Tortugas Cantina Restaurant

Why is this place not packed?! We had the carne asada dinner, carne asada tacos, and 2 house margaritas. SO GOOD! We loved everything! Steak was so tender and juicy. We will be back!

Food was OK, expected more really. The service was sooooooooo slow, but the staff is friendly though. There isn’t much I can really else to say

The best Latin restaurant in the area! Many tvs, great food and friendly staff. I ordered the longanizas and Yuca con Chicharron those two plates are delicious. Everything in the menu is absolutely delicious. Oh they also have a great music!

I had the best seafood soup ever. My children ate a great Churrasco with black beans soup. We love it.

We showed up to meet the owner and make final arrangements for a date we had arranged with him for an event. He was late so, while we waited, we ordered to eat. First, they brought me a glass of red wine instead a Pinot Grigio, even though it is on their menu. Then they messed up our order and brought us the wrong dish. Then the owner finally showed up, and he was pretentious and told us he had given our event date away to someone else. And, last but not least, I was made to wait 30 min for my receipt because no one knew how to print a client copy. I don’t blame our server because she was probably not trained well. The owner should pay more attention to detail and get off his high horse.

We came here with my 2 year old on Saturday around 2:00. No one greeted us so we finally sat down on our own and had to go through 3 high chairs before we found one that was suitable.
Chips and salsa were great. Our server who is also co owner was very nice and helped us with the menu. Margaritas were great and food was great. Especially ceviche. They also brought out some oranges for our little one. We will be back and also try their delivery.

Waited over 40 minutes for food only to get the completely wrong order. Ordered Jibaritos and got steak burritos instead. Considering this place is fricking empty right now, I dont understand how this is acceptable. The waiter seemed too distracted by the soccer game on the TV. Highly recommend avoiding this place.

Everything I had was delicious. The steak was excellent. Their maduros we cooked perfectly and not too sweet. Ceviche was also great, we just had the appetizer portion of the shrimp on the tostada. Definitely need to come back to order more and see how the rest of the food is.
The hospitality is so nice, our waiter was actually the owner and he was super helpful!

Long story short, the food is great, but the place is half the time always closed to the public. What’s the point if people can’t come in and enjoy the place. So annoying and I don’t know if I will keep driving here for no reason.

We were at Tortuga’s Saturday night and it was delicious. The food was amazing and the staff were so kind and accommodating. We will definitely be eating here again, so pleased with the service and food.

I was very impressed with this place. I went when it was fairly empty, so can’t speak to what it’s like when/​if it gets loud and crazy. I ordered some big meaty combo plate (Churrasco Guatamalteco) and it was excellent. I’m not usually into margaritas (usually too sweet and not alcoholic enough), but the margaritas here are great. I definitely look forward to coming back to try more things on the menu.

Hours are all wrong! They are open when they feel like it. Went there on two different occasions the first time was closed even though the hours said it was open. The second time I decided to call ahead and the man who answered the phone said they were open until 1130pm. I had called around 9pm when I arrived there was some lights and people inside but the doors were locked. I decided to call and this time can hear someone in the background saying «tell them we’re closed» and that’s what the guy said. I told him I called earlier and HE said they were open til 1130 he replied with a” sorry, come tomorrow” Extremely UNPROFESSIONAL. NEVER GOING BACK. HUGE Waste of time.

Out of this world Mexican. Their fish tacos are nice and big and so fresh. Burritos are grilled to perfection and enough for two meals. Only downside is the atmosphere: It feels like a hotel ballroom set up for a wedding. As long as you can look past that, you will have an amazing meal with good service. Order the guacamole — you won’t regret it.

Absolutely TERRIBLE service! Ordered a drink two times with waitress and finally had to go to bar and get it myself. Appetizer brought out with half of the dinner orders, and food was extremely greasy.

Pricey but delicious. Be aware, they might have crazy loud Spanish language karaōke that will start with no warning. The food was amazing. The ambiance was … Unique. They set it up like banquet style even on days when they haven’t rented it out.

