Turtle Bay cooking up a Caribbean taste for York

Turtle Bay, the caribbean restaurant and bar brand, is investing £800k to open its first restaurant in York, which will create 60 new jobs in the city.

Refurbishment is already underway at the 130-cover restaurant, which will see the site undergo significant fit-out works, transforming the retail unit into a state of the art kitchen, dining facility and a six sided central cocktail bar, which will feature over 40 different rums.

The 3,740 sq ft former Laura Ashley site on Little Stonegate is due to open in late August.

This is Turtle Bay’s first restaurant to open in Yorkshire, and further ventures are planned for Leeds and Harrogate later in the year.

The move to the region follows on from the success of the restaurant’s 17 other sites across the UK, including Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and Bristol.

Ajith Jayawickrema, Turtle Bay Founder, said: “I am delighted to be opening our York restaurant and am confident that our concept and offering will fit in well with the local student population, tourists and residents of York and its surrounding areas.

The menu will feature classic dishes as jerk chicken, Caribbean fish curry and goat burgers, along with more than 50 other traditional Caribbean delicacies. The restaurant will use traditional West Indian cooking techniques such as flame grill BBQ to give an authentic Caribbean taste.

Ajith added: “I’m looking to bringing something new to the city’s already vibrant food scene. Turtle Bay is about great food and good times, simple as that and I think we will offer something new and exciting that will appeal to everyone.”

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