This year, I’m spending my new year’s ever unconventionally. I was in Prague, didn’t like the crowd and chaos of tourists filling the streets of the Czech capital, so I found a car and drove all the way to Dresden. Two hours from Prague is the German city of Dresden. Walking the streets at 7 pm and trying to run away from the noisy fireworks, I bumped into an unconventional restaurant serving Jamaican food: it’s called Turtle Bay.
Turtle Bay is awesome! Endless colors, happy music, fresh vibes, and excellent service; I felt transported to Jamaica on New Year’s Eve!
A floor made of wood, tables, and chairs from several colors, an open kitchen, wooden boards painted in fresh colors, colored lamps, metal, chains, paintings and much more to please the eyes.
Start with a refreshing and sweet drink: the Marley Mojito with Cockspur golden rum, watermelon syrup, fresh mint, ginger mix, and watermelon. I loved its sweetness and freshness while being alcoholic and smooth.
Good to know: jerk is a spicy marinade. Scotch bonnet is one of the world’s hottest chilies.
I was excited to order everything...
Starters:
- Crispy okra with panko coating, mango mole, fresh lime and jerk mayo.
- Duck rolls with onions, tamarind, soy sauce, chili, sour orange chutney.
- Crispy chili squid: panko coated squid, mango mole, jerk.
Caribbean tapas:
- Caribbean hummus.
- Cheesy jerk fries.
- Chili pineapple salad.
- Shack stack burger: seasoned beef burger, jerk pork belly, mature cheese, lettuce, tomato, jerk mayo, and jerk barbecue sauce.
- BBQ sirloin steak: grilled with the spicy jerk, served with spiced fries and Caribbean coconut spinach.
Small metallic plates landed on the table, a paper on which food is served. Giant okra, battered and fried to crunch like chips. Tender squid transformed into chips and topped with a spicy sauce. That jerk sauce is indeed spicy!!!!
Caribbean hummus doesn’t contain tahini the Lebanese way but is spicier, has a brown color, a lighter texture like mujaddara. Diced pineapple with a hint of spiciness; nothing to write home about. The burger is not what I expected; the meat is too hard and probably not even meat, more of spicy kabab. The sirloin is too hard; the meat was not cleaned properly. I loved the cheesy fries.
The experience:
- Service 10/10
- Vibes 10/10
- Ambiance 10/10
- Food 6/10
Good vibes, great music, amazing drinks but food that’s good enough. Too spicy and lacking finesse. But I’ll surely come back here next time I’m visiting Dresden.
