Veronica J.

Went there for lunch, as I work nearby and wanted to try something new. There are a few dishes priced at around 7-10 pounds, I went for tomato tortilla and mango prawns wrap. It was very unusual indeed, but tasted nice! The staff was very polite, led us straight away to the table, brought a jug of water without asking ( which was quite handy, as the food IS spicy), and informed about the offer of 241 cocktails. The service was quick, and the lunch taken 30 minutes at most, meaning you don't have to choke on food to rush back.

Jessica H.

As avid burger, hot dog, and bbq food fans, the boyfriend and I were looking for somewhere a little bit different to eat on Saturday. After seeing Turtle Bay pop up in my recommended accounts on Twitter - and subsequently seeing positive reviews here on Yelp - I felt the need to give it a go. Firstly, the interior is huge. I'm talking large bar and seating area in the front, upstairs area, and huge open kitchen running down one side of the room. Talking from Caribbean experience, it actually is quite authentic looking; yes, the stainless steel kitchen and fancy bar equipment isn't, but the large ceiling fans and bus seats (yes, I mean Stagecoach/Magic Bus seats!) really did remind me of time in Barbados. Service was really friendly from everyone, from the front of house to our personal server - who stopped to have a bit of a chat with us at the end regarding our meal and where we'd heard about Turtle Bay, other places we enjoy eating etc - and we swiftly ordered two strawberry daquiris on the daily happy hour deal. They were very tasty, going down a bit too easily, and providing the cooling affect needed for the spice of the food! We shared some sweetcorn fritters, and I had the main of the pulled jerk chicken bun. The fritters weren't flat as I assumed they would be, making them slightly stodgy, but the hot sauce dotted around the bowl with them gave them a nice kick. They were served up with our mains, which is probably a good thing considering I don't think I could have finished both! My chicken bun was delicious, just the right amount of spice, though the bun was lacking anything exciting to it, just standard brioche. I would have also appreciated a touch more salad within the bun - the boyfriend's jerk pork wrap was packed with fresh flavours from carrot, pepper and cucumber, which was something my main was slightly lacking. We happily filled out our comment cards at the end, including our best drawing of a turtle - get practising, it's requested! - and headed to the pub for a follow up drink read; lie down and rest as we could barely walk we were so full of food.

Emma C.

Came here on a whim with work as we were all booked in to go to Beef and Pudding, in January, only to arrive there and be told as there were 16 of us, they couldn't offer the 50% offer we booked via. Which was fine, but it was more due to the attitude of the staff as to why we walked away and headed to Turtle Bay as a second option. Anyway - what a great second option! I had roasted duck wraps to start which were crispy, hot and really tasty. They were pretty large for a starter so well worth the money, thus sharing them with a friend. I also kicked off with an Espresso Martini like I usually do, and it was a decent one, coming from a regular Espresso Martini drinker... The main meal was my highlight though- after taking about 15 minutes to decide what to chose because the menu is sooooo good (They have a section called 'one pots' and I couldn't pick which Caribbean themed curry pot I wanted as they all sounded fab) I opted for the 'Rastafari Run Down' one pot - a combination of butter beans, sweetcorn, sweet potatoes, coconut milk and all sorts of veggies with brown rice and fried dumplings. It was creamy, spicy and full of flavour, and I felt like I was getting a real mix of veg. Really enjoyed it, and would like to go back and try the other versions. If you didn't want a one pot, they have amazing burger options and jerk pit BBQ choices too. Can't say I have had fried dumplings before but I would recommend them after trying them here - possibly not the healthiest, but have all the taste of regular fluffy dumplings with a crispy coating. Nice atmosphere, attentive staff, and overall great food. I'll be coming back here.

Emma H.

What better way to escape a wet and dreary Manchester evening than visit the fabulous carribbean themed Turtle Bay! The service was excellent, especially when greeted upon arrival by some of the friendliest waiting staff I've ever come across. They've done a really good job with the decor too, giving off a carribbean fun, urban vibe. The food was both delicious, fresh tasting and excellent value for money. I had one of their popular "one pot" dishes of shrimp and mango curry for a bargain price of £10.65. It did not disappoint and I was pleasantly full afterwards. Let's not forget the drinks either, get yourself to Turtle Bay between 12 and 6.30 and you can treat yourself to a wonderful selection of rum-themed 241 cocktails!

