Turtle Bay Norwich Launch!!

A couple of weeks ago I attended the press party pre launch of Turtle Bay Norwich’s hot new Caribbean restaurant. It’s gone into the huge fabric warehouse building and it’s amazing! On the approach I noticed all the fairy lights bordering the Windows dangling in graduation which looks lovely. I am a SUCKER for fairy lights. All the wall are covered in colourful graffiti, there’s an awesome VM camper sliced in half into seating, neon quotes all around to read and much more!

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The place looks epic, completely transformed and unrecognizable.
Their ethos is broken down into 3 areas- The Rum, The Reggae and The Jerk and it sums it all up perfectly.

The Rum                                                                                                                                                  This isn’t just about their signature spirit it’s about all the drinks they do. On arrival we were served a Passion Rum Punch which was a fruity punch made with one of their favourite rums Wray and Nephews, a renowned rum at 63%! These welcome drinks were so strong I knew that I wouldn’t be walking out sober! If 63% is too much for you there’ll be something alcoholic or non alcohol that tickles your tastebuds on the cocktail menu which is 2-4-1 everyday until 7pm and again from 10pm. Around the top of the Barbados inspired bar there’s rows of extensive spirits and a range of speciality rums too. Myself I decided to play it safe with big plans the following morning and stuck with Red Stripe one of my favourite lagers which is their house beer originating from Jamaica.

 

 

The Reggae
The first thing that reggae brings to mind is the music and that’s exactly what you’ll hear there, super chilled, happy holiday vibe reggae but again reggae as a whole summarises the vibe and the general attitude of the restaurant.

 

 

They try not to turn tables as they like the relaxed vibe for an evening so no rushing and getting you in and out, the lights get dimmer as the sun goes down adding to the atmosphere and you are surrounded by greens, yellows, blues, blacks and Caribbean inspired imagery to really give it the right feel to represent what they’re all about. Finally the staff themselves really encompass the reggae attitude and are all really friendly and relaxed and look like they’re happy to be there and having fun.

 

 

Then finally my main reason to visit The Jerk which is all the food they do. We got to sample a few different things on the menu starting with the Beach Food Platter, a sharing platter with chicken wings, sweet corn fritters, pepper rotis and garlic and herb flat bread. This was a great starter and a lovely way to try a few things. The sweet corn fritters and chicken wings are particularly awesome! We then got half a jerk chicken, this was amazing! I’m absolutely addicted to spicy food (as in I have extra hot in Nandos) so this was a real treat, the marinade had an awesome kick, sometimes I find things out a little tame in the spice department but this didn’t disappoint. Marinated for 24 hours and grilled and served with orange chutney and coconut shavings. Mm Mm mmmmm. It was delicious!! We then got given a classic West Indian dish of curried goat, Turtle Bay have an entire section on their menu for One Pots and the curried goat is located there. Served with rice and dumplings it really is a filling meal. A nice kick to the spice and for those curious about the taste and texture of goat think lamb. It was lovely. A must for any curry fan. The menu has quite a lot of meat and fish, there is dishes for the vegetarians out there but just not as much choice. We finished of the dining with a dessert platter which had a selection of bite size pieces of most of their deserts and they were all really really tasty!

 

 

Throughout the night we had a selection of cocktails delivered to sample by the lovely bar manager Emma. My favourite was the One Love, a Turtle Bay version of a Pornstar Martini (with rum of course)

I left there feeling very happy (and very drunk) and had such a great night, there is a real buzz about the place which is the key to any great venue.

Thanks to the whole team for the kind and generous hospitality and including Jamie (the boyf) and I in the press launch!

Has anyone checked it out yet?  What were your thoughts?

Love Holly xxx

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