Turner's

My companion and I were anticipating a lovely dinner in a beautiful setting on a quiet Sunday evening... at least we had the beautiful setting.

We were greeted promptly as our waiter took our coats to hang in the closet while showing us to our table.  The small dining room was comfortable, quiet and beautiful.   It was all we expected from a highly touted restaurant in a boutique hotel downtown.  

We made our first mistake by not asking our server what the best, or most popular dishes were or even what he might recommend, but we didn't.  We did ask if there were any off menu specials, and our server could have used that as a point to tell us no, but that one or two of their regular dishes were especially good, but that didn't happen either.  Instead we set off on our own to orderr way too much food.

We both started with the shrimp cocktail.  The shrimp were fresh tasting, large and perfectly chilled.  The cocktail sauce was good, but with St. Elmo's being just a couple of doors down, it was hard not to make the comparison.  Turner's sauce was a bit sweet, giving it a mass-produced, bottled flavor, but it was pretty good.

Next I had the soup... Asparagus... while my companion had one of the salads.  Both were very good, and if we had stopped our meal there we'd have left relatively happy.  but the entrees would soon disappoint.

Perhaps we should have taken the hint that a manager was not on the schedule on Sunday evenings, so the wine cellar was locked up.  With just me drinking wine I ordered a glass of Argentinian Malbec.  The server quickly returned to let me know that the wine room was locked and asked if I would like a nice blended red from the bar... I declined.  He then begged my patience and disappeared for a few minutes.

Being a conscientious and resourceful waiter, he soon returned with the Malbec and while pouring the glass let us in on the "secret" of calling the maintenance man in for a "problem" in the wine cellar which allowed him time to sneak in for the bottle.  I give the waiter credit, but Restaurant management gets the furrowed brow.  Didn't quite understand that deal... but the wine was very nice and I was looking forward to my meal.

I ordered the strip steak, rubbed in Ancho chilies, grilled and finished with roasted peppers, green lentils and red wine sauce, while my companion ordered the Filet Mignon with a horseradish compound butter.  Both steaks were cooked just as we had ordered.

Our problem started with the first tastes.  We were not provided with steak knives, but both of us thought the serrated table knife should have been up to the task, but it wasn't.  Now, you might expect the strip steak might have needed a bit more oomph from the cutting tool, but with the some good filets hardly needing a knife at all, you would reasonably think that a simple serrated blade would be more than enough.  Well, at that night at Turner's you would be wrong.  Both of us needed steak knives to effectively manage our $35 and $36 steaks.

I don't know that I've ever experienced a filet mignon that was as tough to cut and chew as the one we were served.  My strip steak was something I'd expect from Golden Corral or some other cafeteria.  it was poorly trimmed, gristly and the lean meat was laced with sinews that made it seem as if dental floss was running through the meat.  Even with a steak knife, I had to saw my way through much of the perfectly cooked, and largely unseasoned, medium rare steak.  The quality of the beef was so poor neither of us even half finished the dish, and it took some effort not to reach for the salt shaker to give a bit more flavor to the steak.  I cannot tell you how disappointed both of us were.  And adding insult to the sub-standard experience was the $250 that it cost us for the evening.  But searching for a silver lining, we did venture for desert.

Sugar Cream Pie and Brandied Creme Brulee put a little sweetness into another wise sour meal.  Both were very, very good, but it just emphasized for us, how far short of expectations that Turner's proved to be.

Perhaps if we had gone with a recommended dish our evening might have built to a satisfactory end.  But as it was, decent starters, horrendous entrees and terrific deserts just didn't make the mark.  We'd have been much happier had we just walked a few steps further and dined elsewhere.  Heck, we'd have probably been happier eating at the Steak and Shake across the street.

If Yelp allowed half stars, I might give Turners a star and a half... the extra half star earned from the combination of beautiful setting, terrific desert and attentive service.  But as we experienced it, I can only recommend that you spend your fine dining money elsewhere... or at the very least stay away from the beef.

Gregg M and I went here in an effort to find good drinks in Indy,  First off, I thought the space was decent.  It was a good sized bar and the staff was friendly.  In terms of my drink - it was good, perhaps not as great as we have had in the past, but still well balanced and infinitely drinkable.  I would go again.

Really tasty food that I probably would give 4 or 4.5 stars out of 5.  However, we had some very awkward situations happen during our meal which, unfortunately, bumped my rating down to a 3-Star overall experience.  If it wasn't for the delicious food, I probably would have had to have given 2 stars based on the odd service that we received.  

The place was probably half empty when we arrived for our 7:00 dinner date.  We had to awkwardly wait for a few moments at the hostess stand before anyone arrived - perhaps 2-3 minutes.  The hostess greeted us, took us to a table, and then immediately left.  We had no menus, wine list, or anything.  We sat like this for probably five minutes until our waiter walked up to introduce himself - he said "Well, I see that you have been seated, but it seems like that is all that has happened at this point...." He asked for our drink orders, but we couldn't order a glass of wine yet since we hadn't even seen a menu or a wine list.

The hostess came back a few minutes later and handed us menus.  

We thought the odd service was hopefully over at this point.  I ordered chicken velvet soup and the "Trio" entree - three cheese risotto, beef wellington, and a mini crab cake. My date ordered the lobster bisque and the pasta with meatballs.

We both loved our soups. I didn't try the bisque, but my date said it was delicious.  The chicken velvet was creamy, flavorful, and hearty, with small chunks of chicken mixed in with the creaminess.  The pretzel rolls were some of the best I have had- they are brought out hot, one at a time, and served with a soft, whipped butter.  Our plates were immediately refilled each time we finished a roll.

Then, more awkwardness arose (unfortunately).  My date was informed that the pasta the kitchen had could not be served.  Our waiter asked if it would be alright to serve a meal of meatballs and potatoes instead of pasta, sauce, and meatballs.  Really? Meatballs and potatoes?  My date said no thanks, and ordered the chicken marsala instead.

We waited quite some time to receive our entrees since our order changed so late in the meal.  Our waiter promised us desserts on the house to make up for the lack of pasta situation.  

I didn't try the marsala; my date said it was decent to pretty good.  My trio was slightly on the small side, but the beef wellington was incredible, and the risotto was yummy.  The crab cake wasn't my favorite and was absolutely tiny.  I was already full from eating too many pretzel rolls, so I wasn't concerned about the small size.

We ordered two desserts to go since they were promised to us on the house. However, we ended up having to pay for them, despite being promised free desserts!  We felt awkward asking to take them off the check, but were disappointed that they were not taken off without us asking.

Even though we had to pay for them - the apple tartlet was very good, and the homemade sugar cream pie was TO DIE FOR.  They were a little on the pricy side at eight bucks a pop - especially since the sugar cream pie slice was so small.

Overall - really good food, a classy ambiance with mood lighting and nice decorations, but really, really bizarre service kind of turned our night upside down.  I would like to give them another chance simply since the food was so tasty.