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Terra Restaurants
Category: Restaurants Canadian (New) Canadian (New) [Edit]
8199 Yonge StThornhill, ON L3T 2C6
(905) 731-6161
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
15 reviews for Terra Restaurants
Review Highlights
-
"Baby Arugula Salad ($14.95." In 2 reviews -
"The wine list is to die for." In 3 reviews -
"Grilled Bison Tenderloin (8oz) with Foie Gras ($44.95." In 2 reviews
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15 reviews in English
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Review from Amy L.
11/10/2011
I experienced one of the most outstanding and memorable meals ever, here at Terra. Located in Thornhill, on Yonge Street south of Highway 7, Terra has been impressing their customers' taste palates since 1995. A creative menu, incredible service, and an elegant atmosphere has moved Terra up the ranks, above their competitors. Terra was awarded 'Best Eclectic Cuisine' Zagat Toronto Restaurant Guide and a six-time Wine Spectator 'Award of Excellence' winner.
Although the restaurant is fairly dim, it's a lovely space suitable for couples or for those dining in larger groups. They have an extensive wine list that is highly appreciated by wine connoisseurs. There are three private dining areas available for special occasions, as well as catering services for functions. Additionally, Terra has two beautiful patios with gorgeous fireplaces.
Jen has dined at Terra before and introduced me to this 5-star restaurant. Well okay, maybe not 5 stars, but it's up there according to Yelp anyway, haha. So we began our lovely meal with a salad. We shared the Organic Field Greens ($11.95) with goats cheese, pine nuts, and maple vinaigrette. Holy Lord, you have no idea what fresh means until you've tried this salad. I've honestly never had such fresh greens before in my entire life. They were almost lively. As for the other components of this salad; well, there really isn't much for me to say. At rare times, the ingredients absolutely speak for themselves, and this was one of those times. This salad was flawless. You know something tastes exceptional when after taking the very first bite, it hits you, your eyes lit up, and you're pleasantly surprised. I've never fallen in love with a meatless salad so much before :D
As for my main, I selected the Grilled Atlantic Salmon ($21.95) with a citrus butter sauce. Again, this dish made me speechless. As I'm typing this, I have my eyes closed, a grin on my face, and my head shaking. Another extraordinary dish. The salmon was so perfectly charred and crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside. The vegetables were cooked to the right softness with a little bite to them. Let me also mention the fact that I also ordered salmon the next day at La Société only makes me appreciate this Atlantic Salmon at Terra even more. They were so far apart in quality that I couldn't help but to snicker secretively. I'll be working on my La Société review soon, so keep your eyes peeled :)
Jen opted for the Wild Mushroom Risotto ($20.95) consisting of risotto, fine Parmesan, scallion and tomato concassé. I really enjoyed this dish since I'm a risotto and mushroom lover. Some places undercook their risotto, resulting in firm rice with too much bite. Others overcook their risotto and end up with mushy porridge. Need I say that Terra's is just right? ;D Jen gave me a huge portion because it was very filling and she found the parmesan too strong for her liking. Of course I gladly accepted her offer ;)
Last but not least, dessert time! We had an Upside-down Pineapple Cake ($11.95). The plating was fantastic and very playful. The cake was light and fluffy, and best of all, not dry. The other elements on the plate, from the vanilla ice cream to the pineapple reduction to the biscuit, were splendid. Terra just never fails to amaze me with their techniques. I give them a well-deserved round of applause.
So if my heartfelt and trustworthy review (;D) on Terra isn't enough to convince you to try them out, then I don't have the slightly clue what will.Listed in: Five Star places
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Review from Steve C.
Toronto, ON
5/13/2012
The food and Service were excellent. Our server Andrew was top notch and attentive and the other staff members made sure that everything was served hot and to our liking.
I felt the price was a bit high...lets face it the restraunt is in a strip mall in Markham not some posh building in midtown/downtown Toronto. the atmosphere outside Terra is pretty non existant. I had to park around the side of the mall in front of some flower shop/loading door or garbage cans.
Pro- My black cod with Miso was amazing. Sides were fresh and not overly cooked or salted. Food presentation was excellent. Service was two thumbs up.
con- charging $25 for a small plate of penne with tomato sauce for my child ( I would not have a problem if you made the penne on site).
Water was quite expensive.
Coffee was served in a Bodum but plunged by the server before it had time to steep.
If money was not an issue for me it would be 5 stars no problem. I will go back and try the Sundaylicious prefix another time. -
Review from Kat K.
