And to think we were resigned to the fact that it would be flats. But no, the site that was most recently Hoot ‘n’ Annie’s Bar (and before that Annie’s Bar, as well as several other incarnations) is rising from the ashes as…a chain restaurant.
We ‘re guessing they’re gunning for the Nando’s crowd across the road. Still, it beats yet more glossy apartments, right?
For the uninitiated, Turtle Bay is a UK-wide mid-range Caribbean-themed diner, with London branches in places like Dalston, Ealing and Brixton, which promises spicy food and fun cocktails. The interior? Wood floors, bare bulbs, signs that read – um – ‘rum tings.’
Which brings us to Turtle Bay’s Most Notorious Moment. A couple of years ago some flunky decided it would be hilarious to launch the social media hashtag #rastafyme and invite customers to send in their selfies, via Twitter, to be ‘rastafied’ with dreadlocks and a darkened skin tone. Really.
The ill-advised marketing campaign saw the chain condemned and forced to back-peddle and apologise: 
Controversy aside – and there was another recent flare-up involving the company’s tipping policy – we reckon the chain will find it hard competing with Camden and Kentish Town’s very good (and genuinely authentic) Caribbean eateries.
Not familiar with them? Try Guanabana, Mango Room and Cotton’s for starters.
And, keep saying to yourself: at least it’s not flats.
