Rustic anonymity: Terra’s dining room
(Picture: Adrian Lourie)The precise feel of a new establishment can elude you sometimes; staying just out of reach no matter how many times you attempt to hurl a descriptive lasso at it. But as I staggered towards Terra in Eataly — the flagship grill restaurant that sits within the Broadgate Circle outpost of this 43-site, Italian-themed global megachain — it almost felt as though there were too many ready-made comparisons. Was Eataly, with its multi-level labyrinth of bars and restaurants, basically a gigantic culinary theme park? Was it a big, baffling Italianate Ikea? A Las Vegas hotel casino but for pasta? The truth, inevitably, is that it is probably all three. And I would say that ultimately, your visceral response to those hypothetical spaces will decide how you feel about Eataly and this, the final and somewhat confusing piece in its glittering gastronomic jigsaw.
The sense of light bewilderment began early: our first act was to get severely lost. “This place needs more maps,” muttered my mate Joe, as we asked for directions to Terra for a second time, turned heel and walked for what felt like another kilometre, past the massed piles of BOGOF panettone, giant magnums of Prosecco, and the thick crowd of shoppers stalking the aisles. Again, this Ikea-style disorientation feels partly intentional. You could probably lose yourself for days at Eataly. But at least when you emerged wild-eyed and babbling, you’d have some discounted amaretti under your arm.
