Tortuga — Restaurant in Dubai

After receiving the hype about this place - We were incredibly dissapointed. AED 500 for two people, one appetizer, two entrees and two drinks (one alcoholic). Distant staff, unsatisfactory guac and diner-quality burritos.

Seating seemed to be an issue as there was no one to greet us and welcome us to the restaurant. Equally, it took three people to come to our table to confirm our reservation (I assume for allergy concerns).

We ordered guacamole, two drinks and two entrees. Note that this was the order that these came in. Guac delivered on its promise - served tableside; along with an envious stare amongst other diners. However, this seemed to be their downfall as we could notice the scarce use of lime juice, seasoning and even communication. It almost felt like an awkward time with the waiter, as they glared into the volcanic formed bowl of green mush. The worst part is that you can see how much seasoning goes into it, and then tasting it makes it worse. It was bland and almost overspiced with chillies - not what I imagine with a cooling agent in Mexican cuisine.

After drinks came, our entrees were presented on a long slate with a bowl of rice and...more tasteless guac! After diving into the beef chimichanga, it was oily and quite soft, compared to it's crispy and light expectation. The inside was soggy and seemed to masked with cheese. Overcooked steak with almost no seasoning made me feel sorry for the cow! As for the veggie dish ordered, it was a hot mess of veggies in an untoasted tortilla. Both of which came with plain boiled rice with butter, and frozen peas and carrots from Carrefour - like how I made at university when paychecks were low; far from Mexican cuisine.

By this time, we had had enough and asked for the cheque - to the waitresses surprise! It almost as if we offended her. Her service was respectful, but not very engaging for a family friendly restaurant. I'm sure they're lucky to see how offended we were to pay over AED 500 (€130) (£100)!!

I would expect this food from a diner that served Mexican food, along with burgers, steaks and all day breakfasts. Selling this as an 'authentic' Mexican experience is definitely false advertising.

I heard a lot of good things and had good faith about this place. I almost felt proud to bring my family to this restaurant after reading this menu. Yet, After this experience, I would be embarrassed to put my family through this dining experience. It may be masked by the sensuous exterior of the Souk Madinat, but we definitely saw past the palm trees and canals.

As a firm believer of trying everything once, for Tortuga,...

Lately I have been very disappointed with the hospitality of most of the staff working in Jumeirah group restaurants and living in Dubai all my life its very disappointing for such brand to have servers who act like they are being forced to work and ruin our dining experience each time before we even start to eat! First time was in October in French Riviera terrible service and sitting in which I went there for my Birthday lunch and got covid from the tiny small place that all people were sitting next to me and couphing nonstop which I got hospitalized for 3 days and even service was bad! 2nd time in November after we celebrated my friends birthday in Shimmers the buggy driver made a dirty joke to me and my muslim married friends if my friends like to perform in po-n movies which if reported to authorities was punishable by law and even tho I still reported your security did nothing! 3rd was on Eid alfitr at Kayto which the lady hostess was mean which manager apologized for her behavior. Last one is last weekend which we went to Tortuga we arrived 15min late at 10 pm and the Tortuga hostess called us that why we are late! And when we arrived again same mean tone that we cant sit next to the fan as tables were dirty and not cleaned yet and also another server who was also not cleaning our table and got our order wrong and kept arguing with me that I said this not that and we even left without having dessert as they got our order wrong! Even the food was not good at all! All were cold! We asked what time the restaurant close hostess said when people leave and the chef already left at 11pm before we even order dessert! Except Ill borro, Shimmers and Almajlis Mina salam Im very disappointed for hospitality of some of the other restaurants in Jumeirah hotels I been to lately! Please teach them that Middle eastern talk respectfully to eachother not raise their voice, argue and show such attitudes as we are there to enjoy our time and eat good food with good service we are NOT dining for free and they are not paying for our food to ruin our...

The restaurant has a very pleasant ambiance. An ideal location for celebrating a special occasion or simply enjoying quality time with your significant other.

To help you get started, there are chips and salsa. The accompanying salsa is incredibly well-suited for both children and most elderly people. We sampled very few vegetarian dishes. The food is excellent, but not spectacular. Try their Habanero Salsa (but proceed at your own risk) or their "Homemade Salsa" option, which has varying levels of heat, if you enjoy spicy food.

We asked if we could taste a little spoonful of the habanero salsa; they offered it to us, but they didn't tell us that it cost AED 4.00.

There is a special menu just for kids. Regarding dessert, La Ollita was excellent and definitely worth trying.

Take advantage of the scenery and your companions' company while their service is a touch slow.

Note: If you don't ask, the Tortuga crew won't inform you. Be sure to mention that you have a VISA or Mastercard because those cards have discounts. We missed the discount because we paid before we inquired, which was a mistake. Since we had already made the payment, we inquired if there was anything they could do, and they merely...