turtle bay

was about to go someplace else near walthamstow but on our way to the venue, turtle bay caught my attention and luckily we didn't regret it. i am a sucker for restaurants with good interior decor and turtle bay is brilliant in that case. now the main things, food, quality and price- in my opinion three of them are up to the mark. they have set lunch menus that include two courses for 13 gbp and three courses for 15 gbp which are perfect for lunches on a budget. apart from that, the drinks and other dishes are pretty reasonable as well. we ordered pit prawns and curry prawn from the a la carte menu and jerk pit wings and brown chicken stew from the set lunch menu and the flavor and quality was amazing along with a really good quantity. besides that, the staffs were very friendly and welcoming. however, the restaurant says that itscaribbeanbut as i am not really familiar with authenticcaribbeanfood, i can't really assure whether the dishes are authentic or not as i found it very similar to indian dishes (but most probably that's what it is meant to be). but if you are not really fussy about the authenticity then this place is a must visit.

i see many chains being labelled as 'caribbean' which serve dishes which are in fact not at all authentic to the culture or heritage and unfortunately turtle bay is one of them. 

turtle bay does not in any way cook its food with authenticity. this franchise is taking the names of various west indian dishes and cooking something completely different. 

as acaribbeanperson myself, i can honestly and confidently say that there are no authentic seasonings or spices being used in any of the dishes and these meals are not cooked in any way shape or form- how anycaribbeanculture would cook them.i am extremely disappointed that a restaurant can make dishes in a way that are irrelevant tocaribbeanculture and label themselves as "the bestcaribbeanrestaurant" and judging by the positive reviews can leave people none the wiser.

if you're looking for something real and authentic, do not come here because you won't get it.

hmmmm,, really really nice area with positive vibes all night long.
i loved the way the restaurant was presented and loved the warmcaribbeantheme. i arrived just after sunset and we booked the seats outside.. the breeze the music the lights.. was just too much! (that side was amazing nd quiet the experience) now, however, i didn't like the food. like, it weren't intense? do i make sense? i mean caribbean,, when i thinkcaribbeani expect caribbean.. the vibes yes they delivered but as for food and quality it was mediocre.
poor waiters i felt they were tortured by the customers they weren't as confident and didn't know the menu that well.. but they were still friendly and funny. i ordered the shrimp and mango pot. it was so cute how the actual dish was in a pot it had a cutecaribbeanvibe to the look and smell of the dish but for the actual tasting ,, i just didn't feel it? it was bland. i didn't even taste the mango and i'm a biggg fan of mango so that was quiet disappointing 😩 meh.
baht overall,, i'd definitely go back and visit but this time i'd order something different and actually instruct them to emphasis on a certain ingredient lol
i'd purely go back just 'cause of the vibes and not the food.