![The Feed Me menu features a selection of three meats and three sides. Picture by Gary Ramage The Feed Me menu features a selection of three meats and three sides. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/9c5b0821-3fe2-4647-b3fd-b183a1a48c78.jpg/r0_0_4000_2667_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
My reviewing team and I cop a bit of flack when we visit restaurants in the city. Rarely do we wander, the critics of the critics say, more than 500 metres from The Canberra Times office.
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Well, this time you're right. I measured this one. Terra is exactly 133 steps from my desk, less than 100 metres.
I'll admit, too, I often frequent it at lunch time. A protein and two generous serves of salad for $22 is a great deal for the one work lunch I allow myself every week.
But since the restaurant won its first hat in the 2023 Good Food Guide Awards back in November, I've been meaning to drop in after dark and see how one of my favourite lunch spots transforms into a hatted venue.
![Fried cauliflower with vincotto, harissa, soy seed and patis. Picture by Gary Ramage Fried cauliflower with vincotto, harissa, soy seed and patis. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/6ea3a6d9-e867-41c4-bea4-74c07df82a16.jpg/r0_0_4000_2631_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The best way I can describe it is to say it's like one of those "from the office to the nightclub" wardrobe transformations. Remove your stiff work shirt to reveal a lacy camisole and swap your flats for heels, and suddenly you're a sexy woman ready for a fun night out.
Terrra is the same. The lights are dimmed, the music just a little funkier, you're lured inside by the sight of flames. And yes, the smell of meat, all that meat. Terra was one of former reviewer Natasha Shan's all-time favourite Canberra venues and she coined the term "meat smoke" and I think of that every time I walk past, day or night.
![Pig head croquette with labneh, pickled turnip and zaatar. Picture by Gary Ramage Pig head croquette with labneh, pickled turnip and zaatar. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/fff3ea06-2aac-49aa-a901-16d7bcc3fc51.jpg/r0_0_4000_2667_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
We pop in early after work, another dinner where I'll be home by 8pm, and are instantly offered the drinks list. It runs to 15-plus little pages, extensive, a little overwhelming. When our waiter, who does a great job all night, tells us that if we want to we can choose any bottle off the shelves that line the walls on one side, the process of ordering a drink gets even crazier.
We settle on a couple of glasses of the Maker Master rosé ($14), a bone dry, sangiovese-based rosé with a little touch of shiraz. It's perfect matched with the starters. When the meat comes we switch to cans of zero-alcohol Heaps Normal. It is a work night, after all.
Choosing the food is much easier. We go with the Feed Me option ($85pp) which is a couple of little starters, three meats, three sides and a dessert. It's excellent value.
![Dark chocolate tart plum with sorbet, fig and hazelnut praline. Picture by Gary Ramage Dark chocolate tart plum with sorbet, fig and hazelnut praline. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/428b7d72-d8c6-4d92-929c-477fb3e46c52.jpg/r0_0_4000_2667_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
While the menu here is meat heavy, our first starter of kingfish crudo is a delicate dish. Fine slivers of fresh fish, shavings of fennel, thin wedges of fig, splashes of shiro miso, some fronds of dill. It's light and a great start.
But then the meat starts. Pig head croquette - yes, made out of pig's head (I asked). These were great; salty and topped with a sliver of sharp pickled turnip, on a little dollop of labneh, sprinkled with some zaatar. A delightful mouthful that surprised.
For mains you get to choose three meats. We go with pork belly, beef brisket and lamb chops. Portions are served on the Terra tray. The portions are generous. Thick slices of pork belly and brisket and two little plump loin chops each.
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The chargrill is king here. All the meat is well cooked, caramelly bits where it's caught the flame.
There's a crackle on the pork belly, the brisket is tender, and the fatty little ends of the chops have been well rendered.
You get to choose three little pots of sauce too. We go with the miso gravy (can I buy this by the bucketload?), the chipotle mayonnaise with a nice kick, and the barbecue sauce. It's a good mix.
Three sides include a generous serve of fluffy, crispy chips that have been done in the brisket fat. Dipped in the miso gravy and I'm in heaven.
Just to feel a little refreshed, there's an iceberg lettuce salad, with a crunchy sesame praline and cucumber pickles for some tang.
We're also lucky enough to get the fried cauliflower with harissa, patis and soy seed. It's not on the standard menu the night we go in, but the waiter offers us the choice and we take it. The cauliflower still has some bite, the flavours are hot and salty. I'm keeping an eye out for it on the salad menu at lunch.
![Chef Sunga Son and co-owner Anthony Ianelli at Terra. Picture by Gary Ramage Chef Sunga Son and co-owner Anthony Ianelli at Terra. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/7d021c7b-86ef-48aa-b684-828129c3e6c8.jpg/r0_0_4000_2667_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Dessert is a revelation. One of the best so far this year. It's a dark chocolate tart with a plum sorbet and fig and hazelnut praline. The chocolate ganache has depth without it being too rich, the pastry buttery. The sorbet is fantastic. Smooth, fruity, tart, all at the same time. A little nutty crunch from the praline.
We've had a great night, the vibe is chilled, despite the heat from the chargrill. Service was spot-on, the food a definite elevation from the lunch-time fare.
And only 133 steps.
Terra
Address: 40 Marcus Clarke St, City
Phone: 6230 4414
Website: terracanberra.com.au
Hours: Breakfast, Monday to Friday, 7.30-11am; lunch, Monday to Saturday, 11.30am-3pm; dinner, seven days, 5-9pm
Chef: Sunga Son
Dietary: It's very meaty
Noise: No problem
Score: 15/20
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