Another day onsite although today we visited the pool. The surf is the strongest it’s been since we arrived last Saturday, so swimming in the ocean wasn’t an option. With four cruise ships in port, we decided to head out for breakfast so we could get back to Beachside before the crowds descended on Maho Beach.
We went to Tortuga Cafe for breakfast, I have mixed feelings about the experience, so I’m not sure I’d return. Last year, we had breakfast here and had a similar experience in terms of service—though I understand the island pace, the service was still painfully slow. We waited quite a while for our food, and while I get that “island time” can mean delays, it was a bit much.
I was drawn back by the Caribbean breakfast, which features saltfish and Johnny cakes. It came with a small wedge of watermelon (which was fresh and delicious), two eggs any style, and, of course, the Johnny cakes. Having visited Jamaica multiple times this breakfast is offered with ackee which resembles scrambled eggs. Since there is no ackee here I ordered my eggs scrambled to mimic the ackee.
Unfortunately, the Johnny cakes were disappointing—they were over fried and tough instead of light and fluffy, and they had a slightly bitter taste, as though the oil used for frying wasn’t fresh. Considering how long it took to get our food, I wasn’t going to ask for them to be redone. By the time they might have replaced them, my eggs would have been cold.
David’s toast was underdone, not quite toasted. Overall, while the meal wasn’t awful, it definitely didn’t live up to expectations. The view while dining though is spectacular of Maho beach and airport arrivals. Although that early in the morning, you see very little airport activity.
We had a late lunch at D’s Beach Bar—blackened shrimp tacos with mango salsa and mahi-mahi ceviche with taco chips. I also enjoyed two frozen mojitos before we called it a day. No dinner for us tonight.
Tortuga seems to be hit or miss, mostly miss for a lot of people and for the reasons you described. Inconsistent food and mediocre to poor service, which I believe includes a 15% service charge.