Chris T.

I visited Turtle Bay with a couple of friends on a wednesday evening, This place is a cool Caribbean Restaurant with a few other locations around the country, The vibe is cool and its fantastic looking with a great bar as soon as you enter. We was greeted by the most friendliest Restaurant greeter I've ever met and she shook our hands and greeted us to Turtle Bay, She said our table wasn't ready so to go and get a drink from the bar, theres a few bar staff willing to help and we all decided to get Red stripe on tap. We chilled out a bit around the bar and then was told our table was ready, we was seated at the back of the Restaurant so we could see everything! The whole place looks amazing and its a fantastic addition to Manchester, there is nothing else like this. We chilled out a bit and explored the Menu, There is a few starters to choose from but we decided to get the Beach food platter which at £12.95 is a little costly for what we got, but still very tasty. just wish we got a bit more, but a great way to explore Caribbean food if you have never tried it. We was all pretty hungry so we all went for the Pit burgers, which at £9.95 was a fantastic price, it came with a gorgeous brioche bun and the meat was so tender, it also comes with Sweet Potato fries and Caribbean slaw and pineapple, yummmmmy, we was stuffed by the end it was so nice, There is a great menu of Caribbean food from One pots to Curried Goat and loads of different things to try so we will be back to try the rest of this amazing menu. Our waitress was fun at all times and was around every minutes to see if we was ok, never did we feel rushed. The whole place is buzzing even on a wednesday evening, it has a fantastic atmosphere with cool Caribbean music being played. Im not really sure over the location though, I'm sure it would have been better suited in Spinningfields with a huge outdoor area, but i hear they are expanding and putting another over in Spinningfields. We can't wait to go back! We loved it! :)

Michael B.

After some drinks in the city, my friends and I found ourselves wandering towards Turtle Bay (thanks to the Yelp bookmark on the app). It looked busy inside which was both encouraging and slightly worrying (thinking we'd be unable to get a table), but the greeters at the door took our details and said there'd be a 45 minute wait. We headed to their bar to peruse through the cocktail menu. The drinks we had were all pretty good (£6.85 each) - the Marley Mojito was especially refreshing. We could see from looking around that there were a fair few tables unoccupied, so it was puzzling why we had to wait so long. In fact, our legend of a barman went and chased his workmates for us and we were promptly seated in the middle of the restaurant. He'd also recommended what I should have for my meal (Trini Curry Fish) - even though I was thinking of Jerk chicken - and I added a side dish of Cheesy Jerk Fries. He was so right, the curry was delicious and wouldn't have been something I'd normally consider. My friends enjoyed their dishes too (I got to try a bit of the Jerk chicken in the end which was very tasty) - it was just the slow service on the night that put a slight spolier on things. Turtle Bay currently has no peers cuisine-wise as far as I'm concerned and until that changes, I'd happily eat here again to try more of the tasty Caribbean offerings. Tip: their non-alcoholic Ginger Beer is made with spiced pepper so expect some heat!

Jonny Q.

Yum x 1 million! I'm a total sucker for Caribbean food but if the truth be known there's just not enough around to quench my appetite. I also can only say that I like what I like and what I've tried but most places I hit are little shacks so I tend to just default to curry goat with rice and peas - but when this is usually so good it really makes me want to keep pushing towards eating more and more West Indian fodder. Meeting my friend for a quick bite, I called ahead to book a table for 2 which I was pleased about as it was pretty rammed on a Weds night and meant that we didn't have to wait at the bar for a table. I don't think I'm wrong in that this chain is owned by Las Iguanas and it's pretty similar in terms of them nailing the decor and trying to make it as authentic as possible - in fact it seems they've really upped the ante on this one with a giant shipping container kitchen and multi-layered dining room - just go and check it out to see what it's all about! Cocktails we're supposedly good, the beer selection was pretty dire (red stripe was the best they had - no craft guys?) and the food was awesome! We had the calamari and beach platter board to share - with me not breaking the habit of a life time in enjoying curry goat! Maybe not as spicy as I'd have liked it but there were loads of free hot sauces on the table that really did start to blow the cobwebs away! 2 cocktails, 2 beers and starters and mains for 2 cost £65 - not too bad for what we got (we could hardly move afterwards) Can't wait to go back.

