The world's largest Italian food market and restaurant concept, Eataly has today announce that its fourth and final restaurant and bar, Terra, will officially open ton 16 February in its own secluded corner of Eataly.
Offering a relaxed and inviting dining space, Terra – meaning earth – focuses on seasonal ingredients cooked over fire, paying respect to ancient and simple Italian cooking techniques, with dishes served alongside Italian wines and cocktails.
The striking handcrafted wood-fired grill demands centre stage and can be seen in action from the convivial dining room. Terra joins Cucina del Mercato, Pizza e Pasta and Al Fresco, as the final restaurant at the Italian food emporium.
The menu at Terra will change quarterly keeping seasonality at the forefront of the produce-led kitchen covering antipasti, a curated selection of pasta & risotto, and most importantly alla griglia – the grill, which is the beating heart of Terra.
Using a specially selected virgin wood from Calabria, chosen to impart is signature smokiness and aromas, there is a choice with a market selection of ‘Pesce’ (fish), ‘Carne’ (meat) and ‘Verdura’ (vegetables) from Natoora changing daily.
Terra will showcase at least one element of each meal expertly cooked at the 3-metre-long wood-fired grill to impart the depth of flavour only cooking with fire can and using ancient fire cooking techniques used in Italy for millennia.
To start, guests can enjoy Grilled Scallops with marinated turnip greens, lemon-scented chickpea cream, topped with hazelnut powder, or fresh squid, grilled and served with panzanella salad and bagna cauda sauce. Vegetables from Eataly’s market are transformed over embers into dishes such as Roasted Pumpkin and baby spinach with lemon dressing, topped with walnuts and sundried tomatoes.
Main courses are kept simple, fired up by the griglia, and allowing the quality of the ingredients to shine. Guests will enjoy Beef Fillet from La Granda in Piemonte, served on top of smoked hay with sautéed baby spinach, or Slow Roasted local Pork Belly Skewer, served with roasted potatoes and gremolata sauce.
Fish is delicately done and highlights include Whole Lemon Sole or a traditional Sicilian favourite, Grilled Swordfish, served with caponata, alongside the daily catch from Eataly’s fishmonger.
Vegetarian dishes include Roasted and Grilled Delica Pumpkin served with pickled chestnut mushroom and fried black cabbage and Grilled Sweet Potatoes served on top of a chunky borlotti cream with gremolata dressing, and grated horseradish. Diners can also choose sharing cuts from the fresh meat and fish counters to be finished over fire and served centre table with a selection of sauces and sides.
The theatre doesn't stop at the grill at Terra, where desserts are given the flamboyant Italian flair with their soon-to-be-famous dessert and cheese carts. Savoury and rich, the Gorgonzola cart, hosting a whole wheel, is accompanied by a choice of dried fruits, mostarda, honey, nuts, bread, and crostini to be finished with balsamic vinegar.
And for those who err to the sweet, a Maritozzi cart, boasting homemade sweet and buttery sourdough brioche cakes, to be served with whipped cream and a choice of pistachio and hazelnut cream, amarena cherries, pistachio, hazelnut and amaretti crumbs.
Terra will offer the longest Italian wine list in Europe outside of Italy, with 2,000 labels available from their wine cellar, and a partnership with award-winning wine importer, Oeno, bringing a unique selection of Italy’s most iconic and celebrated wine labels from some of the most important vintages of the last 60 years to Terra’s cellar and the table.
Cocktails, to be enjoyed at the copper-hued, 40-seat art deco bar, have been specially curated by Georgia Billing, (Sexy Fish, finalist in Diageo’s World Class competition), with an emphasis on Italian produce: vermouths, grappa, and amaro (bitter) liqueurs.
The cocktail menu celebrates the four elements of the earth, named after famous landmarks and features of the Italian land and seascape.
From Terra (Earth), inspired and imbued with botanicals, Fuoco (Fire) with smoky and fiery flavours. Aria (Air) with whipped up foams and Acqua (Water) where cocktails include ‘low’ and ‘no’ ABV alternatives, changing seasonally to allow the bar to be environmentally friendly, sustainable, and collaborative with the kitchen, as well as the changing availability in Eataly’s wineshop and grocery.
With flooding light from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a view over bustling Liverpool Street, the rustic setting of Terra, with cascading greenery over the pergola and wood finishes, is the Italian escape from London, crowning Eataly’s food emporium in the city.