Turtle Bay has always been one of my favourite restaurants and bars. It has an atmosphere like no other with soulful reggae music, friendly and approachable staff and decor that makes you feel like you're in the Caribbean whatever town you are in. The one thing that has always let the restaurant down for me personally has been the lack of vegetarian food, but thanks to the new summer menu, that has changed.
The new summer menu at Turtle Bay now consists of 15 new dishes and 7 new drinks and comprises of lighter, fresh, gluten free, veggie and vegan options as well as a few new Caribbean classics. The cocktails had had a summery rum makeover with new Rum Margarita and Rum Negroni as well as two old favourites which have returned due to popular demand, Goombay Smash and Roots Culture.
I was recently invited down to the Huddersfield branch of Turtle Bay to test out the new summer menu and I couldn't wait to sample all the new vegetarian dishes. Before delving into the food, I decided to test out two of the latest cocktails, the Rum Negroni (on the left) and the Roots Culture (on the right). The Roots Culture is possibly one of my new favourite cocktails. Made with Uncle Wray overproof rum and served with strawberry and raspberry liqueur, lime and lemonade, it has a sweet taste that reminds me of a raspberry ripple minus the vanilla. The Rum Negroni was a mix of Old J Rum, Campari, red Vermouth and served over ice, it was lovely, but a little bit too strong for my liking. If you prefer smoother, richer classic cocktails then that one is for you.
When it came down to ordering the food, for the first time I was actually spoilt for choice. Long gone are the days where vegetarians are an afterthought at Turtle Bay, there's enough dishes to cater for all different tastes and food cravings. For starter, I decided to order the Okra Ladies' fingers which was spiced panko coated okra fingers with mango mole, fresh lime and coriander mayo. It was a flavour and texture sensation with felt light on the palette and left me wanting more. Everything from the mango to the okra and the lime and coriander mayo all worked in harmony and it was a wonderful new addition to the starters menu. Also new on the starter menu for veggies is the Vital Veggie Platter for those looking for a sharing dish. The veggie platter is a mix of all Turtle Bay's best vegetarian starter offerings - sweet corn fritters, crispy okra, jerk pit grilled mushroom and peppers with a coconut glaze, pepper roti, bara flat bread, spiced curried chickpeas and cucumber chutney, herb mayo and super green salad.
The new main course vegetarian options were spinach, aubergine and sweet potato curry, a mushroom and goats cheese burger, a chickpea wrap or three different types of salads - the supervital green salad, avocado, butternut squash and mango salad or the spinach, rainbow beets and watermelon salad. I decided to order the vegan aubergine and sweet potato curry which consisted of green beans, kidney beans and sugar snap peas cooked in Jamaican spice and served with steamed rice and roti bread. The dish was warming and hearty, but I did expect a little bit more from it and I would have prefer the coconut rice and pea accompaniment which comes with my usual order, the rundown. However, I did manage to eat every last mouthful and walked away from the restaurant with my belly full and feeling satisfied.
Overall I'm really impressed with the new menu and glad that they have decided to expand the vegetarian section. It gets really tiring as a vegetarian to visit restaurants and find out there's one or two options on the menu, so it is refreshing to have so much choice and I'm sure vegans and people who are gluten free will also be satisfied with the new additions. The new menu options have given me even more of a reason to go back to my local Turtle Bay and I'm looking forward to sampling a few more of the dishes next time.
Have you been to Turtle Bay before?
*This meal was complimentary in exchange for this review.
I love the decor! And those veggie options sound scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place and I love all the veggie options on the menu, its nice to see restayrants catering and offeting good choices for vegetarians.
ReplyDeleteOh wow this looks really delicious, I'd definitely like to try eating here one day.
ReplyDeleteSo glad the menu has been switched up! It sounds great!
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I absolutely love turtle bay as the cocktails are always such a good price, and the food is so tasty. I'm going to need to go and see the new summer menu x
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit a restaurant like this, it sounds wonderful. Love the look of it and the menu, including cocktails sounds amazing. Just a shame I don't live near one. Something I will have to look out for if ever I get close.
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ReplyDeleteI've only recently discovered Turtle Bay and love it! Super excited to try the new menu as that looks super delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt really looks a great menu and I want to try this it's interesting for me. I love the restaurant like this
ReplyDeleteI haven't eaten at Turtle Bay for a while, but I do love the food there. It sounds like there are a few more reasons to pop in again with the new choices
ReplyDeleteI still haven't been here, so I am majorly jealous that you have been able to review the new summer menu!
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