It’s that time of year where we declare our undying love to our partners, boyfriends and girlfriends. Whether you buy a gift or go out for a swanky meal, it’s a great excuse to celebrate!
If you have read some of my previous posts on Turtle Bay, you will know just how much I love the explosive Caribbean spices and flavours in every dish and this meal was no exception. But first- cocktails!
Turtle Bay does a fantastic array of cocktails to suit everyone’s palette and with Happy Hour too, you can get 2 4 1 on cocktails! I let Chris choose my cocktail as there were so many amazing flavour combinations, I just couldn’t decide. He picked the Vanilla and Passion Fruit Mojito with Cockspur rum which tasted like a little dessert and was rather delicious! Being designated driver, Chris went for a Sky Juice- an alcohol free cocktail but was equally scrumptious and contained a frozen blend of pomegranate, pineapple, orange and lemon juices.
As a Valentine’s setting, Turtle Bay is pretty perfect. The chilled Caribbean music playing under the twinkling fairy lights, teamed with delicious cocktails is difficult not to be romantic and to keep with the romantic theme, we opted for a sharing platter to start. We went in with all the spice- choosing the Just Jerk Platter and it sure did not disappoint!
We were greeted by marinated jerk wings, glazed pork ribs, beef patty, jerk chicken flatbreads, sweet corn fritters and a super green salad. The flavour combinations were SO GOOD and the green salad was perfect for adding some freshness to the dish. Once again I found I was really rather taken with the sweetcorn fritters which were spicy and beautifully crispy whilst the jerk chicken wings were juicy, flavoursome and so tender they fell off the bone!
With our main meals we both chose something we’ve never had from the menu. I went for the Jerk Salmon (which you can also order plain if you’re not a fan of spice) and Chris chose the One Pot Curry Goat. I must admit I was a little jealous of Chris’ choice as for a cold winters night it looked, smelt and tasted (I had to try it!) incredible and made for the perfect winter warmer! The rich and spicy goat dish comes with coconut rice ‘n’ peas, sweet plantain and to top it off, dumplings- perfect for dipping in the gorgeous curried sauces.
My Jerk Salmon did not disappoint either. All the meats and fish at Turtle Bay are marinated for 24 hours in the signature jerk mix they use so you can rest assure your meat will taste amazing! I also upgraded my salad to the beach salad which included watermelon, pomegranate and mango. It was so refreshing and made a change from the traditional green salad for sure.
Once again we felt suitably stuffed from eating two courses and as much as my second stomach wanted to order dessert, I resisted. For our cocktails, a sharing platter and two mains, the bill came in at the £50 mark which just goes to show you don’t have to blow the bank to celebrate Valentines plus you will get a really tasty and serious filling meal too!
Whatever your budget or tastes, there is something for every couple on the menu and over the Valentine’s period there are 4 courses for £25.00 per person. Whether its a Caribbean sharing platter, a hot curry or your favourite West Indian pudding, Turtle Bay have got it all covered. They also have hand-selected cocktail and drinks pairings to complement each course and this is all available from 6th-17th February. Check out the Valentine’s Day Menu here.
All in all, both Chris and I are feeling the love for Turtle Bay. We had such a lovely date night and a brilliant time celebrating Valentine’s.
Have you booked your table yet?
Our meal at Turtle Bay was paid for with vouchers gifted to me by Queensgate Shopping Centre in exchange for a blog post and review. My views are honest and my own.
