Stopped in for dinner on a Thursday night and were seated right away. Our server was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere was very chill, and it seemed like a lot of people came by to watch the olympics. To start, we had the chicken potsticker appetizer. The sauce that these came in was incredible!! I was doing my best to soak up as much as I could with every bite. For my dinner, I had the blackened chicken salad. It was solid, but I've had better elsewhere. My boyfriend's shrimp tacos were delicious from the bites I took. Next time, I'd skip the salad and go for something else, and I'd definitely get those potstickers again!! read more

See all

Typical bar. The people here are very nice and it is super family friendly. They have a huge outdoor patio that is covered by tents making it very comfortable. The drinks and food were pretty good. I have no complaints and would happily go back here again when Im in the mood for a burger or other bar food. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

My go-to for an easy dinner, fun place to hang out with kids, chilled girls' night or Sunday funday. It's just so versatile with tv screens showing games, a bar and a quiet back room with roomy booths. They have crayons and games to distract the kids. Most importantly, they have really good (& strong) drinks, as well as delicious food, including some really great seasonal stuff. We just went for St Patrick day and the corned beef sliders were spectacular. Service is always friendly and super prompt. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Love the thirsty turtle! It's a great spot for drinks and apps. Would definitely recommend for a happy hour as it's pretty casual and chill. The bar Usually has sports on so it's cool to chill and hang out. I would recommend getting the potstickers. Their espresso martini is great as well. read more

See all

We went there last week and the food was okay. The table next to us was served frozen salmon so we pivoted our order a bit but the server was at least kind about it; although the manager rolled their eyes when we saw her tell them. We accidentally left our son's water bottle there and called today. We said "hey, it's a longshot but any chance it's in the lost and found?" We figured it was a lost cause. The hostess put the phone down and (we presume) forgot to hit hold. We heard her and another worker saying the following "ew really? I haven't even clocked in" amongst other dramatics about us even calling. Listen, it's a bottle. It's more like don't talk crap about people, especially when you're at work... and they can hear. We will never go back because seems the staff have bad attitudes and our money will go elsewhere, especially in cranford that has so many spots. read more

I had the steak and it was moderately priced and just average. Other people at the table had their shrimp or fish and it seemed to look good. read more

Tried to go here but they had chartered out their entire bar and high top area for a private event and tried to seat us in a sad backroom that didn't have the game on. Can't call yourself a sports bar if you do things like that. read more

We had late lunch here today. We ordered Mushroom Fondue Burger on a brioche bun with fries on the side and Greek Salad. The burger is soft, moist and well cooked. It has a special tasty sauce that I can't figure out. It taste great. The salad taste fresh and delicious. Serving staff are kind, friendly and helpful. Very clean restaurant and well lighted place. Parking is my concern. They're sharing parking space in the back with an auto shop business, it's packed. I parked by the curbside and pay the meter. Will be back to try some of their entrees from the menu. read more

See all

great ambiance. the drinks were good, large selection of beers and the food was good. We came in late, 830 on a tuesday. i felt bad, you could tell they did not want us there. we joked its called the thirsty turtle because they made us wait for menus (we were thirsty) and the service was slow (turtle like) we made the best of it. read more

The thirsty turtle features a menu with a lot of choices and decent pricing as well. I was impressed with their short rib tacos ($15 for 3)

Truffle burger was delicious with truffle fries ( cooked in truffle oil but no truffle seasoning? ) meat good quality but bacon had a plastic taste. Still a great spot to hang with good drinks. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Special - bacon biscuits Chicken Pot Stickers - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Delicious Thai Chicken Stirfry Salad. Smokehouse Burger was crazy good. Always good service here. TGI Fridays vibe with less clutter. Good neighborhood spot. Our family go-to. read more

Honestly when I first came here about 4 years ago , I vowed never to come back, I remember us waiting 45 minutes for buffalo wings and when we asked to speak to a manager she said "it's a Friday it's busy it's how it is " very unprofessional; I came with a friend this evening (his choice) so I caved In, and may I say what a change it was. Angel our server was amazing and made us feel incredibly welcomed ! Will def be back in the future read more

Good bar food. Bar tenders never left your glass empty. Great bar vibe. Made me feel like I was back in college with more money.

