The Teal Turtle is a nice little cafe close to the foreshores of Port Noarlunga beach. With nice views of the ocean from their outdoor dining area, it’s a wonderful place to relax and watch the world go by.

While the outside looks more commercial, the inside reveals a renovated house. There is plenty of seating both inside and out, and they even have a play area for children. As you would expect from an old house, there is only one toilet in the building.

They do breakfast here as well as sandwiches, rolls, pastries, baked products and sweets. The place has a few home style dishes on offer, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were restaurant quality.

Today, I ordered the Turtle Burger (no, not real turtle). The dishes came out after a 15 minute wait and all meals arrived at the same time. The burger was of a decent size and the most noticeable thing was the size of the patty. It was huge and at least a few inches thick. The meat was juicy and well cooked, however, I did think it tasted a bit odd. It reminded me of filling I would find in a Chinese dim sim. The relish had a subtle sweetness and the bun was something I’d buy at a supermarket. The chips were nice, thick, well salted, crunchy and adequately cooked.

The staff were really friendly and the service was pretty good. With the amazing views, the atmosphere was relaxed. The pricing is on par with other cafes, however, my burger wasn’t the gourmet quality that I usually experience. My friends said their dishes were good, so perhaps it was an issue with selection. I’ll definitely be back to this area, but perhaps not this dining location.

WHERE: 9 Saltfleet St, Port Noarlunga