'Impeccable vibes' restaurant chain with 50 branches is a surprising UK favourite

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Aussie diners are spoiled for choice.

’s Baltic markets.

it's been revealed that we Aussies have a bit of a quiet fascination with one chain in particular: Turtle Bay.

According to new data from Google Maps, four Turtle Bay branches have cracked the top twenty: Oxford Road in Manchester (10th), Birmingham (13th), Northern Quarter in Manchester (14th), and Leicester (20th).

The ranking was determined by searching online Google reviews to find the places with the highest number of reviews and ratings of four stars or above.

Each of the Turtle Bay locations listed has an almost perfect score and it's evident that Brits are huge fans of the place, as shown by the glowing reviews from diners.

‘Every dish was bursting with flavour and perfectly seasoned,’ wrote one Google reviewer. While another said the place had ‘immaculate vibes.’

Turtle Bay has more than 50 stores across the UK, serving up Caribbean-style grub. According to the menu, their jerk dishes, such as jerk beef rib ($17.50) and jerk chicken half ($15.20), are 'expertly seasoned' in a 'secret spice rub recipe and marinated for 24 hours.'

UK's top rated restaurants

1. Dishoom Shoreditch, London

2. Royal Nawaab Perivale, London

3. Circolo Popolare, London

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Stratford, London

5. Ave Mario, London

6. Govinda's Pure Veggie Restaurant, London

7. Dishoom Covent Garden, London

8. Hard Rock Cafe, Londinium

9. Gloria, London

10. Turtle Bay Manchester Oxford Rd, Manchester

11. Dishoom Carnaby, London

12. Jacuzzi, London

13. Turtle Bay Birmingham, Birmingham

14. Turtle Bay Manchester Northern Quarter, Manchester

15. Duck & Waffle, London

16. Vasantha Vilas – East Ham, London

17. Royal Nawaab Ilford, London

18. Jollibee Leicester Square, London

19. Popeyes Louisiana Chicken, Manchester

20. Turtle Bay Leicester, Leicester

Source: Google Maps

After founder Ajith Jayawickrema visited the island, he was on the hunt for some genuine Caribbean grub.

He came across a beachside shack called Surfside, where he enjoyed snacks and ordered some cocktails. It was such an incredible experience that Ajith wanted to replicate it back home.

In 2010, and it's been a real Aussie favourite ever since.

‘Fair dinkum, this food is bloody good!’ wrote one TripAdvisor reviewer who visited the Brixton branch. ‘Great flavours, with the right spices – highly recommend the curry goat. The drinks are top notch.’

Another said: 'I'd reckon to recommend this to any mate or family to grab a bite to eat. The curry goat was the standout of the night and the jerk wings were packed full of flavour.'

The Oxford Road branch were just as stoked. ‘Food was top-notch, drinks were ripper. The atmosphere in the restaurant was as good as it gets.’

The bottomless brunch (which offers two hours of drinks plus one main for £37.20pp) was also well-liked, as were the staff, with reviewers from right across the country saying: ‘The people make the place.’

The main criticism diners had of the chain was that it wasn't authentic Caribbean cuisine.

‘Fair dinkum, I wouldn’t go there for the real deal,’ one Redditor said. ‘But the grub’s still pretty good and the atmosphere’s top-notch.’

Another said: ‘I grew up eating home-cooked Caribbean food. I reckon the food at Turtle Bay doesn't really match what I think of as Caribbean cuisine. That being said, it's not bad if you can get over that.’

While one bloke summed it up by saying: ‘Turtle Bay is pretty much the Nando's of the Caribbean.’

And someone on TikTok added: 'Moved to the UK two years ago and was stoked to find Turtle Bay... I don't know what that was but it wasn't our food.'

G'day, you've got a yarn to spin?

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