Turtle Bay Caribbean Restaurant to officially open in city centre

A new Carribbean restaurant featuring “rum, reggae and jerk” will open in the city centre later this year - presenting a whole new food offering to Glaswegians on the corner of Hope Street and St Vincent Street.

Turtle Bay - a restaurant and bar inspired by beach shack bars in the Caribbean - was granted permission to open at 130 St. Vincent Street in August by the planning board of Glasgow City Council, subject to conditions.

To celebrate the opening, Turtle Bay will be offering locals and visitors to Glasgow the experience of Caribbean hospitality and food completely free in the run up to launch. The series of ticketed events will showcase the lunch and dinner dishes over three days, with guests given an opportunity to register through the Bay Club App for the chance to win tickets.

Formerly a Barrhead Travel Agent, just a short distance from Glasgow Central Station, the interior of the listed building will be transformed - featuring a central island bar, reggae music, and Caribbean-inspired food and drink like jerk chicken and rum cocktails.

The restaurant will open late daily for 219 internal covers, and outdoor dining for 38 covers in hopes to channel the Caribbean sunshine. Guests can enjoy watching skilled chefs prepare their dishes from the open kitchen with a jerk pit grill, as bartenders work their magic at the island bar.

Turtle Bay’s all-day food menu will feature a BBQ Jerk Pit menu featuring smoky, succulent meats like half jerk chicken and rum BBQ ribs. Caribbean soul food and West Indian curries like curry goat and Kingston fried chicken provide a taste of traditional Caribbean cuisine in every bite.

Island-inspired brunch dishes like the ‘Big Kingston Grilldown’ of jerk bacon & sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, & curried chickpeas with grilled roti & eggs create delicious options for all-day dining, and sample platters allow guests to share the good times with a feast of starterslike jerk pit wings, crispy chilli squid, pulled chicken doubles & cheesy jerk fries.

Trademark rum cocktails like a classic Passion Rum Punch or Rum Runner, or more exotic drinks like the Raspberry Reggae will bring guests straight to the beach, with mocktails just as exciting for all to enjoy.

Guests will be able to enjoy Turtle Bay’s delicious rum-based cocktails and pints of Red Stripe as part of its 2-4-1 Happy Hour, which will be available all day from Sunday to Thursday.

Fans of flavour will also be able to make the most of the restaurant’s famous Boozy Brunch – a two hour Caribbean cocktail and brunching experience complete with tropical drinks and reggae beats.

Gemma Lewis, Operations Manager at Turtle Bay said: “We are thrilled to announce that Turtle Bay will be opening in Scotland for the first time later this year. A milestone moment for us, we can’t wait to bring a taste of the Caribbean to Glasgow and look forward to introducing our unique soulful flavours and reggae good times to the Scottish market.”

Turtle Bay’s expansion into Glasgow will also bring a number of employment opportunities to the local area, with plans to recruit 60 team members for a range of roles.

For more information about Turtle Bay Glasgow, visit turtlebay.co.uk/restaurants/glasgow

It’ll be one of few Caribbean restaurants in Glasgow - and the only one to be set in Glasgow City Centre - current Caribbean food restaurants in Glasgow include:

• Chapter IV and the Rum Shack in the Southside.
• Uprising Glasgow in North Glasgow.
• Bantaba, Smiling Coast Afro Caribbean Restaurant, and Afro-Fusion Cuisine in the East end.

Turtle Bay has seen success in England, with the Glasgow outlet being the first in Scotland when it opens. Turtle Bay has over 40 outlets in England, employing around 1,500 staff across all sites.

Turtle Bay Restaurants currently offer bottomless brunch, as well as happy hour two for one cocktail deals across all their UK sites, so we can expect similar offerings if the restaurant opens in Glasgow.