Zoe N.

As i walked in i thought i was on holiday. The place is designed as if we were in the heart of Jamaica. I instantly felt relaxed aster a day at work. There were playing reggae music. Between 2-7 and 10-midnight is happy hour so all cocktails are 241. The bar maid recommended us our first cocktail which was a raspberry reggae its was nice and sweet. We then chose a beachcomber zombie. This consisted of 4 different types of rum, absinthe and tropical juice. Well recommended for somewhere different to start or end your night

Penny L.

What a shame....I fell in love with this place instantly last year...back then the staff were more upbeat, attentive, the food and drink tasty and good value for money. NO MORE :( To begin we entered to be greeted by a lady who did not look like she worked there, but pleasantly guided us to a table next to some cackling women..I moved to the next table. She announced that our waitress Claire will be soon be coming over to look after us. Claire turned up and mistook my boyfriend as a lady (he has a long pony tail, AWKWARD) after apologising she sheepishly handed out the menus and stepped away. Right the cocktails were always the highlight of this place, for £6 for two cocktails they used to pack a punch of flavour and alcohol...I ordered my favorite reggae rum punch and some Red Stripe Beer. When the waitress returned I ordered the chili squid, beef pattie ( same as last time) and a Run Down.. The Run Down is a one pot veggie curry with sweetcorn, dumplings, butternut squash with rice and peas.. The starters arrived first, the pattie looked/tasted the same however my squid was not crispy it was soggy...The flavours were good but it ended up being a fishy mush . The gent who delivered these queried about our drinks, I asked him to chase these..They later arrived...Gone were the cool metal canisters encasing the yummy cocktails, instead they looked like a Slug and Lettuce concoction..i.e tall glasses with blocks of ice with wishy washy liquid.. I tasted it and flinched.all I tasted was soda water and Raspberry.. Much later the waitress came to retrieve our plates, I gestured to the cocktails and stated ''is there any alcohol in these ? the quality has gone down'' She took the plates and the drinks. The cocktails were replaced ans she reassured me there were large measures of alcohol in these,,I took a sip..it was better...but still nowhere near as good as they used to be..I felt awkward swapping them again. The main course arrived next..mine looked nice, however it was not exciting..it reminded me of Campbell soup with chunks of corn on a cob (not easy to eat in a soup) ..I eyed my partners goat curry with envy...serves me right for wanting to try something different..The gent who delivered our starters before asked how our food was (someone actually cared) I said...it was ok... With time running out we paid up and left for the theater.. I really did not enjoy my experience here...I normally would demolish six cocktails but struggled to drink two, the atmosphere felt flat and we were left alone for long periods of time.. The food also lacked soul which is the key ingredient for this kind of cuisine. I would honestly suggest, don't bother with this one and go to the one on Oldham Street instead,,,as all the talent has left Oxford Road and shipped over to Oldham..

Floriana A.

I've been very positively struck by Turtle Bay! Went there for a lunch, my first experience with Caribbean cuisine. You know what? Terrific! Every dish is so colourful, just as the rest of the environment. Everything reminds of some exotic place, not only lights, colours and music, but also the waiters singing while serving customers. The staff is lovely, indeed. At first I was somewhat skeptical about the simultaneous presence of fruit and meat/fish in every dish on the menu. But I had to change my mind. My chicken was excellent, just as the vegetable gravy: its hint of chilli matched perfectly with the sweetness of the potato mash; and what enriched the whole dish was the fried platan indeed. Prices are very affordable, mostly under 10 pounds for one of the main courses. I only regret not trying their selection of cocktails, but this is just another reason to come again.

Robyn C.

