It all started in Surfside Bar, Barbados.
If you were wondering how we dreamed up our tropical mix of rum, reggae and jerk then here’s the story of how it all began.
Our founder, Ajith, was in Barbados and looking for a real Caribbean place to eat. He found it in Surfside. At first glance it’s just a hut on the sand! But Surfside is all about the experience.
What was meant to be just one drink quickly became two. The cool, fresh cocktails laced with local rum were too sweet and delicious to resist - but it wasn’t just the rum that kept them there. It was the smiling bartender, Victor, who drew Ajith and his friends in. Victor wasn’t just mixin' drinks, he was making friends. He recommended some bar snacks and as the sunset over the turquoise sea, freshly made local dishes just kept on flowin' – as did the drinks and the conversation.
It all ended at midnight, when Surfside shut up for the night – but really that was just the beginning.
So that’s Surfside - the kind of place you arrive at 5pm and in a blink of an eye it’s midnight. Your night has passed in a whirlwind of new friends, cocktails, rum, bar snacks, more rum, games of dominoes – and most importantly, the friendliest service. The true essence of the Caribbean - good times.
It was so magical, Aj knew it needed to be recreated back home in the UK. And so, Turtle Bay was born.
As soon as you walk into any of our restaurants, you’ll spot our very own island bar taking centre stage – a homage to Surfside and the hundreds of other beach shacks of the Caribbean that share its friendly, feel-good spirit. And as you take a seat and stay a little longer, you’ll see that there’s so much more. A lot of rum, a never-ending backdrop of infectious reggae beats, and a feast of Caribbean-inspired food for any time of day or occasion.
We’ve done our best to recreate the spirit, the smiles and the magic of the Caribbean right here in the UK – we hope you’ll come and stay a while for Turtle Bay good times.