It's a cute little place for a casual good time. Large fairly loud sports bar. Service is responsive and friendly. Regret not taking any pictures, but the food was good. Nothing spectacular, but it was fine. I had Philly cheesesteak egg rolls which I didn't even know were a thing, and chicken quesadillas. The salsa was old/ spoiled but other than that no issues. I would go again. read more

The wings were great. Cheesesteak egg rolls had some chewy pieces of meat in them not sure I would get them again. French onion soup was ok. I enjoyed the blackened salmon tacos they were great. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Blackened Salmon Tacos - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Our go-to spot in Cranford for lunch or dinner. Great for families or sports. Favorites are knucklehead sandwich with steak fries or goat cheese salad with everything pecans and grilled chicken. Friendly staff and very accommodating. read more

Good service and good drinks! Long list of tap beers. I haven't found a meal here that I love. Food is ok, haven't found a standout meal here and I've eaten here many times. Can tell lots of frozen things on the menu. Good spot for football Sunday read more

1. Elite beer list 2. High level staff 3. Excellent management 4. Good food 5. What More could one ask in a bar? For real. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Came out for dinner, drinks were good, both sliders and Jersey Burger were well done and sent back for Medium Rare. Second round came out correct, food was prepared well. Waitress never offered water nor dessert but quickly dropped off the bill. read more

I have never eaten inside. We started getting takeout during the pandemic. Sometimes they get their orders wrong. Sadly. However, their hamburgers and short rib tacos are outstanding. And this is after a 7-8 minute ride home. Their tacos are the best I have had in many years. The short rib is very tender and very tasty. They put some sort of slaw on top which is delicious. Served with lime. Shocking that a bar/restaurant has the best taco. We have gotten their takeout at least ten times. Always delicious tacos and hamburgers. I'm a little surprised that that their ratings aren't higher but then again we've never been inside. We have eaten at the Florian park restaurant inside and their short rib taco was meh. So don't change the taco in Cranford. read more

The food was good, i liked the wings but the service wasn't the best, the server only took one plate when clearing our table, and another waiter had to come and clear our table. I liked the vibe of the restaurant, the decorations were nice and welcoming. read more

We had the wings, smokehouse burger, and turkey panini. Everything was delicious! Great place to go for drinks and watch a game with their many TVs. read more

See all

I was excited to see that The Thirsty Turtle had some new additions to their menu and I knew immediately that I had to try their Salmon Pad Thai, as both an avid salmon and pad Thai fanatic. The issue was, they somehow managed to forget the entire salmon when they brought my dinner out along with my family's dishes. I had a few bites and dug around before coming to the realization that there really was no salmon. The manager came over, handled it, and had a new dish prepared for me. By the time it came out, my family had been done with their dinners for 20 minutes. At that point, I really expected them to strike it from the check. Instead they charged us for plain pad Thai ($12) instead of salmon pad Thai. Poorly handled in my opinion. As for the food itself, the pad Thai was good but the salmon was really not flavorful at all. We had ordered the Buffalo Wings as an appetizer and asked for them extra crispy; they were absolutely delicious. For dessert, we had the Turtle Apple Crisp. It was very good, but also heavy on the spices. I want to say that there was an excess of clove in the dish. Our waitress was polite but a bit scattered. We had to request waters three times before we were brought any. Overall, an okay experience. read more

See all

First time coming here and our waitress was Bri (Brianna) she was the best server Ive ever encountered for sure. She went above and beyond and the drinks? INCREDIBLE. So friendly. Definitely made me want to come back. Food: SO GOOD. The cornbread was a little too sweet, taste like cake but the ribs did compliment it well. The Mac and cheese was bleh, it was on the kids menu. The fries were good as well. Overall my experience was a great one. The blue drink I had was called "Sea Turtle", recommended by Bri! Thank you Bri! read more

See all

Always come here when I visit a friend in Cranford. Great restaurant. Knuckle sandwich is excellent. I had a duck special once which was some of the best duck I've ever had. Service is pleasant. Drink list is fine. read more

Has to be the worst managed place I've ever seen. Impossibly understaffed. Incredibly rude. I've been in the restaurant business for close to 40 years and I have never seen a more dysfunctional operation in my life. I truly feel sorry for these employees. They are trying to serve but it's clear the management has no interest in seeing customers are what's important. Not just getting money out of your pocket. Really sad. read more

Love this place for the food, drinks and great fast service, it's a local spot for my wife and i and enjoy the vibes at lest once a week. Highly recommend the cheesesteak egg rolls! read more

Been here a few times. Had a good waitress tonight (Bri). Ordered the short rib tacos (good) mushroom pizza ( so so - The crust tasted more like a quesadilla than pizza crust), roast turkey Cobb salad (good). I'd like the beer flight. The Flying Dog Operation Breakfast Stout was phenomenal. read more

