Terroirs

Terroirs is a very good restaurant with a great concept. The small-dish approach really works for once and it is the kind of place where (uncharacteristically, for its Trafalgar Square location) everything seems possible. The wine list is inspired and the food is very nice and perfectly balanced. As promised, this is a rather rustic experience but all the more endearing. A well desereved thumbs up!

Fabulous lunch venue when you're not sure what to eat… enjoy lots of small plates to share with a good bottle of wine!

The best wine bar in London! The downstairs area is very relaxed yet intimate and is a great place to spend the evening. The bar staff are all very knowledgable and the wines and food are reasonably priced. Nothing negative to say about Terroirs! Top place!

A short menu with high quality, elegant yet simple fare. I had Hake (poached in butter) with some pulses and green vegetables. It was delicious and not too heavy. The service was a bit slow but it was a Thursday lunchtime. Book ahead at lunchtime as it can get busy. Enjoy.

Terroirs from the outside looks like an ordinary wine bar (and indeed in its previous incarnation as the Tappitt Hen was just that, pretty ordinary), but once you get to the food and wine, it turns into something very different indeed, an outstanding venue in every way. We went to celebrate my wife's birthday and enjoyed a truly impressive meal with glasses of sparkling rose and moscato followed by an excellent Muscadet sur lie and an equally quaffable Bourgeuil Cassiopee (from an extensive list of wines by the glass), all for less than £90 including the (optional) 12.5% service charge.

But it was the food that really stood out. For a starter we shared the charcuterie selection for £12.50 which included a superb pork and pistachio terrine, melt in your mouth duck rillettes (both home made, our charming French waiter informed us) and a saucisson sec imported from Lyon, served with very good bread. There are also small plate options, but we plumped for two mains, a delicious wild sea bass a la plancha (with spicy chick peas) and beef bavette, cooked to perfection hence with a grilled crust and rare inside. My wife enjoyed a panna cotta whilst I had to have some of my favourite cheese, Comte (one slight note of disappointment – not served with crackers or bread, although a generous portion).

The service as I said was charming, slightly slow but it was a very busy Saturday night. The unprepossessing outside belies a restaurant/wine bar with a clear ethos of providing a limited menu to an extremely high standard, alongside a wine list of breathtaking variety. You could go just for a drink (there is a bar area), small plates or a whole meal and I am sure you will enjoy it – highly recommended.

We went for a quiet Monday night dinner. We ate in the downstairs restaurant which was very atmospheric and cosy. The food was excellent with lots of charcuterie and French salads. I described to the waiter the sort of wine I fancied and his recommendation was fantastic and at £23 a bottle not bad value. The only tiny gripe I had was that there were anchovies on the menu upstairs but I wasn't allowed to order them downstairs. A very small thing which was never going to drag down a fantastic evening.

Must alter this after a recent trip – different girl on the door and was utterly charming. Every single member of staff we came in contact with was friendly and helpful. Just keeps getting better 13/05/10

One of my favourite restaurants in London.

Perfect food, great wine list and helpful staff. To really enjoy Terroirs you need to accept the fact that the lady on the door will finish her conversation on the phone without even turning to look at you and there is plenty of blank stares and gallic shrugs among the staff. If you can get past that and embrace the ‘frenchness’ of the place you'll love it!

The staff are actually very knowledgable and passionate and are always happy to answer any questions. The service has always been perfectly paced and I've never eaten a bad meal here and have been several times.

Go with friends for a relaxed evening and don't expect fine dining service, it's a wine bar after all!

Yet to try the 40 cloves of garlic roast chicken though…

Had a quick lunch today and was delighted to find a restaurant which obviously concentrates on simply serving excellent food and wine. The staff were intelligent, helpful and efficient.
The Anchovies, just with toast and raw sweet onion, were so delicious. No nonsense heaven. I cannot wait to return.

For food, wine and atmosphere Terroirs consistently delivers. Knowledgeable and friendly staff navigate you through London's best wine list. Small sharing plates of simple well prepared French food complement the wine brilliantly.

Having now been to Terroirs a couple of times, and been seated both downstairs and in the bar – I highly recommend this place ! If you can, eat downstairs as the menu is much more comprehensive and still has all the lovely bar snacks from upstairs available.

