It’s the one we have all been waiting for. Restaurants are finally reopening on the 4th July, including Turtle Bay. I had my first dose of Turtle Bay when I visited Leicester a few years back, so as you can imagine, I was thrilled when they opened restaurants in Essex in Colchester and Chelmsford. I’ve visited a couple of times and the food really is second to none, so I am keen to see what the new social distancing measures are like, especially if they mean I get to enjoy some jerk chicken and a mocktail.

Turtle bay have put a number of measures in place to ensure they meet government requirements for reopening. Anyway, instead of taking my word for it, I will just refer you to their press release:

BOOK YOUR TROPICAL ESCAPE NOW – TURTLE BAY CHELMSFORD IS REOPENING ITS DOORS ON 4^TH JULY

Caribbean restaurant and bar, Turtle Bay, are welcoming guests back to 26 of their 42 restaurants including Chelmsford on the 4^th July in the first phase of their reopening plan.  

Bookings are open for brunch, lunch, dinner or drinks, both at the restaurants and on their ‘beachfronts’ – Turtle Bay’s outdoor dining and drinking terraces.

With overseas holidays off the agenda for most, the restaurant’s colourful and eclectic interior, beach shack bars, incredible rum cocktails, beautiful soul food and laidback reggae soundtrack provides a tropical escape on your doorstep.

Of course, there have been a few changes made at the restaurants, which have been operationally transformed to become COVID-secure destinations.

Measures in place in the restaurant for the safety of customers and teams include:

• Team Health Checks: 
  Daily health checks are in place before team members start their shift to ensure they are displaying no symptoms. Individual risk assessments are completed for each team member to ensure it is safe for them to return to work.

• Social Distancing:
  Tables are spaced in line with the 1m plus guidelines and teams will be observing this too.
• Screens:
  Customers can choose to have a Perspex screen fitted to the table – these can be requested on booking.
• Going cashless:
  Cash will not be taken to reduce risk, contactless payment is available
• App:
  An order & pay at table App is being trialled with a view to rolling out nationally later this month.
• Cleaning & hygiene: 
  Hand-sanitisers are available throughout the restaurant & a strict cleaning program will be taking place throughout the day, including frequent handwashing carried out by all team members.

• PPE:
  Is available for every team member if they choose to use this.
• Consolidated Menu:
  A pared-back menu will be in place for the time being to reduce waste and enable social distancing in the kitchen

The Turtle Bay grill is being fired up and most of the menu will be available. This includes their famous Jerk Chicken; Curry Goat; Beach Tapas for lazy grazing; and a huge array of vegan dishes and cocktails –  this is sunshine for the soul, right when it is needed most.

Hitting the legendary tropical cocktail collection is something likely to be on the agenda of many a Turtle Bay fan too – and the entire rum-based menu will be available at the restaurants from the 4^th July.  Plus, the legendary Happy Hour is back which means that the whole rainbow of rum cocktails including One Love, Reggae Rum Punch, Ting Ray and Marley Mojito are available 2-4-1 from the moment they open till 7pm and then again from 9.30pm until close in the evening.

The 4^th July also sees the return of Turtle Bay’s Bottomless Brunch (10am – 3pm daily). For £25pp, their gorgeous Caribbean brunch is served with unlimited choices from the whole tropical cocktail collection (or Red Stripe for those less keen on a cocktail) for two hours of laidback, island-style escapism.

If diners can’t get to the Bay, then the Bay will come to them, as Turtle Bay at Home will continue to bring a slice of island life into the houses of hungry jerk fans around the country. All the below restaurants will serve up their collection and delivery menu…which includes cocktails too. At-home diners can live their best island-style life in the comfort of their own kitchen/dining room/office/back garden/bedroom… anything goes!  Bespoke Caribbean takeaway feasts can be matched with incredible rum cocktails and a soundtrack of reggae specially curated by Turtle Bay through the restaurant’s Spotify channel.

Tom Sullivan General Manager of Turtle Bay Chelmsford said:
“At Turtle Bay, bringing the magic of the Caribbean to the table is what we do… I know these times have been incredibly tough for so many of our guests and our teams. But, as they say in the islands, storms don’t last forever.Now more than ever that sense of positivity and warmth will be a vital part of the Turtle Bay experience and we can’t wait to welcome our guests back to the restaurant. The Turtle Bay family has been working extraordinarily hard behind the scenes to ensure that the experience is a safe one, and we’d like to thank every team member, key worker and all of our guests, who have helped us on this journey.”

Guests can book now at the restaurants below:

• Bath
• Birmingham
• Bournemouth
• Bristol Broad Quay
• Chelmsford
• Colchester
• Crawley
• Ealing
• Guildford
• Leamington Spa
• Leeds
• Leicester
• Liverpool Hannover St
• Manchester NQ
• Manchester Ox St
• MK
• Northampton
• Nottingham
• Peterborough
• Plymouth
• Sheffield
• Solihull
• Southampton
• Staines
• York
• Cardiff – is open for takeaway only for now.
  

Places at the restaurant and beachfront are strictly limited so it’s advisable to book soon for anyone wanting to experience the magic of the Caribbean this July and beyond.