As a midway point between the Southern and Northern stops along Saturday's Downtown Pub Crawl route, Turf enjoyed consistent traffic and was well-prepared for the waves of drinkers coming in and out of the door.
As an event organizer I was more interested in the experience of the Pub Crawlers than my own and by those perimeters Turf did very well but I will offer up some constructive criticism:
1. Music. On a night like Saturday nobody is interested in Local Singer Songwriter Guy; get a jukebox and give the people high-energy music they're familiar with. If you want to keep the Irish theme, mix in some Flogging Molly, The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Swell Season or, I don't know, U2.
2. Smile. Nobody likes a crabby bartender much less three crabby bartenders.
3. Bathrooms. Turf's sister pub Seamus McCaffrey's had cleaner bathrooms on Saturday and if that's not an indictment I don't know what is.
Overall Turf is a very nice drinking destination that makes a decent plate of fish n' chips. If you're making the rounds in Downtown Phoenix you should check 'em out.