Tonight we headed out in Will's hometown with family and enjoyed a thoroughly relaxed and fun evening. Turtle Bay is famous for its Caribbean drinks and before 7pm and after 930pm they are 2 for 1, so who could resist? Will tried the intense Tingwray made with Uncle Wray overproof rum and grapefruit juice, while I headed for the tamer Jamaican Mule composed of spiced & dark rums with line, ginger beer and bitters, a truly refreshing and light choice. The décor here is funky Jamaican with lots of reggae posters and such, washed wood floors and tables and a fun vibe to the music. The dish towel napkins are cute but the lint from them leave a mess if you are wearing dark pants!
Since we were two vegetarians and three meat-eaters I suggested we try two starter options. The Vital Veggie Platter consisted of sweet corn fritters, crispy okra with an aioli, jerk pit grilled mushrooms and peppers, jerk coconut sauce, halloumi & mango flatbread, sweet plantain and super green salad(chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, kale, spinach, rocket (arugula) in a coconut-citrus-lime dressing that was superb...everything was.
The even bigger Just Jerk Platter had the same salad with the same (easily the best ever) corn fritters and marinated jerk chicken wings, Jamaican beef patty (a ground beef inside a pastry akin to an empanada, but thinner), chicken flatbread and yummy glazed pork ribs with fall off the bone meat. Everything was super delicious and it was nice to order the starters then rest a bit before Lauren our server made some great suggestions.
Main courses were a Guyanese Duck Curry made from a slightly too dry duck leg, potatoes, scotch bonnet peppers, orange citrus, coconut rice & peas(really beans) and dumplings (made from fried bread that were super in the stews). The Trini Chicken Curry was better with chicken breast in a coconut milk, mango and spice sauce with sweet onion chutney and roti flatbread. The coconut in all the dishes was freshly shaved and not sweetened and really made the dishes superb. My Curry Goat was excellent with a similar base, the chutney, dumplings and sweet plantains all in a giant stew pot. The Spinach, Aubergine & Sweet Potato Curry used the same ingredients but was an excellent vegetarian option of which there we so many.
Sam also had a starter of yummy Garlic & Herb Flatbread with rocket, crushed chilli and garlic butter so he opted for a Four Grain salad as a main course with chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, lentils, spinach and more in a citrus-lime dressing. It was all delish, but very filling, so no room for dessert again....
