Turtle Bay Staines — Restaurant in Borough of Spelthorne

Disappointing Experience at Turtle Bay Staines

I've been a loyal customer of Turtle Bay for years, regularly visiting the Guildford branch, which has always been a great experience. Since Guildford is currently closed for renovation, I decided to try the Staines location, but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations.

The food was overly spicy to the point of being inedible, which was quite a shock given my positive experiences at the Guildford branch. I understand that Turtle Bay serves Caribbean-inspired dishes with a kick, but this was beyond what is usually enjoyable. Even dishes that I’ve ordered before were significantly spicier than expected. It was very disappointing, especially considering I’ve been a long-time fan of the restaurant. When I complained to the server he came back to say this is the way the dishes are prepared, this is the reciepe, and the chef if the head chef of the region, and if thats the case he surely shouldn't be.

I boasted to my sister who is currently visiting that she needs to try these amazing garlic pit prawns, however I ended up feeling terrible after taking her there paying so much money and receiving such a terrible experience. We were asked to pay before we were served our food. In hind sight i should have asked for a printed receip, however because i trusted Turtle bay i didnt think i would have any issues. The meals were served at different times, My husbands fish was cold, bit since he had waited so long he was hungry so he are it.

I requested for a full refund as the whole experience was disheartening, the manager who explained that this was his first day could not authorise refunds. He finally came back to say he would be able to refund me only for the garlic pit prawns and the curry prawns. I eventually agreed because, at this point, I just wanted to leave. This was on the 14th of September. I have yet to receive the refunded money on my account 🙄. I waited and thought it might take 5 to 7 days. But it never did. Absolutely disgusting. To pay almost 80 pounds and to be treated like this.

I hope the Staines branch can improve their consistency...

Yesterday was my first ever experience of Turtle Bay and I will be back! I was eating in by myself and it is the mark of excellent service that the staff don't make you feel like a Norman no-mates for doing so (besides, I like being by myself). The waitresses were really polite, friendly and helpful and several asked how my meal was not just the one attending to my table. The food itself was really nice. The prawns I had for my starter were huge, juicy, incredibly well cooked and bursting with flavour. I only wish there were more! The chicken I had as a main had a coating that was beautifully crispy - exactly as I had hoped it would be (often a menu describes a coating as "crispy" and it's just KFC-level mediocre). Very happy to report that they let me swap out the macaroni and cheese (which I cannot stomach) to some lovely rice instead - and the rice was cooked perfectly. For pudding I chose the banana and toffee cheesecake and this was one of the softest, loveliest cheesecakes I have had in a long time. I had one of their own watermelon slushes. This was "sweetened" - fearing vile artificial sweeteners coming my way I asked if they could not add anything to sweeten it and they kindly obliged and I'm telling you now it does not need anything added! It was beautiful. The restaurant was extremely spacious and well laid out. The decor was nice and even with few people there at the time that I was there, it still had a great atmosphere. Reggae music really isn't my cup of tea but the volume was a very comfortable level. The bill was over £29 which for 1 person was quite a lot but I had such a great experience - both of the staff and the food, that I feel it was worth it. I also didn't get bullied for a tip by the card machine at the end (other restaurants PLEASE take note!!). All in all this was a lovely experience and I recommend you try...

I recently visited the Turtle Bay branch for dinner, and unfortunately, the experience was far from acceptable. Upon arrival, we were left waiting for five minutes before being greeted by a staff member who was apologetic. After another 15 minutes, we were finally given a seat.

Once seated, it took a while before anyone came to take our drink and food orders. We placed our orders, but when the drinks arrived, they were made incorrectly. I went to the bar to ask for a change, and the bartender told me he would consult with the manager. He returned to inform me that the manager had refused to change the drink, suggesting that I either drink it or buy another one. I was disappointed by this response and left the drink untouched at my table.

However, our starters arrived, and I have to acknowledge they were great. Unfortunately, things took a turn when my partner politely approached the manager again to ask about the drink. Instead of offering a solution, the manager began shouting, stating, “If you keep asking for another drink, who is going to pay for the first one?” This level of disrespect and lack of customer service was deeply upsetting.

To make matters worse, our main courses arrived, but they were incorrect. This seemed intentional given the sequence of events, which only further ruined the experience. At this point, I decided to leave, but to my surprise, I was still charged for the full bill, despite the many issues we had encountered.

This experience was completely unacceptable. The poor service, lack of professionalism, and refusal to resolve any issues left me frustrated and disappointed. I will not be returning to this branch again and will be sharing my experience...