Anna Boyne
Now that the weather has quite suddenly turned grey and gloomy, there seems no better way to reminisce summer than a visit to Turtle Bay. At £9.40 each and with a 2 ‘4’ 1 deal, Turtle Bay cocktails certainly offer one of the most student-budget friendly ways to enjoy a tipsy evening with friends. The opportunity to taste the new cocktail menu was too good to miss. Therefore Anna Boyne just had to visit and give the restaurant a review.
I went on a busy Friday evening. In just an hour and a half, my friends and I were served 12 cocktails which we shared between us. Even though the restaurant was packed, the drinks arrived quickly. Our server Jamal was very friendly and attentive.
At first glance, I was impressed by the inclusivity of the menu. It had one of the best selections of vegan options I’ve ever come across. There were also a few mocktails available.
My personal favourite was the Caribbean Candy Sour. The sweetness of apple was perfectly balanced with the sourness of grapefruit and lime to give it an almost sherbet sensation. It tastes a bit like the sour apple sweets which I loved!
The Jamrock Punch […] was simple but delicious
Similarly, the Jamrock Punch was both fruity and tangy. One of my friends even went so far as to say that it tasted like a fizzy squodka (squash and vodka)! This cocktail was simple but delicious. The Jamrock Punch is certainly a safer option for the less adventurous cocktail tasters. On the flip side, the Jamaican Wake Up was a risky order. Unfortunately, my friends and I weren’t really fans. There was less coffee than we expected, and the coconut milk seemed to drown out the other flavours.
On a previous visit to Turtle Bay I’ve tried the Kingston Solero and also found the coconut milk too overpowering. I would be intrigued to taste the Coconut Espresso Martini to see if the coconut milk finally works for this one. The Tobago Tea was a firm favourite. It was super fruity with mango and lime juice, although the alcohol wasn’t very strong considering there were four different spirits. To quote my friend, “It tasted like all the nice VKs mixed together”, as well as giving her Pryzm Monday nostalgia (before they replaced the VKs with WKDs).
You could easily drink a lot of it quickly, so lightweights be warned!
The Marley Mojito divided opinions amongst my friends and myself. They found the watermelon was too strong, but I thought it was super refreshing. I loved the combination of mint and watermelon. If you’re at Turtle Bay during Happy Hour or for Bottomless Brunch, the Tingwray is well worth ordering. For both the strength of alcohol and taste, it was one of the best cocktails we tried. You could easily drink a lot of it quickly, so lightweights be warned!
As well as Happy Hour, I’ve been to Turtle Bay before for Bottomless Brunch. On both occasions, I had a really fun time tasting all the different cocktails. It’s a very affordable place for students. The Caribbean menus, music and décor make it the perfect escape from the cold and rain of autumnal Notts and is well worth the visit.
Anna Boyne
Featured image courtesy of Helena Yankovska via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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