1/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
I feel awful for giving this negative review, considering I really love this place. The BF's family and I come here for dinner at least twice annually. We normally come here for their weekly sunday fixed price menu - which is well worth checking out.
$39 for 3 courses
The most recent experience was not on par with the previously wonderful experiences I have had here; which unfortunately were before my pre-active yelp days. So I dearly hope that this review turned out to be a one-off mis-fire for Terra. Because I still honestly don't know what happened that night.
The evening started out beautifully - with our starters arriving - not too long after we ordered. I ordered the bacon, jalapeño and lime soup - which was amazing. The flavour of the soup was smokey, spicy and just a hit of sour to awaken the appetite for the entree.
Which took way too long in arriving; which kicked off the downward spiral. This was compounded by the wait staff more or less completely ignoring us in this stop gap between starter and main. After lengthy period of time, when I finally caught someone's attention, I had handed them my empty teapot and requested for more hot water - plus asked after our food - shortly thereafter the guy came back and said the food was on the way - before he ran off, I asked after my missing hot water. He said it was on the way - then disappeared. After about 15 minutes, food started to come out and was about to be put down - when the service guy was about to put it down, he got into a conversation with a co-worker at which point he did an about face and walked back into the kitchen with our food - no explanation or anything as to why they were taking the food away...
After another period of waiting (which during I still hadn't received my replacement pot of water), we ask again about our food - someone else comes out to explain and apologise about the delay in the mains coming out, as apparently there was a miscommunication - so the kitchen was cooking our orders now (3rd request for hot water gets inserted here) - at which point it has been at least an hour since we finished the starter. After another 5 minutes, the mains finally come out (hooray, but my water still hasn't arrived - insert 4th request)
My roasted half chicken is wonderful - but I think my carrot was still raw, because it was Bugs Bunny crunchy - but after the ordeal of trying to get my pot of hot water (which had finally arrived) and main - but I think every little thing was bugging me at that point during the dinner.
Dessert went without incident, I just ordered their fruit - but the Bf and his family order the flourless chocolate torte and upside pineapple cake; which arrived hot and steaming. They said it was quite delicious and on par with the past visits.
I've already stated what bothered me most about this recent visit - but here is the thing - if you ignore my big fat rant in the middle about massive service fail - Terra is quite wonderful, I would even deem it worthy of the 5 stars everyone else gives it.
But unfortunately, this visit rated only 3 stars - because I have to say Terra, I honestly expected better from you - because you normally knock my proverbial dining experience socks off.
Side note : the usual embellishments like the palate cleansing sorbet between app. and entree ; as well as the cheese and lavash between entree and dessert were missing. (although I don't know if they just forgot or stopped doing it) -
Review from Alan W.
Toronto, ON
9/6/2011
Many restaurants come and go in suburbia, but Terra has been serving fine food for over 15 years and rightfully so. You really don't have to go downtown to have a nice quality dining experience, though there so many more choices. It has been a long, long time since I have been to Terra and my last visit there was pretty good.
Terra does a "Sundaylicious" pre-fixe menu for $39 which includes a choice of appetizer, main, and dessert. So I went on a Sunday to try it out. The Sundaylicious menu seem to attract the neighborhood crowd but it was surprisingly not very busy. The items on the Sundaylicious menu were a few selected items from their regular menu and a few specially prepared dishes. For some reason I didn't find the items on the Sundaylicious that inspiring (their menu changes based on sasonal ingrdients, so I must have been there at the wrong time) -- I suggest going with the choices with the supplemental charges, it is well worth it. The kitchen were out of the bison carpaccio, which I was disappointed, however the heavenly rich seared fois gras more than made up for it.
Terra's wine list is lengthy with a good selection of bottles of all price ranges.
Service was very good and attentive.
The food is well prepared and the ingredients are very fresh and good quality. The dishes were good straight forward American/Italian food without any silly ethnic fusions or cliché plating. The amuse bouche at the start of the meal and the sorbetto pallate cleanser before the main were well appreciated.
The prices may seem very expensive for a suburban restaurant, but for those living in the York Region area it beats dealing with traffic and parking going to a restaurant downtown and there are very few fine places to dine like Terra in this neck of the woods. So it is actually well worth it.
My only gripe is that the decor of the restaurant is looking very tired and dated. Slate floors, multi-coloured glass partitions and knick-knacks, boldly coloured leather and velvet chairs, swirly motifs, venetian plaster walls, and busy lighting looks more like a glorified 90's Starbucks café than a sophisticated relaxing restaurant.
