The flavours of the Caribbean are associated in my mind with summer time.

Fish fried on the beach, jerk chicken sizzling on a fire pit and salads like sunshine in a bowl.

So I was intrigued to see what items would feature on the autumn menu of Turtle Bay, arguably the UK's biggest Caribbean restaurant chain.

READ MORE: What I thought of the food at Turtle Bay in Southampton

It turns out there are plenty of ways to put a twist on the classics and pair it with the stodge we crave as the nights draw in.

To start, my friend and I tried a selection of dishes: from the more traditional - trini 'doubles' (£6.80), a street food classic of bara roti topped with a chickpea curry and cucumber chutney - to fusion food in the form of fish tacos (£7.90) and a twist on Jamaica's national dish, ackee and saltfish (£7).

While the doubles were warming and the ackee dish was novel, the standout winner were the tacos: the battered hake perfectly crisp and flaky and offset by the tangy slaw.

And dunked into some hot sauce? Chef's kiss.

I have to confess that I ordered so many main courses that I had to ask our lovely waitress if she could move us to a bigger table, just to accommodate all the plates.

The dishes I had set my sights on were the jerk beef rib, the trini cod - both new additions - and the brown chicken stew (£14.70), back by popular demand, according to Turtle Bay's website.

I started with the returning favourite to see what the fuss was about - and I have to say, I could understand why.

I love beige food in all its forms, from the humble 'British tapas' of frozen dippers and nuggets to the more gastronomically-acceptable stew and casserole.

This fitted the bill nicely. A mahogany brown sauce, spicy and smoky, with melting chicken thighs on a bed of rice and peas to soak up the flavour and fried plantain for that sweet and salty contrast.

READ MORE: Meet the chef at Caribbean food favourite Turtle Bay

On to the cod (£17.50): described on Turtle Bay's website as 'the perfect dish for something a little lighter', I thought this would offer some respite for my increasingly full stomach, but I was wrong.

The fish was succulent and juicy (a sign it was not cremated under those culinary sunbeds) and sat on top of that most filling of all carbs, mashed potatoes.

Topped with what was billed as 'a light and mildly spiced garlic butter sauce', I have to admit it left me a little disappointed. It was a tasty plate of food, but it did not scream Caribbean cuisine.

The final dish in the trilogy, the jerk beef rib (£18), was a more successful adaptation: beef that fell off the bone, served instead with a sunny sweet potato mash, roasted greens and a sweet and sticky jerk gravy. Delicious.

By this stage, I was bursting at the seams, so did not have enough room to try the ginger pudding (£6), topped with a pineapple and rum compote and coconut ice cream.

But all in all, Turtle Bay did a good job of opening my eyes to the possibilities of an autumnal Caribbean meal.

My picks (for meat eaters at least) would be the fish tacos followed by the chicken stew.