Turner New Zealand

Recommends

Ghen

Joined 5 years ago

They are out of biz as of early April 2008. They are out of biz as of early April 2008

A real loss they were wonderfull - good staff, food and location

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sctlocal

Joined 5 years ago

It's Organic!. I think this restaurant closed down but I loved it. The food was excellent. You couldn't go wrong with anything you selected. My favorite was the Lobster sashimi and the orange roughy meditteranean style. The servers were always friendly and sometime the owner was there for a chat.

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zeesters

Joined 5 years ago

you get what you pay for. my bf and i had reservations last valentine's day at turner's but wasnt able to go because the ballet show we were watching turned out longer than expected. they didnt charge us the cancellation fee which is so nice of them. since its like an unfinished business we had to do.. we ended up getting a reservation for a later date and it was one of the most amazing dining experiences we've had. I was thinking it was just right that we didnt end up going there last valentine's because it would have been packed. we went there last night knowing what to expect from the reviews i found online. I ordered the venison steak which was cooked perfectly! the server was very knowledgeable of the menu and when i asked my steak cooked well done.. he recommended that i ask it cooked medium rare and i was glad i listened to him. the meat melts in your mouth. if you had dentures and removed them you could still eat it. the pinot noir glaze complemented the meat really well and the garlic mashed potatoes was soft and flavorful. my bf had lambchops which i tried.. it was good too but not as good as my venison. the venison tasted like buttered fillet mignon done right! we had fresh oysters and calamari tempura for appetizers. The seafood was fresh i can tell. none of those calamari meat that you had to fight and gnaw through just to swallow it. the tempura batter of the calamari wasn't starchy and overwhelming. the oysters are perfect.. the way i expect fresh oysters to be. my pinot noir paired really well with my meat. the chocolate souffle was to die for. add to that the very attentive staff and great service. it wouldn't have been a perfect dining experience if there were minor inconveniences.. there was none when we went there. once in a while, it is nice to treat your corporate slave gut with a 100 dollar meal. you owe it to yourself. treat yourself like royalty and you wouldnt mind at all how much you're paying for it. dont forget to check OCPAC for shows when you go to turners.

Doesn't Recommend

SocalTy

Joined 5 years ago

Very Overrated - Inconsistent quality, bland meats, very salty broths, but very good service. I'd like to preface this review my saying that I'm an expert on steak and lamb and I have sampled numerous restaurants' offerings in search for the best. I don't usually write reviews, but a brief moment of altruism has compelled me to do so.

3 Strikes Rule applies here for me. I'm an optimist by nature so I was hoping each subsequent time would improve.

Each time I went to Turner, the food was either very salty (mussels in lemongrass broth and seafood bouillabaise) or bland (the lamb 2ack and filet mignon). The meat may be hormone free, but I sure can't taste the difference...wish I had just stayed home and grilled my own seasoned 2ack of lamb or ribeye.

On the last night I was there, I complained to the manager (Matt?) telling him my experience. He replied by apologizing for the saltiness and said it was due to the new French cook and gave me his business card, saying that the next time I came there I should ask for him and he will "take care" of me.

What about this time? The bill was over $250. French cook or not, it shouldn't be so salty.

Compounding the negative experience, my parents were in town for a Med. conference and I wanted to take them out to a nice restaurant...they were unhappy with the food as well.

Contrastly, the service was above average. They were very polite, professional, and had good timing when it came to checking in on us.

Convinced I would never go back, I quietly filled out a comment card and left. I never heard from them despite leaving my contact info.

I am very surprised how Turner NewZealand is ranked so high on CitySearch. Perhaps I dined on backup-chef night. If taste is of any importance to you, especially at this price point, there are many other choices within a several mile radius. There's a place across the street with an amazing seafood gnocci, warm chocolate cake, and fantastic music. Mmmm. I won't mention the name of that restaurant to maintain the integrity of this review.

Happy Dining.

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walt0x007

Joined 5 years ago

Extremely pricy, good food and a mediocre presentation. I received a gift card for $100 to Turner New Zealand for my birthday. My wife and I went and were unimpressed. We didn?t expect $100 to cover the tab, especially with a glass or two of wine each, maybe a cup of coffee and sharing a desert. However, we drank water, had no wine, and skipped desert and the coffee, and still spent the entire gift card.

