Naked Turtle Jazz Restaurant & Bar

Lovemusicfood

For Music and Food Lovers 18th April 2009

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A fun place to eat out with waitresses who singer and food to meet all tastes. We need more places that offer more than just a meal out, this is good night out. All the staff were very attentive and the pianist and waitress singers were brilliant. Classy.

IJohnW

Great Evening - With Jazz Sining Waitresses! 12th October 2007

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The Naked Turtle is a great restaurant, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is mainly due to the brilliant staff, which include a host of waiters and waitresses that sing jazz songs (with piano accompompaniment) throughout the evening. When first looking at the menu it seems that the usual mainstream European food is being served, but in fact a host of much more exotic dishes are on offer, for example ostrich, kangaroo and crocodile! A great night out, especially for larger groups.

sue

A Little Bit of South Africa in East Sheen 9th March 2007

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The Naked Turtle restaurant is located a little of the beaten track in East Sheen, a short bus/train ride from Richmond. The cuisine is South African influenced and (mostly) delicious and the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. You can have a drink before your meal at the bar, and weather permitting, there is a terrace where you can relax and watch the passing commuters. They even have a happy hour each day.

There is a jazz pianist who plays throughout the evening, and the best part - singing waitresses! Don't worry, they don't sing to you as they serve your food, instead, at stages throughout the evening, the girls take it in turns to sit by the piano and sing some jazz classics.

I have dined there a couple of times now, and have to confess that the service can be pretty terrible - the staff are lovely, and are excellent singers, just really bad waitresses!

So, the food. Well, it was pretty good on my first visit….not as great the second time. Our giggling waitress explained that the South African chef had just left and was taking all of his signature dishes with him, and the new French chef was making lots of changes….perhaps not for the better.

One of the draw cards for me is some of the unusual meats that they have on the menu - crocodile, kangaroo etc. On our first visit we had some amazing tasting Blesbok (a type of Antelope), which just melted in your mouth. Second time round the meats were not as great, but still good quality cuts.

The Naked Turtle is famous for its Cape Malva Pudding (though apparently this will be disappearing off the menu very soon), which is kind of like a Sticky Toffee pudding, but without the sauce - still good though, especially the chocolate 'studded' version!

Ladis19

Exotic Food 7th February 2007

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I have been wanting to try this restaurant for a good 12 months but never found people willing to “travel that far”. I had heard and read he best reviews about this place and although we initially wanted to go for the live music (which is only from Wednesday to Saturday), I was told that the menu was also something to write home about. I finally went last night with 3 friends and had a marvellous time. I had heard one bad comment about the service being slow, specially with regards to the drinks as they have to come from the bar but aside from my friends being 35minutes late, I felt everything was prompt and on queue.

For Starters, I had the Scallops with baby leek in butter sauce with lemon…..an absolute delight. My friends, being all French, all decided to have the “Duck Foie Gras”. As it happens this was indeed duck liver but should be renamed to Duck Liver Paté as, delicious as it was, it does not resemble the taste of Foie Gras in any way.

My main course could not have been anything else than the Roo Platter, a dish with a combination of crocodile and kangaroo. Very normally served with 2 bits of roast potatoes and a Celeriac purée. We asked if we could have something else than celeriac purée and were recommended to have the Sweet Jerusalem artichoke heart purée which ended up being fantastic. Crocodile tastes very very slightly fishy. The consistency of the meat is somewhere in between a tender chicken or a firm fish. The Kangaroo is just to die for. I envy the Australians who have these meats available on their doorstep. The Sauce in this dish is slightly too hot and peppery for my liking, I feel it overpowers the delicacy of the meats. All in all a very good dish however they could have put a bit more on the dish for the £20 price tag.

Desert was more beautiful than tasty. Hence the chosen picture.

We went there for the food and the only disappointment is that we couldn't taste everything that was on the menu. There are plenty other dishes which look very appetising and will definitely be an incentive to return. Hopefully on a night when they actually sing.


Aside from the food, the restaurant itself has a nice, warm, friendly, low light atmosphere. The place was full and customers are a mixture of young trendy professionals, young mums on a girl's only night out, couples, business partners etc.

There is a selection of artwork on the walls, all up for sale. The style is difficult to describe, although “Kid Art” is probably the closest thing. Not kid art in the sense that it was done by kids but in the choice of design, picture, subjects etc

A special thanks to the lovely Victoria whose bubbly personality made our evening one to remember.

walid at 07/02/07

Great review Ladis, indeed it's hard to find good places with REAL Foie Gras. As for the lovely Victoria next time you're there take a picture of her doing the thumb up (our logo) and put it up on the site, like I did with the lovely Fanny from Cyrano in Holland Park

jo104 at 14/03/07

Really good detailed review I think I better get myself down to North Sheen.

walid at 31/05/07

Hey Ladis, look what has happened to your lovely Victoria: http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/waitress-one-day/2007/05/31/1180205385754.html
She's now doing a gig for George Clooney at the Cannes film festival!!!

sue at 31/05/07

Very cool! Wonder if she can get me George's number ; )

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