Turtle Bay Newcastle | Children's Menu Review

*This is a collaborative post. Please see my disclosure policy for more details

It feels like Newcastle City Centre is absolutely saturated with restaurants now. It honestly feels as if somewhere new is popping up every week. My 'must visit' list is grow out of control and I don't think I'll ever manage to put a dent in it. With this in mind, you know that somewhere must be really special if we have visited on more than one occasion. Turtle Bay near the Gate is one such restaurant.

After reviewing the restaurant with Steve last year, we've been back a couple of times and we ended New Girl in Toon's Geordie hen party here too (you can't beat those 2 for 1 cocktails). I've also popped in for lunch with my parents as I knew they'd love it too (and they did). I've never taken H, H and J before though so we were delighted to be invited along to Turtle Bay last week to sample some of the new additions to the main menu alongside their children's menu too.

Thanks to Newcastle's 'Alive After 5' parking scheme, car parking is free at selected car parks after 5pm. We took advantage of this and parked at intu Eldon Square before our 6pm reservation. You can't miss Turtle Bay - it's right next door to the Gate, Tiger Tiger and just up from Newcastle's infamous Bigg Market. Because of this, I probably wouldn't visit with kids later in the evening (especially on a weekend when the area is swamped with stags and hens) but for a weekday early evening dinner or lunch it is absolutely fine. Our table was booked for 6pm on a Wednesday night.

I just love the atmosphere inside Turtle Bay. The laid back vibe, street art and reggae music immediately help your shoulders to relax and you feel as if you're slipping into holiday mode. If you watch my Instagram stories, you'll know that I recently introduced Heidi and Jack to Bob Marley and they loved singing and dancing along to his songs (and others) from the minute we stepped inside the restaurant.

Our server was fantastic with our children and they were provided with full sized activity books themed around the Caribbean. We loved the Bob Marley dot-to-dot and the Caribbean-themed word search. The activity book also featured a recipe for a special Caribbean mocktail which the kids made at home with Steve the following night when I was at The Botanist with the girls. Keep an eye on BigStevieCool soon to check out the recipe.

A big jug of water is brought to your table on arrival (never decline this - you'll need it) and once the kids were settled, I took advantage of Turtle Bay's 2-for-1 cocktail offer (selected times) and ordered their new Rum Margarita. Steve makes a mean Margarita at home and the classic version is probably my favourite cocktail. I like them pretty sour and Turtle Bay's version was still a tiny bit too sweet for me. It is probably personal taste though as Steve had a little sip and loved it and it definitely wasn't as sweet as 99% of the Margarita's I've sampled in Newcastle so it was a very good effort. Two of these for £7.15 is a bargain.

Steve was driving so no cocktails for him. He ordered a Caribbean Craft Beer (also a new addition to Turtle Bay's menu) and thoroughly enjoyed it. If he hadn't have been driving I'm pretty sure he'd have enjoyed a fair few rum cocktails but we'll save that for another night.

We made the mistake we often make when dining out and over-ordered. We couldn't decide what to begin with so went with the new Just Jerk Platter. This was packed with jerk wings, pork ribs, beef riblets, Jamaican beef patties, sweetcorn fritters, a green leaf salad and spiced popcorn. Basically ALL of the food. This platter is a real bargain at just over £13 but I think it would be better shared between 3-4 people as that's a lot of food for 2 people. We also couldn't resist the crispy chilli squid which is nice and spicy and one of my go-to dishes on the menu.

The children's menu is priced at a super reasonable £4.50 for a main course and side order. My three all decided they'd be fussy and all wanted to make amendments to their order. Typical! This absolutely wasn't a problem though and our server acted as if this was entirely normal which put us at ease and stopped us from feeling like a pain! We were asked if we'd like the children's meals brought with our starters which regular readers will know, always gets the thumbs up from us.

Harry ordered the beef burger topped with lettuce and mayo.....minus the lettuce and mayo. You can choose between fries, sweet potato mash, rice 'n' peas or salad for your side and of course all three selected fries. Harry's burger was substantial and I was surprised when he managed to finish the lot.

Jack ordered the grilled chicken breast with Carribean slaw.....minus the Caribbean slaw. Honestly, these kids don't know what they're missing! He was happy with his meal and finished it in record time so he could get back to his word search.

Heidi ordered the Flatbread topped with cheese and tomato with salad.......minus the tomato and salad. I swear my children aren't always this fussy but like most, they have their moments and I don't think a restaurant is the place to start forcing them to eat their greens as it's supposed to be a treat. Heidi really enjoyed her flatbread even if she was eating a plate full of beige food!

Onto our mains which arrived promptly. I spotted Bajan Beef Cheek Curry which is a new addition to Turtle Bay's menu and knew it would be right up Steve's street. Beef cheeks are marinated in Caribbean spices and slow cooked for 6 hours. This dish is served with rice and flatbread and is rich, flavoursome and authentic tasting. At just over £10 it's also excellent value.

I pushed the boat out and ordered Jerk Sirloin Steak which is cooked with Caribbean spices on the Jerk Pit BBQ. We've recently switched to a gas BBQ at home and although we absolutely love it, it doesn't give you that authentic BBQ taste - well my steak certainly achieved this and I especially loved the little charred pieces of fat. Delicious!! My steak was cooked medium and was perfect and not overdone. If you order from the pit BBQ you can choose from a selection of 3 different sauces so if you're not keen on spicy food, I would recommend trying the Pineapple or Coconut sauce. If you like it hot like me, go for the traditional jerk. If you're feeling healthy you can order your BBQ'd meat to be served with a Festival Salad which sounds delicious. I have fallen off the diet waggon recently though and ordered fries without thinking about it. Ooops! Must try harder. They were lightly spiced though and worth the calories I think.

We honestly would have loved to try dessert, the Passion Pie had been recommended to us by someone in the know on Twitter and I'd been dreaming about it ever since. We really were stuffed though and it would have been greedy for us to order any more food. We'll skip starters next time and make sure we save some space.

The service we received all evening was honestly 5* as it is every time we've visited - blogging or not, the service has always been spot on for us.

We LOVED taking our children to Turtle Bay and they thoroughly enjoyed it too. I appreciate that they didn't exactly try any authentic Caribbean cuisine but they still really enjoyed the whole vibe of the restaurant and it's nice that we can take our children to somewhere a little different from the norm and they'd still be catered for. Turtle Bay is well-located for the Empire Cinema and combining the two would make a lovely end of term treat or family day out this summer.

Find out more, view menus and book via the Turtle Bay website here

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