A huge thank you to the Turtle Bay team for inviting us to come and try the new menu.

Caribbean-themed restaurant and bar, Turtle Bay, has launched a refreshed menu with plenty of mouth-watering dishes.

The brand new menu still includes their iconic jerk chicken and West Indian curries that you’ve come to love and expect, so you won’t be disappointed if these remain your favourite. If anything, on our most recent visit, we were hard-pushed in deciding what we wanted to try because it all sounded inviting.

There are now even more veggie and vegan options than ever before too, as the new menu features a selection of dishes including Chilli Smashed Avocado Salad, Jerk Tofu a Vital Vegan Platter and more.

For the first time ever, Turtle Bay has launched a Caribbean brunch menu, which is served until 3pm. You can simply start your day (or afternoon) at Turtle Bay with a scintillating selection of breakfast items packed full of Caribbean flavours, such as Curry Goat Hash and Blackwell Breakfast – porridge served with a shot of Blackwell Rum. Other brunch offerings include dishes like curried chickpeas, jerk sausage and sweet plantain for both adults and ‘Little Turtles’ to enjoy. We didn’t try this, but we will back to let you know what we think.

This is what we had…

2’4’1 cocktails (same cocktails), Long Island and Strawberry Daiquiri (straight up)

As well as flavour-infused food, Turtle Bay is also renowned for their range of cocktails. I strongly recommend asking your server what they would recommend to pair up with your food (although they all taste great). You often find that as part of their training and development, staff have tried the entire menu, so it’s always worth asking for their recommendations.

Make sure you take advantage of their 2-for-1 offer, which pretty much runs all day.

Open-7pm & from 9.30pm – Close SUN-THURS
Open-7pm & from 10pm – Close FRI-SAT

(must be the same cocktails, served at the same time)

For mains

Mo’ Bay Chicken – chicken breast, smothered in creamy jerk sauce (we had it on the side) & shaved coconut, coconut rice & peas

Jerk Chicken – the original freshly cooked chicken breast (half-chicken also available) served with jerk gravy

The Jerk Chicken (with gravy) is a personal favourite when visiting. It’s full Caribbean flavours that you would expect when visiting a restaurant such as this. Unlike the Mo’ Bay Chicken, the Jerk doesn’t come with any sides. It’s reflected in its price, and instead, gives you the freedom to pair up and match with sides. If it’s first time visiting and want a twist of Caribbean flavours, this is my recommendation.

Something on the side

Cheesy jerk fries to complement the jerk chicken flavours

To compliment our dishes, we ordered a selection of fries. We had the cheesy jerk fries and the dirty curry fries, as well as an extra portion of rice. The jerk fries went well with both of our menu choices, but as always, there is always the danger overkilling the flavour by mixing too many. Next time, we’ll stick with trying one or two (max), and saving the others to try on future visits. This is a rule we would recommend for any restaurant visit, but occasionally, we do break them ourselves.

A pudding to share

Sticky Ginger Pudding – served with ginger ice cream

No matter how full you are (which we were), you can always find room for a pudding, even if that means sharing. The Sticky Ginger Pudding was absolutely delicious. Personally, the ginger pudding would have been plenty served with a vanilla ice cream, instead of the ginger flavoured ice cream it came with. I found it a bit too strong, although my partner wasn’t complaining.

Most of the puddings on the new menu all pack a punch, from the Chilli Chocolate Brownie to the Caribbean Mess, so again, check with your server if you want to cool things down a bit.

We absolutely love the Caribbean themed decor, from the patterned tables to the tyre wrapped sinks in the restrooms

Turtle Bay is all about slowing down, hanging out and feeling good. We didn’t feel rushed throughout our visit, instead we were made to feel at home, allowing us to spend time soaking up the flavours and atmosphere of the restaurant. It also helps that it has one of the coolest looking venues in Cardiff, it’s fun, warm and inviting.

Don’t forget…

They have also launched a new lunch meal deal, which is available Monday to Friday between 12pm and 3pm, where you can choose any burger or roti, plus one side and homemade soft drink for £10. Set menus are also on offer all day Sunday to Thursday, with options to feast on two courses for £12 or go the whole hog and devour three courses for £15.

In addition to its new menu, Turtle Bay, has also launched Reggae Rebel – a limited edition cocktail available from 12 to 18 August to celebrate National Rum Day (16 August).

For more information and to book, click here.