Tortuga

I have wanted to try Tortuga for a while after hearing really good things about their food so thought it would be the perfect place to go with a group of friends. We sat outside where the colorful décor made the terrace very lively and overlook the tranquil waters of Mina A’Salam.

Tortuga offers home-cooked authentic Mexican food and their concept is ‘mi casa es su casa’. We were also told by our waitress that some of the recipes have been in the Chefs family for very long as he got his inspiration from his grandmother Elena. As advised by our waitress who was Mexican we tried some of their signature dishes including the Molcajete and Sopes that are Grandmother Elena’s recipes.

We started our Mexican food journey with Guacamole served with crispy tortillas, this Mexican classic didn’t disappoint and it was really fresh, just be aware that if you ask for mild spicy it is so subtle that you might not taste spicy at all.

The feast continues and we couldn’t be happier when we tasted the Sopes which is slow braised beef, beans, crème fraîche and grilled corn bread. This was definitely one of my favorite dishes of the evening; the beef was perfectly braised and had a lovely spicy kick to it that was soothed by the crème fraîche. Following that our waitress comes to the table with a big bowl and presented us with Molcajete, melted cheese in a hot volcanic bowl, that was one of the family recipes. This was pretty much prepared at the table as she was mixing the cheese and served it with the tortillas. It was really cheesy and also delicious, there was a good hint of chili sauce to cut through the cheese.

I was very pleased with our choice of tacos, we got the Dorados which had crispy chicken, lettuce, crème fraîche and ranchera sauce. These we really tasty and some of the best tacos I have had, the taco shell was crispy and the ranchera sauce was full of flavor.

Ceviche is a very traditional South American way to cook their fish, they use lime or lemon to cure it and the result is delicious. Our Sinaloense (sea bass) was complimented with cucumber, tomato, onion and serrano chilli, it was full of flavor and very fresh, definitely something that makes you feel healthier while going on a Mexican feast.

At this point we were already quite full but there were still two dishes to come, Camarones al Ajillo and Chicken Fajitas. The Fajitas were a great finish to our meal, they were served with roasted peppers, red onion, guacamole, beans and mozzarella cheese grated on the chicken. I had a taste of the chicken and it was surprisingly really good, I never order Fajitas because I find them boring but this one was full of flavor and again with a lovely chili punch. The Camarones (shrimps with garlic and mushrooms) were nice but the average garlic shrimps you get in this type of restaurant.

We really didn’t have any space for desserts even though our waitress kept pushing us to try at least one.

The drinks are also good, they have a wide selection of traditional Mexican cocktails and most of them with Tequila. I had one of my favorites with their own twist; “Tortuga” Colada brought me back memories of my Mexican holiday.

One of the things I really liked was the staff, they were all really friendly and most of them were Mexican, this really adds up to the experience. The service was good throughout the meal but as in many restaurants when you ask for the bill it is very difficult to get hold of the staff and that can be quite annoying if you are in rush.

Tortuga

Location: Mina A’Salam, Dubai

Cuisine: Mexican

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