Terra by Carlo Cracco at Eataly

Last Updated on November 13, 2024

Down to earth dining at Terra, Eataly

Eataly, that sprawling Italian cathedral to all things food, can be quite irresistible.  Browsing the food and wine sections of the store I’m like a kid in a sweetshop, inevitably filling my basket with goodies.  Over the summer we spent a happy few hours drinking Aperol and prosecco on the terrace, stuffing our faces with pizza and pasta and generally just channelling our inner Italian.  Let’s hope for sunshine and Aperol next summer too.  But, until then, inside the store, there’s a new restaurant and lounge bar with a very special executive chef at the helm.  The recently opened Terra by Carlo Cracco is a partnership between one of Italy’s leading celebrity chefs and Eataly.  Having gone along to the launch event (and met the man himself), we were keen to find out more about the restaurant.   On the ground floor of Eataly, tucked away in a corner, you could easily miss Terra.  That would be a shame – this place is worth a visit for excellent food at prices that make dining out realistic.  Terra takes up a large space, with light wood tables and chairs with cushions to comfy up in.  It’s the kind of place where you could easily bring a group of friends, though we’d recommend booking to make sure of your space.  There are also seats at the kitchen bar, where you can watch the chefs at work, making use of the wood-fired oven and grill.  And there’s a comfy bar area where you can enjoy cocktails and snacks from the Terra lounge menu. Arriving slightly frazzled, a welcome non-alcoholic cocktail slipped down very easily.  My virgin Hugo was nicely balanced, though a little sweet for my palate.  My companion enjoyed a delicate and rather beautiful Negroni Bianco made with Amaro Bianco Cracco (the great man’s own product, an Amaro distilled with herbs and roots to create a fragrant liqueur without any added colouring) and Gin Cracco, with extra dry Vermouth, garnished with a lemon peel. As is often the case eating in Italian restaurants, it’s a struggle to pick between a pasta and risotto course or a ‘secondi.  I’d love to have legs hollow enough to manage both, but I simply can’t do it.  Somehow when I’m in Italy I manage perfectly well, but I suspect that’s all to do with portion sizes.  Instead and with hindsight something I’d recommend to others, we shared a bread basket before moving on to antipasti. The softest focaccia was my personal favourite, but there were plenty of other options. Carciofi al Limone was a pretty dish of Roman-style fried artichokes with lemon pesto, mullet roe and mint.  A delicate dish that was beautifully presented and an excellent start to the meal. a Carpaccio di Barbabietola, a carpaccio of red beets cooked under charcoal, with a cacio e pepe cream, fried egg yolk and roasted chestnut was another beautiful plate, although we thought it was overly complex with slices of heritage beet joining the other toppings. The market choice fish was turbot, one of my favourites, and an obvious choice for second.  The market pricing is very reasonable with fish at £7 per 100g and meat at £12 per 100g and 300g of turbot was the right portion size for me.  Cooked on the bone and filleted at the table, it was perfectly cooked, fresh and delicious, although we both thought it would have benefitted from a sauce or lemon garnish on the side. Tagliata Rucola e Grana is a classic Italian was of serving steak which I love.  It’s tricky to cook this to perfection without making it leathery and the plate served to my companion was a little rare for her taste (she’d asked for it medium well-done).  We shared both dishes though and since I like my steak rare, it was easy to split the dish to both our tastes.   Sides of fried new potatoes and salad made for the perfect light evening meal to enjoy washed down with a bottle of Tuscan Vermentino. And, the reward for skipping the pasta course was dessert.   Pistachio mousse with redcurrant sauce and crunchy bites was a pretty plate of light, fragrant mousse with a tuile topping and a pistachio crumb to add texture.   While cioccolata was a delicious budino (custard) with a creamy milk chocolate sauce and handfuls of crunchy granola topped with a crisp lacy caramel tuile. Terra would make a great addition to anyone’s address book.  Reasonably priced, with main courses from around £20 to £40 and with desserts at £10 each, it’s the kind of restaurant where you could take your family, go with a group of friends or even have an informal business dinner.  I dare you to visit and not come out of Eataly with carrier bags of Italian goodies. Right by Liverpool Street Station why not pay a visit to Terra by Carlo Cracco   Terra by Carlo Cracco Eataly London 135 Bishopsgate London EC2M 3YD