Terre à Terre *angels sing*. Those of you that know me well will have heard me bang on about this place regularly, it’s the bomb.com. If it was on a rooftop with a view it would be my favourite restaurant of all time, but as it stands it’s in the top three! The real plot twist is that Terre à Terre is a vegetarian restaurant. I know that some people will have just exited this blog page at the thought of no juicy burgers making an appearance, but honestly, the food here is out of this world. I was vegetarian for the first 14 years of my life and that’s how my family discovered Terre à Terre, but since eating meat it has remained a firm favourite!
I’ve suggested this restaurant numerous times to meat eaters, but always hit a wall when they discover that it is vegetarian. Oh, ye of little faith – Terre à Terre elevates vegetarian food to a whole new level, and you will finish the meal having not thought about the absence of meat once. It has even been voted the best for vegetarian food in the UK by The Observer Food Awards! A short walk from Brighton beach, this award-winning, ethical and vegetarian diamond delivers thoughtful, imaginative, playful and incredibly flavoursome food, visit after visit!
The menu for starters is always a fun read, and right up my street with puns left, right and centre. The punny dish names are often a mouthful, from ‘How’s your vada’ to ‘better batter and lemony Yemeni relish’.
Having been here more times than I can even begin to count, I now have my order down to a fine art. When we arrive, we order two portions of the Crispy Fried Lavash Bread, which is a thin flatbread from Western Asia. It is served heaped with a delicious dukka of cumin, coriander seed, and sesame salt and served with charred aubergine zhuganoosh – the remains of which I scrape out of the bowl with my finger…creamy, smoky heaven.
With this, we would normally have had green olives that come stuffed with ricotta and garlic, and are deep fried in a Grana Padano crust, however, I was dismayed to see that these are no longer on the menu *cough* put them back please *cough *.
For our starters, we order two each of the KFC and the Deep Fried Sticky Plummy Hoisin Marinated Sesame Tofu. The KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower of course) comes coated in sweet and sour sesame, served with kimchi, onigiri rice, soused shiso dikon and khol rabi, pickled mirin ginger jelly, finished with umboshi chestnut purée and crispy kale. The sticky, crispy coating of the cauliflower is divine and the chestnut purée I could eat with a spoon. It is the perfect harmony of flavours and textures and a dish that I can never get enough of, it is just so. damn. tasty!
Our second starter is always the hoisin tofu served with pickled ginger and wasabi. It is delicious and the sweet sticky sauce is so moreish – I literally wipe the plate clean with my finger (this is a theme for me at Terre à Terre).
So, for mains things get a little complicated. My sister and I used to always share the Better Batter and lemony Yemeni relish and the Rösti Revisited. The Better Batter is deep fried buttermilk soaked halloumi, served with vodka-spiked plum tomatoes, pea mint hash, pickled quails eggs, sea salad tartar, thick chips, and lemony Yemeni relish. A vegetarian twist on the classic fish and chips. The Rösti Revisited is a crispy fried potato, onion, and garlic rosti, with sautéed buttered spinach topped with a soft poached egg, another absolutely delicious dish!
In recent years, however, because we always want to eat everything on the menu, we have been going for the Terre à Tapas sharing plate. This is supposed to be shared between two people as a starter, so makes a great meal for one…if you like to eat as much as I do! It contains a selection of dishes from around the menu, including a mini Better Batter and another KFC…just so you really have all your bases covered. This is a dish that is regularly updated with the menu, so each time you go you get to try something new, without risking your whole meal on picking a new dish!
Finally, the dessert (yes don’t judge, this is a food blog you’re reading after all), my sister/partner in food, and I always share the Chocoholic, and yes it’s every bit as delicious and indulgent as it sounds. So, the Chocoholic includes a chocolate hazelnut truffle cake and praline, dark chocolate mousse, clementine sorbet, mini cinnamon sugar coated churros served with chocolate salted caramel dipping sauce, wild berries, crème de cacao brandy Alexander milkshakes, chocolate fudge, razza jazza truffles, all coated in raspberry sugar dust…Let’s just say, if you don’t have a sweet tooth this may not be the dish for you!
N.B I physically do not understand how this is even possible, having eaten this many times and never clocked…but having researched it I have discovered that this dessert is VEGAN!
The real take away here is that whether you are a strict meat-and-two-veg-er, a veggie or live a #plantbased life, Terre à Terre will blow your mind with its creativity and all-round delicious food! Just be sure to visit with an empty stomach and an open mind!
