down, she just gave the waitress a business card to pass along to me...I was RIGHT there. Extremely rude and unacceptable customer service, not to mention the sticky floors and frat house scene (and this was only 6pm on a weekday). I ended up having it at Traffic across the street and had a great time!

In Short: If you are already tipsy and just passing by, this place may be tolerable to stop in and dance for a while, otherwise, keep moving! Its crowded, dirty, and the staff if totally disorganized and rude.

1 Star Rating: Poor

06/18/10

Worst Bar Ever in NYC

by Randy86

I was here on June 6.. Bouncer started a fight with 3 patrons one of them being a woman. I witnessed the entire situation, Bouncer completely lost it..he threw the poor woman into the door-she was SOBER...all she wanted to do was notify her friends that she will be waiting for them outside. This took place at 3:15AM...Cops came to bar...the bar got away with it because she was forced to drop the charges due to it being a weekend (central bookings no judge so have to wait until MONDAY). I must say this is the worst bar ever in NYC ...WHY ARE THEY STILL IN BUSINESS?! Stop going to this BAR you will enjoy the bars down by 8th st or Mc dougal...lol I should have checked their reviews before going to turtle bay...obv..I'm not the only one that has had a bad experience...Owner if your listening either run a bar right or close it down..the little fat spanish guy who happens to be a manager is so disrespectful. Staff at the Bar. Bouncers. (oh and apparently this bar is the only bar that uses a shady company to hire bouncers...guys must be fresh out of jail with a criminal record)

  • Pros: NONE
  • Cons: The entire STAFF is Horrible, No Respect for their Patrons
1 Star Rating: Poor

06/08/10

HORRIBLE SERVICE!!! Cheesy 80's music.

by sephsosa

I went here for an after work event in which all invitees got a wristband for half off on drinks. Sounds fun, right? WRONG!!! As the place got more and more packed it became nearly impossible to get the bartender's attention for service. I and two of my friends who are female tried for about half an hour until I finally tapped the bartender on the shoulder, and he responded by cursing at me. I laughed it off and then 5 minutes later he spoke to me again saying how I could never reach over the bar and blah, blah, blah... He wore glasses and looked like a sad man. Anyway, after this sensitive bartender's shift ended he told the next bartender on shift! So I had to order another drink from another bartender down the bar. My friends explained to yet another bartender our story, and she gave us a round of drinks on the house to make up for it. Still I will never go here again. The music is a bunch of Jersey Shore 80's fist pump anthems that are warmly nostalgic until after about half an hour. Do yourself a huge favor and NEVER GO HERE!

  • Pros: Yeah, right...
  • Cons: Rude bartenders, awful music.

The Details on Turtle Bay Tavern

Place Categories:

  • love place
  • friendly hot bartenders
  • horrible service
  • enjoy drinks
  • great local bar
  • rude bigoted bouncers
  • great bartending service
  • great original music
  • very tasty food
  • worst bar
  • very good wait staff
  • bad experience
  • best live music
  • especially liked bouncer
  • worst nye
  • great happy hour
  • highly recommend barbecue chicken wrap
  • great acoustic rock
  • rude management
  • sick dj
  • awful clientele
  • most impressive space
  • like atmosphere
  • great weekend spot
  • comfortable turtle bay
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