See all

I was very disappointed with the customer service. Our waitress was not very friendly. My mom and I came here on 01/10/2020. We ordered a Special Appetizer of was the meatballs (in the picture attached) and it was very very hard. You can tell it as frozen at one point and reheated. The chicken sandwich was okay, but not the best. I would like to come back and retry some of their other dishes. The atmosphere itself was nice and is awesome to watch sports (lots of tv's) read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

See all

Honestly have nothing bad to say. The food was delicious, prices were reasonable, portion size was great, service was quick. I got the blackened salmon tacos and they were fantastic and only $14! The menu was large and had a lot of great options I was considering (will just have to come back). Had such a great evening and would definitely recommend. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - Blackened Salmon Tacos - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Appetizers and drinks are great here but I wouldn't recommend for a sit down restaurant. It's very loud filled with kids, menus are greasy and meals just ok. But drinks and appetizers after work is the way to go! We like the pretzel, cheesesteak rolls and wings. read more

The burgers are decent and the thin crust pies are a nice little treat. The salad was just OK. Had a Greek salad. It could've used a little more feta cheese. It was a Sunday afternoon. The place was pretty busy. Service was still decent. Give it a try. If you're in the area the sliders were tasty as well. read more

If you are looking for a last minute nice causal restaurant this is a must! The food and atmosphere are great ! The service is phenomenal and both times I have been there they were very helpful! I got the Salmon blackened taco and my date got the Kobe Beef Truffle Burger, both entrees were delicious! read more

I have been to The Thirsty Turtle about 10 times in the past several years and it never disappoints. The food and drinks are always delicious and the service is always fast and friendly. I usually order the same thing - fried chicken tacos or chicken strips. read more

So I have been here a few times in the last few years . The food was pretty good but this time things were much different . Our server greeted us promptly but was quick to rush us . My husband told her to come back for the meal order which was fine . ProbleM was , she never came back to take our order . Some other server came and took it . We ordered the bacon wrapped meatball app to start . It was pretty good and the potatoes were a nice accompaniment. Here's where things get bad . The Caesar salad . Probably the safest thing you can order at a place , right ? No . This salad was super salty like almost inedible . I was really disappointed. My husband loved it but sometimes men will eat anything LOl . I don't think I will come back . And the table situation wasn't great either . The people next to us were so close , they might as well have been sitting at our high top . read more

Nice place in cranford to watch a game or just have a casual lunch or dinner indoors or outside. Unbelievable tap beer menu attracts one's interest. Parking is readily available. read more

Very fun atmosphere. The staff is wonderful! And the food is fantastic! The specials are always so good too!!

I've come here a few times, and I absolutely love it! The food is VERY good (especially the quesadillas!), and reasonably priced. Though it predominantly is known for its very extensive beer list, as a wine lover, I enjoy their selections. It's a chill atmosphere with a lot of room. read more

The Thirsty Turtle - Cranford - The AWESOME quesadillas! - Bars Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

The Thirsty Turtle inhabits a location that used to be a gastropub called "The Office". Fortunately, when it took over the powers that be did not just decide to move into the pre-existing space without any changes. Instead, they updated the space, opened it up as much as they could and it makes for a much more inviting looking restaurant/bar. The wood color is lighter, the lighting is more welcoming and the space looks bigger. On a sleepy Sunday evening I had dinner at The Thirsty Turtle mostly to satisfy my curiosity about the place. Service was good from the beginning, with a hostess seating me quickly before a waitress came over to ask what I wanted to drink. I wound up getting water and a Diet Soda which came promptly. The waitress checked on me at least two times, which is a good amount for a meal in my book. I wound up trying out their Jamaican Jerk wings as an appetizer. The wings came out super fresh (still super hot) and they were not greasy at all. There was clearly some jerk seasoning on them but I have to say it did not have as much as I would have liked. Granted, my bar for Jerk wings is pretty high but I feel getting their buffalo wings may have been a tastier choice. For my meal I ordered the Turkey Burger, which comes with a very generous helping of caramelized onions, mustard and a whole wheat "thin" roll with a side of slaw. I was happy to see the "thin" roll was grilled, which gave it some smokey flavor and helped it hold together. The burger patty was a good size and the onions gave it some fantastic flavor. The slaw was okay, nothing great but not terrible either. Overall my experience at The Thirsty Turtle was a good one. Nothing blew me away, but nothing sorely disappointed me either. I would go back to try some of their other dishes in the future. read more