What is the best thing to happen to Durham since my birth in 1983? Oh only the much anticipated opening of Turtle Bay Durham!! Making it’s new home in the very swish new Riverwalk Complex, Turtle Bay Durham has unbridled views of the Cathedral and Castle as the perfect backdrop to your visit
Taking up what is arguably the best restaurant spot in the city, Turtle Bay has brought a little bit of Carribean flair to a city that has, for a long time, been devoid of new openings and happening hot spots.
As you long time readers will know, I am absolutely partial to a good old cocktail and no one does it better than Turtle Bay and their 2-4-1 offering – which is definitely going to make Turtle Bay Durham a must-visit within the city whether it’s a boozy bottomless brunch with the girls, romantic dinner for 2 or cause for celebration with your colleagues with an incredible soundtrack?
For our visit, I had my first proper mate date since 2019 so our window table with a view of the Castle + Cathedral at dusk and on in to the night was absolutely perfect. For anyone not quite sure about dining out, there was plenty space between the tables and hand sanitiser provided on every table.
Whilst the drinks have always been my favourite, I was very pleased to see an expanded menu taking guests from breakfast, to bottomless brunch, burgers, dinner and beyond.
Still nailing the absolute cult classics like the goat curry (the Husbands #1 dish) and jerk chicken, more mainstream dishes have been introduced like both meat and meat-free burgers, jerk pasta, the light and mouth watering buddha bowls.
I’m a big fan of small plate style eating so you can try a little bit of everything and you can nail that at Turtle Bay Durham – mixing some starters and mains to create my very own Carribean tapas style spread, my top choices from the menu so far have been the Crispy Chilli Squid, Pit Prawns, Halloumi and Watermelon and the Sweetcorn fritters. Of course you can’t forget a portion of jerk fries or the dirty curry fries! My mouth is watering just thinking about this!
From the drinks menu, if the choice of 17+ rums doesn’t appeal to you, the cocktails and mocktails are out of this world. The Raspberry Reggae is my weapon of choice and at £9 for 2 during happy hour, who can say no to that? As always Turtle Bay have thought about the non drinkers, the kiddos and the designated drivers with a selection of freshly made soft drinks as well as the standard soft drinks too. No one is overlooked.
Now that Turtle Bay has set down roots in Durham, I know it will be a firm favourite for a lot of people and whilst the downstairs bar and restaurant may look small on space, there’s a whole upper level with spectacular balcony views, extra seating and an additional bar. Imagine having your Christmas party drinks overlooking the beautiful and unrivalled view of the Cathedral?
Don’t ask me how many times I have been back to Turtle Bay Durham since the doors opened mid October and am I already booked in for a bottomless brunch – that will be our little secret.
If you haven’t visited Turtle Bay before or want to drool on more photos of delicious food and drinks then check out all our other reviews HERE