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| - My husband and I checked out The Turf on Friday. I arrived first at about 5:15 after taking the Dash from my office and it was a nice 10 minute walk from Washington and Central. There appears to be valet parking available, but with plenty of meters lining 1st street, I'm not sure there is a real need to valet park. At 5:15 on a Friday, the patio was full and the inside bar had only three empty seats. By 6 pm, most of the tables were full and every bar at the seat was occupied. Perhaps it was due to The Turf being so new, but live music started at 7 pm which to me was very early for a pub.
For happy hour, drafts are 50 cents off and wine is also marked down, but not sure what that special is. There appeared to be eight-ten beers on tap and the selection seems like it will appeal to a wide variety of people. There are no food HH specials which I am sure is attributed to the already low costs for much of the food on the menu. I did overhear the owner talking to the people next to me at the bar and The Turf will be open for breakfast on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 7-10 am. My husband and I attempted to order food while we were there to split, but after 45 minutes of waiting, we still had no food. We are not sure if the male bartender forgot to key the order in or if the kitchen lost the order, but in any event, the female bartender gave us our credit card back and told us that we were not going to be charged for the beers we had drank that night. It was a nice touch and very much appreciated.
The thing that stood out the most was that The Turf was that it's an urban space and it does not give off a true pub vibe. Pubs to me should have wood floors, dim lighting, and be cozy and intimate. The Turf has concrete floors and the tables are much too spread out. Plus the menus are much too glossy and reminded me of menus I would see at places like Red Lobster or TGI Fridays.
All and all, it seems to be a nice addition to the neighborhood, but I am not sure how often I will go out of my way to go there because I think some of the other pubs in the Valley have a more authentic pub feel to them.
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