My standout dish without a doubt (fork stabbing was involved when someone tried to get one !) was the cantabrian anchovies. Such a beautifully simple dish and just amazing quality. Anchovies, butter, finely sliced shallots and bread. Could have done with a bit more bread, but apart from that…I even tried to find out where they sourced the anchovies from, but they were keeping that secret to themselves. Another standout was the pork and pistachio terrine. Followed up by the chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, I was in pure heaven.

The wine list is ridiculously long, almost tempting to close your eyes and go “meanie, minie, mo” especially if you're not that good with french wines – otherwise do what we did and go with someone who is. However, this is probably not the place to take someone who's not a meat fan, very limited options.

Now I just have to find another excuse to go back for another visit. Which I will definitely be doing.

Quirky and not to everyones taste, very French in practically every way. Ever driven through Normandy and stumbled across a restaurant in the middle of no-where, taken a chance and had a fabulous meal? …no me neither but if you did it would be like Terroirs. Enthusiastic staff, the best atmostphere, great wine list and simple french dishes that allow the quality of the ingredients to speak for themselves. Now so popular you have to book weeks in advance.

A very French bistro feel, from the excellent charcuterie to the surly waitresses.

The food is very modish, with small tasting plates rather than a starter followed by main course feel. The potted shrimp were lovely, even if chef might have been a little heavy-handed with the cayenne, garlic snails were plump and garlicky , smoked eel some of the best I've had, served on a bed of crispy celeriac, and the bavette was gorgeous. This last dish was a gorgeous piece of meat, properly seared on the putside, and properly red in the middle, served in its own pan, with some sauted spuds.

The wine list too is long and well thought through, with every region of France represented, as well as some overseas (and even some new world) intelopers. Prices too are keen – we had a lovely Larmandier Bernier for fifteen notes cheaper than I'd had the same wine at Boundary a few days before.

Not everything was a hit: the duck scratchings were too greasy, but that is a minor complaint when stacked next to the service. OK, it was a little crowded, but that's what the restaurant should want and is no excuse for rude, unhelpful service by waitresses who clearly wished that we'd bugger off and let them smoke and be surly in a sterotypically French way. So we did. Shame, good food is too often ruined by this sort of thing.

This was our 5th or 6th visit to Terroirs since it opened, and we were pleased to see that it is still very busy. We tend to go quite late, after the theatre – very useful knowing somewhere near theatreland serving reasonable food at reasonable prices, and being so welcoming when you walk in at 10-15pm or 10-30pm. There is a surprising lack of such late eating places in London.

The food is generally good, of a simple earthy and hearty style, which some might find a bit heavy. Sometimes they are more miss than hit, but we tend to choose the simpler dishes, which we normally enjoy.

The waiting staff are usually very friendly, enthusiastic and speedy, and they seem to cope very well with the busy restaurant.

Terroirs is very much a café / bistro style setup, with very close tables, what seems like quite a high table turnover, and a generally slightly frantic noisy atmosphere; which I quite like. Therefore, I think its better suited to a quick in and out bite to eat, rather than a long lingering meal.

They have a very good wine list, with some nice French regional choices.

Overall, I would say it is a very good bistro / café style restaurant for a quick hearty type meal with some decent wine, in a generally very poorly served tourist tat area. Not quite as well suited to low cal eating, a posh night out, or if you're looking for a quiet calm environment.

On the recommendation of a colleague, I took my fiancee and my parents to Terroirs. Good location, right at the heart of London, and my father described this as the best restaurant experience he has ever had! Though perhaps his judgement was ‘enhanced’ by the frankly incredible selection of wines – we just went for offerings by the glass, but there was much, much more that stood out on the rest of the list – but I would find it hard to disagree! The food is great and I would recommend Terroirs without hesitation. Will certainly be returning.

I'm a great fan of grazing menus (take Le Cirque, take Maze) and Terroir brings this to French County dishes. It does this well and has cleverly gone for a light, bright atmosphere rather than the traditional dark Parisian Brasserie with mirrors and wood panelling.

I went for classic 'male friendly / ‘health unfriendly’ dishes of duck rillettes, steak tartare and potted brown shrimps and then tried to offset my guilt with a good quantity of omega 3 fatty fish in the form of Boquerones (sweet martinated anchories) and smoked eel. Washed done with some Spainish Albarino wine.

Table are tight but then this adds to the atmophere. Not cheap but then the location isn't either.

