Was amazed by Terre à Terre not by there Fine Dining ... but by how they crammed so many diners into such a small space ... ok for a hippie veggie cafe but not cool if your charging "Fine Dining" Prices. The food is amazing if your 10 years old but not if your a full grown human .....very small portions and lazy cooking .. we felt quite ripped off to be honest.
Location: 71, East Street, Brighton, BN1 1HQ
Overview: “Brighton culinary institution Terre à Terre goes from strength to strength with a truly inspirational cracker of a Christmas menu.”
Seven years ago I was a both a Brighton resident and devout vegetarian foodie, often eating at Terre à Terre which I have long been an admirer of. I recently moved back to Brighton, this time as a fully fledged omnivore, but when the opportunity came up to goand experience Terre à Terre’s festive menu I jumped at the chance. Following a sub-zero walk into town, the warmth and buzz of the near-full restaurant was extremely welcoming and it wasn’t long before I was returning back to normal human temperature, aided by a glass of citrusy mulled wine.
As we were perusing the wine list and being tempted by the half-bottle of Sancerre (£13.75), our waiter informed us that our food for the evening would be matched with wine carefully selected to compliment each course.
This year’s Christmas Menu offers three fabulous courses for a very reasonable £25.00, with two choices for each course. To ensure we got the chance to sample the whole menu, my wife and I ordered different choices for each course, with me kicking off with the Oyster, Pickle and Praline, whilst my better half plumped for the Garfunkel Gremolata Gnocchi.
In true Terre à Terre style, I couldn’t ascertain what would actually be contained within the dish merely from its title, but on arrival I was impressed to see that my starter consisted of no fewer than nine components, including three types of mushroom, cooked in three different ways – sautéed, creamed and pickled. A delicate micro-shoot salad supported smashed, spiced Jerusalem artichokes, ruby-red mulled port liquor dotted around the plate offered some richness and to add some crunch, the dish was dusted with a hazelnut and salt praline, which I thought was a touch of genius.
My partner’s gnocchi were light, fluffy rosemary-infused potato pillows from heaven, which had been pan-fried after blanching, so were beautifully golden and crisp on the outside. These were accompanied by butternut squash puree, lifted with what tasted like orange zest and garnished with crispy fried sage leaves; a finer plate of gnocchi you will never see.
Our starters were matched with Picpoul de Pinet (£6.10 glass); it’s crisp leanness perfectly suiting the ode to mushrooms adorning my plate, a good choice indeed.
Next up our main courses of Neeps, Tatties and Haggisn’t (love the play on words) and Rosti Revisited respectively. My Haggisn’t was actually a large chestnut ball stuffed full of toasted barley and finely diced root vegetables wrapped in a Savoy cabbage leaf, accompanied by perfectly crisp cubed roast tatties, swede puree and a horseradish cream, which was nicely balanced with a prune and sherry jus. All of these wonderful textures and flavours combined well to produce a classic wintery dish, which proved to be both comforting and satisfying.
The rosti at Terre à Terre has been a menu staple since the early days and this was a very spinach-themed version of the dish, arriving with perfectly cooked, gorgeous buttery, nutmeggy spinach on top of the crispy fried potato cake, which in turn was topped with a poached egg. My wife smiled lots whist devouring the dish which can only be a good sign.
Our mains came matched with a full bodied Chilean Syrah (£7.10 glass), with its firm, smoky, deep flavour a great pairing with the full flavours of my main course – fan-bloody-tastic.
So, to the final course of Hot Toddy with Your Tart and Figgin’ Pudding. My tart was of the frangipane variety with a caramelised orange base, topped with a ball of rum and chestnut ice cream, which was absolutely to die for, rounded off with the best hot toddy I’ve ever had. This dessert was simply Christmas on a plate.
Lisa’s brandy soaked spiced Christmas pudding was by far, the moistest Christmas pudding I have ever had the pleasure of tasting, again coupled with a delicious ice cream, this time a spiced clotted cream number which proved to be another winner.
The service was outstanding all evening and our waiter had a great understanding of the dishes and judging by his choice of wines to match our food, an excellent palette too.
Summary
Terre à Terre is one of Brighton’s most iconic restaurants and its no surprise that it was recently voted the ‘Best Restaurant’ at the inaugural Brighton & Hove Foodies Awards.
Our evening was extremely enjoyable and it’s great to see that, after being away for so many years, the restaurant is still delivering creative and inspirational cuisine of such high standards. If anything, Terre à Terre has actually refined it’s cooking and raised the bar another notch – Michelin inspectors take heed.
So to vegetarians and carnivores alike, if you're looking for somewhere to host your office Christmas meal book it here... and if your not then book anyway – you’ll be amazed!