Terre a Terre

On a spontaneous visit to Brighton because the sun happened to be out, I rang to check with Terre a Terre that they did not have a dress code as I knew we would be in shorts and t-shirts... 'Gracious, no!" was the response, and the generally friendly demeanour of the maitre'd (Chris) had me booking a reservation before I had even looked at the menu - I thought, this place sounds fun.

I then looked at the menu - and as a self confessed carnivore, I have never been as excited as I was to find out what the food would taste like given the way it was described and the few pictures on the website - and not a filet of flesh in sight!

I was not disappointed. Simply incredible. The creativity and imagination of the head chef is mind blowing. Seemingly tradional flavour combinations are given a unique twist, or you have no idea what the flavour of some of the ingredients on your plate will be - but dive in, be brave, you will love it! I will definitely be back!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, July 11, 2010

OK, one of my best friends is coming down ... I've promised her a lovely restaurant meal ... she's a longtime veggie, I'm a longtime lover of meaty food. I ask around, several people mention Terre a Terre. I think, 'oh for one night I can make the sacrifice and eat the veggie stuff' and make the booking.

I guess the only thing I could immediately stack against Terre a Terre is that it has a basic but quality atmosphere - maybe that is what they are going for, modern rustic I suppose. That impression was when I walked in, once we were sat down, my impression changed. First task - order the wine. There is an impressively interesting selection of organic wines and our waiter was able to give advice on our choice. One job done ... on to the food. At this point my friends eyes are boggling around and it is nothing to do with the wine!

For most vegetarians, seeing an extensive menu from which they can order anything is something of a nirvana - thus my friends boggling eyes. So, we went ahead and ordered the tapas for two to start and a main course each.

The tapas starter was a complete revelation to me - a little bit of each of the most popular things on the Terre a Terre menu. Every one of them a complete surprise and we had fun working out what each one was. Everything was delicious and I have been and will continue to urge everyone to visit Terre a Terre just to have this Tapas to share.

After the tapas we were pretty stuffed and probably didn't do justice to our main courses (I had the 'fish & chips' which is not fish but battered halloumi - very delicious - not diet food though)!

Overall, I would say you will not be disappointed, veggie or not. Could be conceived as pricey but if you consider the immense amount of prep and ingredient interest that goes into every dish - we should probably be glad that Terre a Terre is so very accessible!
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battymum
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, March 11, 2010

Best restaurant i have ever been to! Everything i ate was bursting with interesting flavours. Even the orange juice was amazing.

It is very expensive but its worth every penny, a lot of effort obviously goes into finding the best flavours to put into everything. I can't wait to go back again.
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Allie Cannell
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Food was fine - not spectacular but pleasant, if very pricey. After a poor start the service proved good but there was a curious disappointment: my girlfriend and I were visiting Brighton for 13/14 February weekend. Interesting that we - two women - were not offered the Valentine's menu at Terre a Terre: we were half way through our dinner when the man and woman who had just arrived at the next table were given a special menu all covered in hearts.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Monday, February 15, 2010

Ate there last night, I was disappointed. The portion sizes were good, and the starter of arojo mojo was excellent, and I was excited to get the main courses. What a let down. Mine was a bit interesting but not full of flavour, my partner's main was huge but the overriding flavour was of slight greasiness and he asked for chilli to cut through it. My dad's veggie version of fish and chips was also a let down and greasy. However the home made ice creams for desert were great, and the Italian carafe wine was also really tasty. The service was great and unhurried, but we thought the £100 bill for the three of us was over priced.
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ZoeB - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Still the best restaurant in Brighton... even the most hardened meat eater could not come away disappointed (I'm one of them).

Inspiring food, surprisingly good portion sizes with a good ambience and great service.
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matt - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 13, 2009

Went here for lunch after my grauation and it was lovely. Definitely not used to food like this but it was lovely. We shared the tapas, one vegan option and both were lovely. The garlic bread was delicious and there was halloumi and smoked tofu which were my favourites.One bit of the tapas I didnt like was the indian chick pea stack with some kind of cackers on top.

We went for the non alcoholic drink option and got two large bottles of water and one glass of vegan wine. The whole bill was £60 for four of us inc drinks.

Staff were lovely, didnt pester us at all but were just friendly enough. All in all a lovely place to go for a special treat!
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katie robinson
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I found that the food was bland and expensive. My husband I had a vegetarian Tapas to share, a bowl of chips and a bottle of water. All in all the bill came to £28. Not as bad as our neighbouring dinners who had soup, salad and bread for the grand amount of £38.

Although the staff and the surroundings were nice I wouldn't be rushing to go back because of the price
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Beverley Wan
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Sunday, May 24, 2009

Went back to Terre a Terre for lunch on Sunday after 18 Months since our first visit. The restaurant was only half full, but the staff were all pleasant and polite and there is a nice relaxed atmosphere - 'sit where ever you like' - which I like, rather than being told where to sit.

The menu did seem to be smaller than I remembered, but still a wonderful choice of starters and mains which we were torn between!

All the food was presented extremely well and everything tasted fantastic, just as we remembered from our last visit. We were still amazed at the fact that the food is so well thought out, tastes so delicious and the flavours stay in your mouth for as long as you want to keep tasting them (fellow foodies out there will know what I mean)!

My only negative things to say would probably be that the lunch and dinner menus are more or less the same and could be a little more different to each other, and that they close on Mondays - but I suppose everyone is entitled to a day off!

Keep doing what you're doing, we will definitely be back!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 09, 2009

I have eaten here many times and found it to be excellent

The food and service are always great and considering te work involved in the dishes it is good value for money (although it is maybe more of a spcial occassion place than an every day one)
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Martin Jones
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, February 18, 2009