Oh foodie friends where do I begin!

I’m a lucky girly that’s all I can say, hours before I left for my wonderful holiday a while back, I had the pleasure of taking my Mother out for a birthday lunch to a wonderful place called Turtle Bay. Although this seems to be a chain restaurant I had never heard of or seen it before, which isn’t surprising as we found it down a little side alley in Oxford city centre.

Twinkling with lights down the path and in the restaurant, we took shelter from the rain in a bright and shack like place that could only be classed as Caribbean style.

I love a well thought out theme and this had more character than expected.

Everything about this place felt unique and personal, which is strange for a chain that has many restaurants around the UK.

My Mother and I are obsessed with Caribbean food and lifestyle, which is strange having never ventured to tropical shores!

One thing that definitely made this place impossible to turn away from was their loong happy hours (available every day from open till 7pm, then from 10pm -1.30am) and you know by now how much I love a cocktail.

The first cocktail we tried was the Reggae Rum Punch, fruity, refreshing and served in these adorable metal cups.

We were only there for lunch so we had to turn a blind eye to the jerk BBQ and goat curry and settle for something slightly lighter.

I couldn’t decide what to have (big shock there) so went with the simple suggestion of a Prawn & Mango Wrap. Buttery prawns, sweet mango, soft sweet potato and hot sauce, served with a side of fries and slaw. Is your mouth watering as much as mine…

It tastes exactly as good as it sounds. Not only did it look good, I adore the presentation of metal tins on wooden boards, it is what I would expect from the shack style.

Another reason I love eating out with my Mother (apart from her being awesome of course) is that we have similar taste buds, so I know that I can go half and half with her on pretty much everythang!!

She opted for the Kingston Salmon Toastie, which if I’m completely honest sounded to me like a pretty strange thing to have in a toastie and didn’t have high hopes for this dish.

I think I’m always pleasantly surprised… ?

Imagine this: perfectly cooked salmon, melted goat and cheddar cheese and a garlicky crispy bread shell, served with fries and slaw… and hot sauce obvs.

Once we were satisfyingly stuffed, we just had to order another cocktail, it would be rude not too.

We went for a creamier cocktail this time called Tease Me. Banana, rum, coconut.. just yummy!

Perfect end to a really good lunch. I mean look at those cloth napkins, giving me #napkinenvy if there is such a thing.

Just go. Now.