Turbarlence Tavern - Mackay, Queensland

paul C.

Pizza is like cardboard, very very thin with minimal topping, save your money. This place is lucky to be next an airport as the food is terrible. Eye fillet steak was served on a cold slate plate so the mash and veggies were very cold, ordered medium and it came rare. Avoid the quesadilla at all cost its $18 for a small lump of meat between tortillas. The beer battered chips are thick cut oven fries. Nothing beer battered about them. I was refunded for 2 of the 3 meals. Service was good, severely let down by unnaceptable food quality.

Michael B.

Yummy food with a good menu to choose from. Good change from a pub menu and not overpriced. 3 of us went for dinner and we were all happy with our meals.

Clémentine C.

Food is a bit pricey but it’s a good option while waiting for your flight ! Our pizza was really good and the service quick

Maree R.

We wanted to try somewhere new & were pleasantly surprised by our awesome experience at Turbarlence! Our Server was absolutely lovely & nothing was too hard! It was a Special Occasion for us & we celebrated in style with our gorgeous coctails! I will even go so far as to say that this was the best Espresso Martini that I have ever tasted! It's my favourite drink so Ive had many, this was perfection & a great start to our night. The meals were top notch 100% full of flavour. The quality of the produce was pleasing & quantity was also satisfying. We ordered our meals via QR code scanning & paid via this option. This was convenient for us. However you are welcome to go to the front counter to order. The drive out to the Mackay Airport to visit this beautiful restaurant is definitely worth it. Thanks so much for a wonderful experience.

Reegsy L.

So, Turbulence, what a fitting name for the experience.

Although we had issues with the entrees as well, my experience with the main will be enough of an example…

It wasn’t too busy and we placed the order at 6:05pm.. and out came our simple yet tasty garlic bread, bacon and cheese bread.

How ever at 6:55pm we received our mains.. AND GOD DAM.. I tell ya.. I need to take out shares in Bridgestone.. Yokohama, or Goodyear. What ever brand of rubber they served me, because I’m more than confident it would upset the car shoe market!

It was supposed to be Medium-well.. which even the home cook knows.. it’s pink.. and juicy.. yet no blood. It was very evident it was forgotten, because one side of it was PROPER BLACK! I mean crunchy charcoal, and the other not at all.

Check out the photo.. the whole Steak is the one I had first.. I seriously cut into while laughing.. and with those greens.

$50 for that! I was seriously laughing. $50 for 2 burnt beans, 3 burnt baby snow peas, and single 1.5” piece of carrot about 3mm thick!

I almost never return a meal. I eat it for what it is.. maybe say my piece and move on, but wow this was just unreal.

So I take it up to the staff and they agree to cook it again.. when I received it it was 7:40pm.. this time.. the amount of greens was decent.. still not $50 worth but it was cooked perfect.

How ever the streak was worse! Haha! Like fully over cooked.. this time..he/she took it to the next level. Even with no other orders present it was 100% void of moisture and colour, just the kind of product Bob Jane would be proud to stock.. (see second picture) if I had ordered well done.. fine.. but I didn’t and specifically told the stuff that is was over done the first time.

So how do you fix it? Well, If you look at the first picture, you will see the sauce is in a ramekin.. However, on the new steak, it was poured all over the steak I’m sadly going to assume..it was in an attempt to cover up it overcooked condition of the second.

I just ate it.. we had been there almost 2 hours for..well, really just 2 meals. You can basically forget the bread because it would have almost to bearing on the mains.

3 times eating here. I won’t be again..

I should have just played it safe with McDonalds. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Ps, short Asian guy holding the bar down was the only reason I didn’t demand my money back and leave. 100% professional and courteous.

Garry B.

Great meal and a stones throw from the airport. I ordered the calamari $13 as a starter it was served tender and had just the right amount of tasty crunchy coating. For main I ordered the rump special $19 medium rare and it was cooked just right for this cut of meat. The seasoning was just right and the red jus was great. Sorry no photo of the main as I ate it before thinking of taking a photo 🙂

S T.

The staff in the restaurant just have no idea unfortunately. None of them at any point looked out into the restaurant to see if anyone needed anything. I stood around waiting for a table but no one came so I picked up a menu and sat myself down. I waited for someone to come, they didn't so I went to the bar to be ignored for a while then ordered the food. I cleared that last persons plates from the table next to me as it was so messy no one noticed. It would have been a lower score if it wasn't that the steak that came out was actually tasty. Mash and veg were cold but no one asked. Lady came in just after me and by then there was no salad, mash or any veges left she had to eat a small bowl of chips after a hard day's work. Breakfast was no better.

dakota M.

Im a regular here and on the 7th of August around lunchtime I ordered the chicken parmi before my flight, however the lady came out with a grilled salmon dish (i don’t eat fish) and when i told her i didn’t order that, she said that’s what she charged me for (it’s more expensive) and offered to take it back. I would have preferred a refund as i did not have time to wait for another meal to come out before my flight. I think mistakes like this should be dealt with more professionally. Also the salmon needs more sauce.