The atmosphere is nice, although the building is a long hall-way like room only about 15 feet wide by about 50 yards long. Therefore, tables are arranged along the wall in a long single file row which explains why they need the pricing model they use. A simple rib-eye cut was ?thirty nine dollars? and is what I would expect for a range of $18 to $25. They don?t have enough room in the building to run an efficient restaurant.

The presentation of the food was also quite dull. My rib-eye, and my wife?s 6 oz porterhouse came as a single chunk of meet on a white plate with nothing else. Our one accompanying side dish were equally as bland in appearance.

The service was fine, and the waiter was knowledgeable, friendly and attentive.

It was my last trip to Turner New Zealand though. I?d far prefer spending my next fine dining experience at Bistango where the food is exceptional, the food?s presentation amazing, and the atmosphere equally pleasant.

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divaenea

Joined 6 years ago

Not as great as they say.... I was really excited about coming here to celebrate a new job. I had heard so many great things! The service was attentive and friendly. First I had the caesar salad, which was one of the best I've had in Orange County. For an entree, I ordered the lamb porterhouse. When it arrived, I was disappointed. There was very little meat, to start with- a lot of bone. The lamb wasn't especially juicy or tender. The meat was accompanied by mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms in a special glaze. The potatoes and the sauce were so over-salted that I just stopped eating them after a few bites. For the price I spent on that porterhouse, I could have had a much better steak at someplace like Mastro's.

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aguythateats

Joined 6 years ago

They call it an 'experience'. I will start by saying that I enjoyed my dinner, so dont think you are going to get to read some mean stuff. let me take you on a timeline type review.

So I walked in and was immediately greeted by the girl at the desk. Very friendly, good first impression.

I didnt have a reservation but it wasnt a problem. The manager walked up as she was getting menus and he said hello and took us to our table. let me say, the restaurant is very different. its all one row of tables with super high ceilings. after a minute of getting used to it, i really thought it was very cool. so we sit down and the tablecloths were clean and white and all the place settings were very clean and neat. huge plus. so many places leave out the little details. we are greeted by out server. i think his name was Larry. super nice guy from the start but the speech he gave was a little long. but there was some cool history about the owner and the food. the menu was really simple which was nice. my only complaint is that there were WAY too many appetizers to choose from and everything said Turner on it. in fact, every other word out of the staff's mouth was Turner. it was really annoying actually. marketing i guess. on the flip side though, everything we ate was really good so i guess i would want to put my name on it too.

we had some questions about wine that the server wasnt sure about so he got the manager for us to talk about the wine list. i think his name was Max or Matt. anyway, he recommended some really great wine for the appetizers and a REALLY great bottle for dinner. he even removed the label for us and affixed it to some thick paper to preserve it. both him and Larry were the highlight fo the evening for us. (although the food was VERY tasty. the venison is awesome!) my wife and i had a blast talking with them both and learning about the area. BTW Larry-Good luck with acting and Matt (max?) good luck with the police

Very good experience!!

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tamanachang

Joined 6 years ago

Best service and food. Just got back from South Africa and was so impressed with the food and service there...... I thought there is no way you can match the service and food I experienced there until i was at Turner's....

Not only is the food wonderful but the service and the wine they have!!

Way above OC standards.

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strapp002

Joined 6 years ago

The Best Steak Ever. If you are considering trying this restaurant don't hesitate. Turner New Zealand?s has one of the best steaks in Southern California. I have dined at this restaurant many times of the past few years and have never been disappointed by the service, food, atmosphere, or anything else for that matter. The servers are very attentive yet they don't hound you or continue to bother you with questions. They have very good wine knowledge and have the ability to make recommendations for anything on the menu. The price may be a little steep to some whom are not used to finer dining but trust me it is worth the price. The only real down side is that for me it ruined every other steak that I have ever had because they just don't live up the quality of Turners.

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yochans

Joined 6 years ago

Best lamb ever. After scouring this and other review sites, I finally decided to make reservations at Turner New Zealand for my parents, celebrating their 34th anniversary. I called in on Wednesday to make the reservation and the woman who helped me was wonderfully courteous leaving me confidant my parents would have a magical evening. My father, accustomed to eating lavish cuisines all over the world on a corporate budget declared the lamb he ordered the best he's ever had. My mother enjoyed the 6 ounce filet mignon. They both ordered soup, one a spanish sausage type soup, the other the lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was a bit sweet. They also enjoyed a dessert, something called a pavlov (sp?). They said it was heaven. My parents were also wowwed by the service, claiming it was some of the best service they had. I would highly recommend this restaurant.