Their tapas menu looks really good, so I will probably go back to try it out next time. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
Usually when I want to celebrate special occasions but want to stay up in the suburbs without going downtown, I go to Octagon.. But after dining here at Terra Restaurant, I am so impressed and now it becomes the Go to restaurants if one want to celebrate or impress!!
Classy, Chic and Modern decoration.. good for all occasions. Service was excellent! One of the best I have, attentive, helpful and professional.
The main though pricey..but all nicely done.. and so delicious!!!
Baby Arugula Salad ($14.95)
- Our waiter split that in half portion for us to share... (Maybe I want to have the salad all for myself! :P)
- Light vinaigrette dressing with blue cheese and caramelized walnut.. I love walnut!!
Lime Sherbet was served to clear our palate, before our mains:
Grilled Bison Tenderloin (8oz) with Foie Gras ($44.95)
- Waiter suggest how the meat best to be cook to medium rare...which is my preference anyway
- really lean but so tender.. not gamey at all.. and nicely filleted finished off with a balanced gravy
- Foie Gras.. exterior seared and Mmmm good (I ate that whole tiny piece since my DC is not into that!)
Grilled Mixed Seafood ($37.95)
- Waiter suggest the fish to be cooked medium
- Salomon, sawfish, cod, tiger shrimp, big scallop, king crab, squid just to name a few
- All of sampling portion, lightly seasoned!!. and all fresh and tasty.. I would have a hard time if I force to decide if I only allow to order just one!!
Cheese and Cracker served while we decide on dessert :
While reading the dessert menu, I am so impressed with the loose leaf tea selection ($3.95-$14.95) they have.. One of the best I encountered in a sit down restaurant aside from a tea house.. And all of them according to the menu description are whole leafs tea!!
French Press Coffee ($3.95)
- A little weak and watery.. I wondering if they have a stronger brew.. I ended up drinking the coffee black.. though it smell really good
- Terra should have a more extensive coffee menu...
Warm Flourless Chocolate Torte with Ice Cream ($11.95)
- I am glad that I decide to order ONE dessert to share.. it is sizable and I barely able to finish my half portion
- Rich and chocolaty and fluffy and light at the same time! Heavenly Good!!
Terra is not cheap!! I definitely think it is worth the price tag. At least the food is really good, reasonable portion and excellent services... I will be back... especially if there is another group buy deal again!!
Now guys you know where you should take your date.. hint hint! Or you can always come for a night cap and dessert!!Listed in: You can get EVERYTHING you…, Romantic Places!
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Review from O S.
Thornhill, ON
3/7/2011
This was my 2nd visit to Terra after being there for the first time 3 years earlier. Overall, I found it even better than the first time out.
MENU: Better-than-average on a fine dining scale. The great thing about this place is that the menu is somewhat exotic without going way out there. Just enough for those who want adventure without committing to eat anything that might just freak them out. We're talking about venison, bison, ostrich, etc. Nothing too crazy. In my view, a menu should have some variety, but not too many choices. This fit the description 100%.
SERVICE: On both occasions, service was as good for a fine dining establishment. My most recent waiter went a bit over and above duty quite well, as my wife had some eating limitations that he managed to find solutions working with her, and I think he should be commended for his patience and understanding (I reflected this in the tip). Also, the guy was well traveled regarding wines, and while not a sommelier, had a stronger than normal knowledge of the wines at the restaurant, which is pretty much the most you could ask for.
ENVIRONMENT: Friday night has live jazz (bass, electric guitar, and sax trio) that started at 9:30pm. Can I say this is awesome? Why o why doesn't Toronto restaurants (let alone York Region ones!) hire more of this talent? It can't be that there isn't anyone around. And I know they don't charge a ton of dough to play relative to what a fine dining restaurant pulls in for a nights tally. So what is the hold up? It can get a little loud at peak time, but the place has pretty good sound proofing, so at least in the section I was in, it was very easy to speak to the company at the table.
OVERALL: Even holding them to a fine dining standard, Terra did as good a job as one could have hoped. Even with dietary restrictions, they were able to accommodate while at the same time not make a big deal of it. The food was great and the wait staff was very good. What else do you want, really.
There is a valet out front. USE THEM! Parking is limited and you'll find that it's simply worth it to use the guys out front to park your car, rather than driving around for who knows how long.
BEST FOR: Special occasion dining. Go on a Friday when there's live jazz. -
Review from Jessica L.
