Turtle Bread Co./Pizza Biga

05/09/11

Tuna salad was not fresh!

by etaco at Citysearch

Ordered a tuna salad and didn't realize it was actually a tuna sandwich, with the bread underneath the tuna. It actually tasted fine but I learned later in the evening that it was not fresh as I got sick to the stomach and vomited. This just reaffirms that tuna salad is never safe unless it is made at home! I also had a choc. chip cookie which was good but I can't overlook the tuna salad incident! Being from out of town made this an especially unpleasant experience.

10/06/10

Turtle Bakery -Clueless

by madcat44 at Citysearch

My daughter and I have been "trying out" Turtle Bakery in Linden Hill for years. We keep giving them another chance because of the good reviews they have received in the past.. No more.

At today's lunch, two items were edible - iced tea and coffee. The carrot soup was totally lacking in any seasoning - not even salt or pepper. Someone in the kitchen is not familiar with artichokes: the artichoke soup had the "choke" in it! Mmmmmm - chewy. The grilled cheese and tomato sandwich was burned - not just over-toasted but mostly black. Wouldn't you think they would not serve a totally burned sandwich? We never get around to the dessert (which may be why they are still in business) because the other food is so bad.

That's it for Turtle Bakery for us.

10/02/10

Decent bakery, but lousy restaurant

by mslacraq at Citysearch

We've lived in the neighborhood for many years and have visited Turtlebread often, and it was once one of our favorites. However, I'm disappointed to report that in the last two years, the quality of the food and the service (especially at breakfast) have dropped considerably. After avoiding them for a few months, we gave it a try for breakfast again the other day to see if they'd figured some things out (on our last two visits they'd blamed the problem on a "new person in the kitchen") but alas...no.

First, the positives: The bakery items are yummy. Also, many of the soups are consistently pretty good.

Other things are hit and miss. The service, for example. Sometimes the people seem lovely. Other times they seem surly, utterly clueless, or too preoccupied to bother. Dinner items (pizzas) are also hit and miss. The last time our group had pizzas they were uneven. One was ok--not up to Turtlebread's former standard, but fine--but the other was uneven--seriously burned in parts, raw in others.

Breakfast trips there have been particularly problematic. The french toast has been fine on occasion, but the eggs...whoever is doing the cooking should be arrested for his crimes against eggs. They are consistently slimy and either over- or under-cooked, swimming in layers of oil and grease.

On our most recent trip, I ordered the mushroom fritata, my husband had the french toast and a side of eggs. His french toast was edible (though uneven--one piece was burned, one not cooked well at all). His eggs were slimey and very oily. He used a napkin to soak up as much of the grease as he could, and choked most of them down.

My fritata was inedible. The eggs were overcooked and rubbery, and the dish had SOOOOO much butter and oil in it that the taste of the oil completely overpowered the taste of the eggs, white cheddar, mushrooms, seasoning, etc. Two hours later my mouth still felt slippery and had that oily taste in it (and I only took two bites!) I sent the dish back. They offered me to remake it (uhh...why would I want that given how bad my husband's food also looked???) but not to refund me for the horrid dish. So, I got a bakery item instead.

All in all, I really want to like this place--I'd loved it in the past, it's a local business, and it's a nice place to hang out. However, given the relatively high price point for the product/environment, the inconsistent service, and serious problems in the kitchen I'm not likely to be back anytime soon. I get the sense we're not the only ones who've noticed the decline--the place used to be packed at the time we were in there--and it wasn't. Plus, I've been hearing similar comments from others in the neighborhood. I do very much hope to hear in the near future that the management hears and takes seriously some of this kind of feedback and is able to make changes to restore the quality.

11/29/08

Don't bother.

by pjeffrey at Citysearch

Surly service, and way WAY overpriced. I just picked up two pizzas. Their sausage fennel and white cheese. 28.00. There were 6 pieces (dime sized) of sausage on the sausage pizza and both pizzas were small to medium sized at best. It was Sat. night and the place was empty. Figure it out folks!

• Pros: Pizza crust is quite good.
• Cons: Horribly overpriced. 3.00 for a cupcake?

10/24/08

Lousy Service!

by averageMinneapolitan at Citysearch

Turtle Bread has a large staff, but few of them care to descend to the grubby duty of actually waiting on customers. The prices are high, and the food is pretty good, but one always has the impression that the staff is inconvenienced by your presence. Several times I've waited at the counter to buy something, while only a few away workers are having a conversation, not willing to suspend it a moment to make a sale. It is only through the extreme patience of customers that this place stays in business.

• Pros: Food is usually good.
• Cons: Very shabby customer service, indifferent staff