Having been vegan now some years, it is not always expected that restaurants will have vegan meals available. I had spent years prior to going vegan as a vegetarian, living on side salads and fries when visiting most places, but Turtle Bay has Three courses (plus sides) available for vegans and is not just limited to one option!
We visited the Hanover Street Turtle Bay in Liverpool, which has a car park facing it, so that was a great start. If you are going to visit and don't want to have to walk far, you can park at the Q-Park car park (44 Hanover Street, Liverpool, L1 4AF) and we paid £5.60 for the parking. *Please note this car park has auto shutters, which lift as you drive towards the entrance. Don't drive away thinking it to be closed 😜
The menu:
Our experience:
I have never visited a Caribbean restaurant before and honestly didn't know what to expect. I love spice and like my food to be full of flavour, which I feel vegan foods sometimes lack in certain eateries, so was exited to see what Turtle Bay had to offer, after hearing only good things.
We visited during the festive period, just after 6pm. The place was all lit up from the outside, with music playing, which can be heard from the street (such a lively fun atmosphere). As you enter there is a large open view bar and a large open view kitchen. It was very busy but still the staff were attentive and friendly. The place is run smoothly and the food comes out of the kitchen, way quicker than most places, but the food didn't taste at all rushed. We enjoyed our visit and the food very much and we will definitely go back, next time we will bring along our children also, as I think they would really love the place. We were blown away by the different flavours within each dish. The food was cooked to perfection and tasted as fresh as it could be.
STARTERS:
We chose to try both vegan starters, the Trini Doubles, which is made with curried chickpeas, bara roti flatbreads, hot sauce, coconut & cucumber chutney and the Sweetcorn Fritters, which is sweetcorn and potato fritters, pink onions & mango mole. Neither of these dishes disappointed. The flavour packed in to these dishes is insane. We shared them between ourselves and boy did we enjoy them.
The sweetcorn fritters were super crispy and full of flavour. The portion size was perfect too! They have a spicy kick, but not too much and come with a super sweet, sticky sauce. Definitely worth a try.
I was super impressed with the presentation of this starter and how hot the food was when it arrived at the table.
Now this photo may not do this starter any justice, but it was so difficult to get a decent photo. Basically forget how this looks- it was amazing! Truly, it was. There is a soft fresh bread on the base, covered with a sweet and slightly spicy chickpea curry and coconut slices on top. You just have to try this!
MAIN MEALS:
There were a few vegan main meal options, as well as plenty of sides. I had seen many people post about the vegan chicken burger and apparently it is mega. We opted this time for the Roti sweetcorn wrap, which is the same fritters from the starter in a wrap with avocado, loads of veg and jerk mayo. The wrap is toasted too and I cannot explain just how good it was. We also ordered one of the No moo burgers, which is a beyond burger with the jerk mayo and we had that with the spiced fries (which are also so full of flavour).
There was also the option of a Tofu buddha bowl, which sounded amazing! We didn't get any sides as we were going for the three courses, but I can definitely recommend the spiced fries that came with the burger (so good)!
Desserts:
One of the most disappointing parts of most restaurants is the vegan dessert options (or lack of). To think I used to get excited if there was some vegan friendly sorbet for grabs! At Turtle Bay, we went for the Coconut and treacle tart and the Chilli chocolate brownie, which both come out hot, smelling amazing and service with a scoop of vegan ice cream.
I would definitely recommend trying the treacle coconut tart. It was hot, sweet and really tasty. Will be back for more!
Drinks:
Even the drinks menu is clearly labelled as to whether or not they are vegan friendly, which makes such a great change. I didn't have to get my phone out and google away or mither the waitress. The cocktails were all two for one and nearly all of the cocktails are vegan (whoop whoop🥳 ). We tried the Bahama Mama cocktail and it was delicious!!
We really did enjoy our visit so much. Even during the current pandemic, the restaurant was still lively whilst keeping within the guidelines. It was nice to get away and forget about Covid just for a little while. If you get chance to visit any of the Turtle Bay restaurants (especially this one in Liverpool), make sure to check out all the vegan foods on offer - oh an of course don't forget the cocktails🍸.
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