Terra Restaurant

Terra is an upscale restaurant located in the heart of Richmond Hill that focuses on serving some of the best international cuisines in the world.  Its fancy menu allows one to try out some of the more unique foods of the world within this restaurant.  In the past, it has been known to serve kangaroo meat whereas in today’s menu, ostrich meat seems to be the most unique choice of them all.  Regardless, we had an opportunity to celebrate three people’s birthdays this past weekend and as a result, we decided to give Terra a go.  Although some of my friends had been to this place before, it was my first trip here and certainly one I will never forget. 

Since some of us have never been to this restaurant before, we decided to with individual items that we could share and for some, we would order 2 or 3 servings of the same dish.  This included appetizers of the Crab Cakes ($19.95), Seared Sushi Grade Ahi Tuna ($18.95), Bison Carpaccio ($19.95) and entrees including the Tomahawk 48 ounce Rib Eye ($75.00), Seafood Spaghettini Aglio Olio ($39.95), Mushroom Risotto ($26.95), Ostrich in medium rare ($49.95), Tiger Prawns ($19.95), Roasted Sea Bass Marinated with Miso, Maple and Soy ($39.95) and one Grilled Centre Cut Provimi Veal Porterhouse($39.95) . 

Ahi Tuna

All the appetizers arrived at the same time and all of them looked delicious.  One of my personal favorites was the Ahi Tuna.  Each piece of tuna was thinly sliced and seared perfectly on the edges. There were only eight slices altogether however each slice tasted deliciously.  Mixed in with some wakame seaweed, roast roma tomato and chili lime salsa, this dish certainly stood out compared to some of the other dishes present.  As noted in their menu, they only selected the center cut which is not only the softest part of the tuna but it is also the part without bone and skin.  

Crab Cakes

The Bison Carpaccio was another one of those really good dishes they had served for appetizer.  Each piece of meat was sliced very thin just like the ahi tuna. It was mixed with pesto, pine nuts, truffle oil, arugula and with a thin piece of cheese.  Putting it altogether, the whole dish felt like it was coming to life.  The great thing about this dish was despite the large amount of meat that was present, it wasn't a dish that was going to ruin you for the rest of the evening. 

Bison Carpaccio

The crab cakes came in pairs and stacked one on top of the other.  Personally I thought the crab cakes were a little dry and flaky. With their coconut kaffir froth and their mango papaya salsa mixed in the batter, flavor wise it was there however I personally like my crab cakes just a little bit more moist.  You can definitely taste the crab meat on the inside and proportion wise they were pretty hefty. 

48 ounce Tomahawk Rib Eye

The highlight of the night had to have been the 48 ounce Tomahawk Rib Eye.  This thing was huge.  Although the bone itself was probably half of the overall weight, there was still plenty of meat attached to it.  The rib eye itself was nicely seared and the waiters would bring it out to the table in whole so that we could see it and take pictures with it.  Then it would go back to the kitchen where the chef would slice it up so that it would be easier for us to eat.  The rib eye was fantastic.  The meat was cooked to medium rare and in this case that was exactly what we wanted.  The meat was soft and tender and nice and pink on the inside and perfectly seared on the outside.  There were two large pieces of prawns added to the final presentation.  
 

Mushroom Risotto

The rest of the entrees all arrived at the same time.  The Mushroom Risotto was a nice dish to have although we did have a slight problem with the first batch when one of my colleagues found what looked like a plastic wrapper embedded inside the risotto.  The waitress did not put up any fuss at all, returned the risotto back to the kitchen and new one was given to us.  The first risotto was actually pretty good.  It was nice and moist and not overly salty.  The second one was a little bit saltier than the first one but it was still a very good risotto. 

Grilled Ostrich Fan

The Grilled Ostrich fan was very nicely done.  Appearance wise it almost looked like ahi tuna with its maroon colored meat on the inside and beautifully seared meat on the outside.  The meat was very soft and if you were to ask what it tasted like, I could tell you that it really didn’t taste any different than a medium rare steak.  Some people will swear by it that there is a distinct taste to ostrich meat but I personally could not really tell the difference.  The ostrich also came on with mushroom risotto which was perfect as one mushroom risotto alone wasn’t enough to share amongst nine people.  With a bit of peppercorn and truffle oil sprinkled on top of the ostrich meat, it was a very tasty and nice dish to have.

Seafood Spaghettini

The tiger prawns were one of my favorite and one of everyone’s favorite for the evening.  Two large size shrimps marinated in garlic sauce was a huge hit amongst all the guests.  The prawns were huge and very tender which is a by-product of how fresh the prawns were. 

Mixed Seafood Appetizer

The seafood spaghettini was also a good choice to have and one I would highly recommend.  The spaghetti mixed with a large piece of lobster, prawns, scallops, king crab and calamari is a must for any seafood lover.  I was really impressed with the proportion size of some of the seafood.  Sometimes when you order such a dish and it comes out, everything looks diced and minced inside your food but here at Terra everything was quite the opposite.  Basically, you get the whole seafood on your plate.  Corners were not cut which was what impressed me the most.  The taste was unbelievably good as the spaghetti was not too heavy which can be a problem sometimes when you have seafood spaghetti where chefs tend to make the sauce too creamy.  This was definitely not the case here. 

Roasted Sea Bass Marinated with Miso, Maple and Soy

The sea bass had a bit of uniqueness to it whereby a dose of maple syrup sauce really made this fish really sweet tasting.  It’s not often I eat fish that are sweet in nature but this one was.  When you add maple syrup sauce along with a combination of spicy coconut-lychee-pineapple froth with a grilled pineapple sweet onion salsa, then yes this is going to be one sweet fish.  It’s a different way of eating sea bass but the chefs really knew how to make it so that it wasn’t too far fetch. 

Grilled Centre Cut Provimi Veal Porterhouse

After all this and people amongst the group were still hungry.  It just seemed that there were stuck in a vacuum yearning for more.  So we grabbed a menu and ordered a Grilled Centre Cut Provimi Veal Porterhouse.  The veal was served with a porcini mushroom sauce and with spun mash potatoes.  If there was one meal that we all thought did not live up to its billing, it might have been this one.  The meat was nice and pink on the inside and the chefs were the ones who sliced it open for us.  However the meat was a little bland and not the most tender piece of meat we have ever had.  I know I’m a little biased because I had veal a few nights before at another restaurant and that was amazing veal.  This one was chewy, bland and unfortunately the mushroom sauce did not really help this dish at all.  When one factors in the price and the quality expected for this dish, this one was slightly off the mark.

Still, it was a wonderful night with great food shared amongst great friends.  Yes we also ordered dessert for the evening.  What’s a dinner like this without dessert?? With champagne and a few bottles of red wine consumed, the total bill was just a shade under a thousand dollars split amongst 9 people.  Mind you, some of the dishes we did doubles and triples on.  Although it was my first time there, it certainly won’t be my last.  Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Terra Restaurant

8199 Yonge Street

Thornhill, Ontario

905-731-6161