I've been to turtle bay a couple of times now and it still doesn't disappoint ! We decided to risk it and not book on a Saturday eve and it was HEAVING ! Nonetheless, it has a great bar area and we only had to wait about 30 mins for a table so just had a few drinks and perched up at the bar. I had a couple of cocktails, other half had the rum tasting board (which is a nice idea, but at £18 is quite pricey for 4 shots of rum and a can of ting). Once seated we were STARVING so ordered 3 starters, the grilled prawns, the duck rolls and the whitebait. Sorry, we were too hungry to take pics before eating ha ha. The starters were all fab, the prawns were brilliant and only £5.95 very fresh and full of flavour. As long as you don't mind ripping the head off a small sea creature, I'd recommend these every time. For our mains I had the ribs and other half had the curried goat. Both were brilliant, the meat fell off the ribs and the goat was tender. I had sweet potato mash and the house slaw with mine and both were really good. They tend to offer sweet potato fries or mash here and I would go for the mash every time it's that good ! All in all we had 3 starters and 2 mains which came to £35. The food is very reasonably priced here and of great quality. They have a fab cocktail selection so if u like rum, get yourself down ! Great sauces on the table, open kitchen, lovely staff, great food, good vibe and awesome tunes. Love it here, will undoubtedly be back.

Nina A.

Large London. Loud of varieties of rum cocktails and other drinks available as well. The pit dish I got actually cont'd in s large individual Pyrex bowl all hot and yummy. It was prawn fish and shrimp. Only one large prawn included. The dish was spicy yovthr point you don't need to add extra spices. It started off not seeming it though so be careful, by the end I was glad to have the pita bread slices to help the burn. I'll come back it was good and a great deal on food.

Rana M.

Turtle Bay is a decent establishment and a nice addition to the diverse Manchester restaurant scene. The glittery lights outside are inviting and evidently a lot of thought went into the interior design. The bar is ideally placed near the entrance and was bustling with rum drinking punters when we arrived on an otherwise quiet Sunday manchester evening. I was recommended the place by a few fellow yelpers before a friend suggested we try it ahead of a standard visit to Wasabi. I agreed. This particular location has been somewhat cursed with it changing proprietors over the years. Being next to Wetherspoon's isn't ideal, watch out for stumbling ethanol fuelled clumsy folk on weekends. But it'd nice to see Turtle Bay hopefully stick around for good. So, all initial signs were good as we approached the illuminated feeding abode. But the real question was would it be the authentic foodie haven I so desperately wanted it to be when all was said and done? The answer unfortunately was anything but emphatic. Don't get me wrong, the ambiance is convincing as is the food but I can't help but think the decor screams: "like me I'm authentic Caribbean" in the exact same way Rev de Cuba screams: "like me I'm authentic South American" The reality is, this is another Chain restaurant owned by the same folk who own the Las Iguanas chain. British entrepreneurs looking to dip into the "authentic" themed restaurant/bars armed with an army of marketing/PR folk are becoming increasingly/annoyingly common/convincing. And yes they have a place in society but no amount of props can hide the truth from real foodies. Case in point, does anyone actually believe that if you arrive at a bar in Barbados at 7:01pm (when the cocktail 241 happy hour ends at 7pm) the staff will abruptly/rudely refuse to humour you? Upon jokingly asking the waiter if he could squeeze us into the happy hour avec une round of cocktails, I was met with a stare more appropriate had I ordered a portion of baby kittens for starters! Sure there was Carribean music, sure the layout was meticulous but much like that alien in the woman's body in Mars Attacks I was too aware of what lay beneath it all. I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken wings and Mo'Bay chicken in a very warm and friendly environment. The place is obviously very popular with crowds itching to try "flavours of the Carribean." For me though, it was a foodie equivalent of driving a ford mustang with a Ford Kat engine. But it's nice to be seen driving a Mustang right? I do recommend it though, the same way I recommend Transformers movies to movie buffs (visually stunning but don't expect anything resembling a film narrative) This restaurant has it's place and people will continue to like it thanks to the marketing and the resultant high footfall. I on the other hand with my general distrust/dislike for chains will most likely not be a regular.