So I have moaned a few times about the lack of good places to eat in the area in which I live (apart from some great pubs of course), and I do hope to do something about it myself soon!
In the meantime however, I am satisfying most of my culinary desires through cooking and experimenting in the kitchen at home, but on the odd occasion we are going out to eat, we are trying to visit new places. It was on one of these nights out with friends that I finally got round to trying the new Caribbean (chain) restaurant called Turtle Bay in Guildford.
I hadn’t heard of this chain before it opened in Guildford, but a quick look online told me that there are about 18 of these across the country. The one in Guildford takes up a monstrous location at the top of the high street.
Now I’m in no way a chain snob, and I absolutely love a cheeky Nando’s now and again,
but based on the sheer size of the place and the decor which looked like a themed restaurant you might see at a theme park – I wasn’t expecting much from this place, but of course I was pleasantly surprised.
Inside the place still felt that it was trying just a little too hard, everywhere you looked there was something themed, but there were some nice touches like these wall murals and posters on corrugated walls
Now, one of my favourite drinks ever is Ting, a Caribbean soft drink made from grapefruit juice. I first discovered this at Meat Liquor, and living in South London we were able to pick this up in or local Tesco, but since moving out I have not seen it anywhere, until that is Turtle Bay came to town.
Its an amazing drink, sharp and sweet and so refreshing. It was a great start!
On to the food, between the 4 of us we ordered a bunch of starters including ribs, chicken wings, some great Jamaican pasties and spiced Whitebait. The ribs were surprisingly good, well cooked and fell off the bone, not quite as good as mine, but close!
For main I split a whole Jerk Chicken (a bargain at about 15 quid!) and the curried goat, which I had had a few times at Notting Hill Carnival.
The chicken was really good, chargrilled on the BBQ to give it that distinctive taste, the spices were good and it had the deep spiced flavour, the only problem was that it wasn’t quite spicy enough for me – I like my Caribbean food hot, hot, hot!! But the taste was great. The goat was equally fab, very tender after what was clearly a long cook time, with a nice rich, thick sauce – on a par with Carnival goat, which is saying something!
Finished off with a cheesecake and a glass of Rum (of course).
So an unexpected treat of an evening, whilst not everyones cup of tea, and if you can overlook the decor I would definitely recommend Turtle Bay for some nice (probably not that authentic) Caribbean food, and if you go, promise me you will grab a can of Ting – that stuff rocks!
Peaberry Blog 