I came here for lunch on a Friday, and it was dead. Jacob Marley dead. There was only one other occupied table in the whole place. Are you looking for a lunch spot that’s not fast food and won’t leave you waiting instead of eating? Then I highly recommend Tortuga’s.
In a neighborhood with Mexican restaurants left and right, this place sets itself apart by being pan-​Latin. You can get a jibarrito. You can get Guatemalan specialties. You can get a regular old quesadilla. It also distinguishes itself by offering smoothies, live music in the evenings, and making everything to order. This includes the complimentary tortilla chips brought to each table as well as the amazing guacamole.
While this is a cantina, it’s not anything like a typical bar. They do have a full bar, but the food is the real star here, and at lunch my daughter was not only welcomed but fawned over by the gentlemen working that day. They gave her a little cocktail umbrella to play with and repeatedly offered to bring more chips when they saw how much she liked them. The portions are also pretty generous, not at all bad for the price.
This place is also conveniently near both the brown line and a bus stop. Parking isn’t too difficult to find most of the time. Getting there isn’t a problem. Making yourself put down the chips and go home, though? That could be tricky.

We stopped in tonight because the place we had planned to have dinner was closed. We’ve driven by so many times and thought we should try. And we were not disappointed! Huge space! Casual décor. Good Food. And friendly owner.
My husband ordered a margarita and for $ 9 it was quite large and flavorful. I had sangria also good. Food was authentic to Latin America; I’ve been to Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Belize, Peru and Ecuador, so I can confirm the authenticity. I had jabiritos and my husband had the Churrasco Steak. Both good. We had a very nice time chatting with the owner about his business, background and Central America in general. Made for a nice evening. We’ll be back!

I have to admit I went in here with really low expectations and left really surprised. The décor here is middle eastern whcih threw me off at first. Thinking it is from the place that was here before… Our waitress though was very nice. We started with the Guacamole. The Guacamole here was very fresh and some of the best I have had. For dinner I had the Carne Asada and it was also cooked to perfection. I would say my only complaint was the loud music while we tried to eat. Over all though the food and service was great. Turn down the music a bit though.

Tortuga’s is a welcome addition to the area. The food is great and represents pan-​Latin cuisine and the margaritas are excellent and large. You can sense great pride in ownership with their food and drink offerings. An added bonus is the incredibly warm and friendly staff and owners. They really want to get to know their patrons and their inviting personalities show in their enthusiasm to get to know you (but not in a creepy or overbearing way).
I’ve docked them a point for ambience. On a recent visit, the owners mentioned wanting to expand their food offerings (which are already plentiful), but I would recommend they focus on sectioning the restaurant, losing some TVs, and turning off the strobe lights and outside sidewalk music. It’s on the verge of tacky territory, but with a few tweaks could be a really central meeting location in the neighborhood.
If you concentrate solely on the food and incredibly warm owners and staff, you will be pleased.

Stopped in last night to check out Tortuga’s and I left really impressed, satiated and eager to return!
For as empty and cavernous as the restaurant may appear from the outside, it’s literally night and day when you eat as a guest there. The staff and patrons I spoke with filled the room with generosity and warmth. Everyone was helpful toward making menu and drink suggestions. And, even though I was alone, I quickly felt included in every one’s conversations and celebrations.
Many diners were eating seafood, but I opted for the Churrasco Guatemalteco. It was a fantastic steak. The best I’ve had in our neighborhood. The cut was of really good quality, expertly seasoned, and cooked to a perfect medium rare. I regret not starting with Ceviche. Everyone was eating it. It looked amazing and fresh. Next time it will be mine!
In a way, I felt a little like I was on vacation. Sipping on Famosa beer, the official Lager of Guatemala, I would at times get lost in the thumping latin beats provided by their in house DJ. For some, it might be a little loud. But, I kind of liked the vibe they were trying to create. They mentioned that Thursdays is Karaōke and they have a full catalog of Latin and English songs. The weekends are centered around latin dancing with music provided by a DJ. In May they’re hosting a famous Guatemalan rock band called Viento en Contra for two shows. This piqued my interest a bit, and I politely asked if the DJ had any of their music. They quickly changed the song for me. And again, I was turned onto something new and enjoyable. The songs were a lot slower than I expected. But you could hear the emotion in the melody and singing. Even though I didn’t understand any of the words, I could sense the heartbreak and longing, or proclamations of love being sung.
Thank you Tortuga’s for such a welcoming experience. I hope other gringos, like myself, take a chance. You are a great addition to the neighborhood, and I can’t wait to return many more times.