Thornhill, ON
5/16/2011
For the longest time, this was one of my favourite restaurants. But a couple years ago I started to find that it was going a little downhill. The food was still really good and so was the service, but something about the food just wasn't as good as it was before. It's hard to pinpoint what the change was.
I've been going to this restaurant for years and I have seen it go through a few transitions over the years. I'm hoping it was just a blip and it is back t the wonderful, high quality thornhill restaurant I always loved. There are no enough really good restaurants in thornhill. I would hate to see this one go really downhill.
If you've never been to Terra before, I recommend the Gnocchi. They are larger potato pieces that you would see in other restaurants and they are panfried before the sauce is added. It's really worth trying. -
Review from Doug C.
Markham, ON
9/22/2010
Exquisite!!
OK first off. Don't expect your bill to be less than a $C note per person. You know you are in the right place by the Ferrari's in front.
Now to the important part. Terra is the best fine dining experience you can find in Thornhill and maybe even in the GTA. Attention to detail is fantastic and the servers are very professional and courteous. They all are like that which tells me the management here is top notch.
Go for the Ahi Tuna as an app. I have not found anywhere that comes even close. Also found the best tea here... Jasmine (mighty leaf)
Special occasion, go to Terra!! -
Review from bold c.
Toronto, ON
12/31/2010
Good for clients and important dates. Pricey. Dress up mandatory. Look at spending $200-$300 for two entrees and a good bottle of wine and dessert. Oysters expensive but delicious (try the Winanno or St. Simone varieties), lobster bisque is excellent but overpriced for the portion, the baby arugula salad and seared foie gras was worth the money. The Risotto was decent but the portion could have been better.
Tapas options also available. -
Review from Brent L.
Keswick, ON
2/21/2011
First time out, celebrating the launch of a new company with my wife.
We did have a drink while waiting for our table. The bars staff was switched on and served us quickly. We people watched for less than 10 minutes and caught the jazz 3 piece playing at the perfect level. Not to loud, not too soft.
There was a good crowd that evening. I had made reservations earlier in the day, and requested a quiet table in the back somewhere. That's exactly what we got. Tucked away in a nice corner, I had a chair and my wife was on a nice comfortable overstuffed bench. The atmosphere was excellent. Conversation was audible from neighboring tables, but not quite loud enough to hear, unless you actively eavesdropped, which we did. It's as much a part of the experience as the meal!
Our server was top notch. He was there at just the right times, he watched our glasses from a distance, and I often caught him scanning his area to see if anyone wanted some attention.
Food was spectacular. That's not overstated. I am not unfamiliar with good food. I've paid more for less in the past. As with all things in life, good service makes up for poor food and good food makes up for poor service. We have both excellent food AND excellent service, so the night was magical.
The wine list is to die for. They have an excellent cellar. I managed to control myself and had an superb Cabernet recommend by our waiter. It was all I could do not to indulge in the 71 Chateau Haute Brion (don't ask the price). I may go back for it if business does well. Really well.
Overall, for my first and only visit so far, I was quite blown away. I will have to reserve judgment further until I can go again. And I will be going again. -
Review from Keidi K.
5/4/2010 1 Check-in Here
I attended an intimate wedding here and was blown away.
The food was perfectly cooked even on the simple dishes on the menu. My biggest peeve with food is when you only taste one ingredient and everything else tastes like it. Definitely not what happens here, I wish I had more and better words to describe this place. -
Review from Dhruv S.
Markham, ON
3/18/2011 2 photos
When you come to an expensive resto you expect the usual: great food and atmosphere at terra you get that and you get great waitstaff, service and hospitality. That's why my mom had such a great bday dinner with delish food. We took the roast chicken ( toooooooo die for), salmon with lobster bisque and halibut.
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Review from Teresa H.
Stouffville, ON
12/18/2010
The food here is pretty good. I like the martini's ie) cosmos. The food... Well in my opinion, for people who have more money than taste. I had soft shell crab and it was not a pleasant experience and I felt I was routing through tons of cartliage before finding some meat. The service is great. But I have found some better places in the area.
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Review from Scott H.
North York, ON
10/26/2011
Great atmosphere and service. Food is exceptional however the French press coffee was a huge disappointment.
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Review from rob d.
Toronto, ON
9/19/2009
Beautiful and excellent...without a doubt the nicest restaurant above Toronto's "downtown core"...everything we have ever tried is great. Also have beautiful private rooms for group functions.
