Their website describes themselves as being "perfect for a big night-out, a quiet dinner for two, lunch with work-mates, somewhere to dump all those shopping bags or just somewhere to break the journey home" and I would agree with them! Turtle Bay offers "Happy Hour" everyday from 127pm and then another one from 10pm-close, so it's a great place to go if you fancy a night out.
Mario and I went to Turtle Bay for lunch a couple of weeks ago (I know, I'm so behind on writing on here!) We'd been before and loved it so had to go back.
We love the drinks here! They're a little pricey at £3.45 a go, but the "Caribbean softs" are all made on site, so it's kind of a novelty! Mario opted to have a ginger beer.
The menu says that this ginger beer is homemade, like I've already stated, and it's made with spiced pepper, cloves and fresh lime. You get a huge bottle of the drink! The problem is that it's difficult to mix the drink in the bottle, as it's fizzy, so it gets more concentrated as you get through the bottle. Towards the end, Mario said that it was a little too hot (spice-wise) for him and had to dilute it with some tap water, that we'd also ordered.
I decided to have the Passion Fruit Cooler (also £3.45) which contains fresh passion fruit and orange.
This drink was delicious and I love that the passion fruit seeds were still in the drink as it added a nice crunch as you drank it. I think the drinks are a little over priced for what they are, but it's nice to treat yourself to one with your meal and we always ask for a jug of tap-water too so our expensive drinks last longer!
Onto the food! Our food arrived so quickly after we ordered it! The menu does offer a lunchtime offer which are "perfect for lunch or early supper" and these are priced at £6.45 per plate. Mario and I were hungry so decided to go the whole shebang! Mario had the jerk ribs (£9.85).
These ribs are grilled pork ribs, marinated in a honey BBQ glaze with a sour orange chutney. These are served with Turtle Bay's Caribbean 'slaw and either sweet potato fries or rice 'n' peas. As you can see, Mario opted for the rice instead of the fries. When the waiter brought the plate over, the said that this was the biggest plate of ribs he'd seen all day! It was large! The ribs were delicious but we did feel that they were a little drier than we're used to. We think a dry spice mix was used to flavour the ribs instead of a sauce. I think that some sauce would have been nice, especially with the rice 'n' peas, which were delicious! The spice mix wasn't too spicy at all and on the table there is a selection of sauces for you to use. The coleslaw was also very tasty and had a strong taste of parsley, which was very refreshing.
I went for the Sunny Burger (£9.60), as I do love a good burger!
The sunny burger is a seasoned beef burger with cheese, jerk glaze, salad and pineapple in a toasted bun. This burger is served with their Caribbean 'slaw and sweet potato fries. The burger was very well seasoned and had a great taste to it. The pineapple added a pleasant sweetness to the burger and I was surprised to discover that it wasn't too spicy at all. The burger was enhanced with the addition of some jerk BBQ sauce but was also very tasty by itself. The chips are literally the best thing ever. They are so delicious and because they're sweet potato, it means they're healthy ;) (just kidding!) They are light and crisp and perfectly seasoned. I could eat them all day!! I've already described the slaw above :)
Overall, Mario and I would definitely recommend this place! The staff are friendly and there is a definite relaxed atmosphere to the restaurant. The food is delicious, as are the drinks. We've never tried the alcoholic cocktails, but they look very impressive! During Happy Hour, they're 2-4-1 as well (if they're the same type of cocktail, served together) and there's a selection of 20 cocktails to choose from!
If you wish to book a table, which is recommended if you're going in the evening, call 0115 9475600 or visit http://www.turtlebay.co.uk/booking :)
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