All in all – I'll defintely return and consider it the perfect post theatre food to munch over while psueding about the latest David Hare play.

Went to Terroirs last Tuesday. Thinking that it is not necessary to book a table on a tuesday, me and my husband arrived at 7pm (which we thought is quite early) only to find out that the Restaurant was already busy. The lady on the door told us that there was unfortunately no table available, but there was space in the bar. Happily we took 2 seats in the bar and ordered some drinks. About 20 minutes later the lady from the door came to see us and said that they had a cancellation and were able to give us a table! – how nice!!! We were served the most delicious food we had in ages! The wine tasted fantastic and all in all we had a lovely evening! The staff is very attentive and friendly, most of them french which makes you even more believe you are in France, rather than around the corner from Trafalgar square. We will definitely return!!

Very disappointing given the glowing reviews. We went for a very quick pre-theatre meal, having only some bread & tapenade to start, a plat du jour each and a pot of wine (500ml). The service was brisk and friendly enough, the wine pleasant and reasonable value and the tapenade a sign that the meal to come would be good. Unfortunately, my sea bream was almost inedible: it came over-fried and on a bed of olive oil with a small handful of red peppers, fresh anchovies, capers and parsley. No sides were available and at £14 it was also overpriced. When I mentioned to the waitress that my meal was far too oily to be enjoyable she nodded and walked off (although the manager did approach us as we were leaving as he had heard we had not enjoyed the meal). My partner's pork was adequate but nothing to rave about. This place might be nice for a nibble and a glass of wine but we won't be going back.

2.7.09 – We tried Terroirs on basis of Square Meal's summary. Disaster from the word go. Arrived after theatre at 10.30, waitress offered to lay a table which proved to be between the two loudest women in the room and two men locked in debate, all of us elbow to elbow, within six feet of clattering kitchen noise – though plenty of other tables were free.

A4 menu is printed in smallest known type which my companion had to read to me as I had no reading glasses. Almost impossible to hear whispering waitress who took several attempts to make clear that the bavette would come cooked the chef's way, which did not match my preference. Resorted for expedience to bream. She didn't point out that this would arrive garnished with clams, even though I had ordered clams as starter.

Vast wine booklet possibly does credit to the patron, but again scores of pages in tiny print were impossible to navigate. Waitress returned and when I pointed to the first red on the list, a gamay, she said it was off!!!

To be fair (why?) when the food arrived the clams and smoked duck starters were delicious and full of character, though the bream and dry quail main courses were so-so. A £19 Beaujolais and one coffee brought the bill to £73 inclusive which felt pricey after negotiating a 90-minute obstacle course. Most of the meal was spent shouting to beat the ambient noise. By 11.30 the staff were itching to pack up, so we didn't recognise comparisons with the Left Bank. Won't be returning.

Scores: food 5, service 5, atmosphere zero, value 5.

Ate there last night

I was dissapointed given all the hype that this place has got:

Bread was good and fresh
Starters:
Duck Scratchings was raw vegetables and a dipping pot of a rather insipid cream based meat juice. Very dissapointing and certainly mirepresented by the menu

Beetroot and cottage cheese was as stated but hardly any work

Cured ham was execellent

Boqerones were salted anchovies on brochetta dripping in oil. No likeness to Spannish Boqerone if that was intended.

Mains:

Bavette . waitress did not aak how it should be cooked. It was sent back to be cooked to medium. That taasted good.

My Slow roasr belly of Pork was awful. I left mpst of it. Served in cast iron pot it was diced pork (really mushy and tasteless) together with pulses which were tasty, topped with Pork crackling (underccoked and very fatty)

Desert

Cherry pancake was good.

Wine list is extensive and reasonably priced.

I think the kitchen needs to take more care with what comes out. The quality could have been better with a bit of proper oversight by the head chef and feedback fron the waiters.

Whilst convemient I shall not bother to go again

It is a bit like Barrafina but nowhere up to their standard

|A taste of the Left Bank in the mundane environs of Charing Cross? We were en route to a matinee at the Playhouse, which is why we were braving the wrong end of the Strand. But what a find! Located in Northumberland Avenue, Terroirs stands out like the proverbial good deed in a naughty world. And the food is out of this world. The menu has such a variety of unusual and delicious-sounding dishes – sensibly arranged into ‘Small plates’ and 'Large plates – that it took an age to decide on our final choices.
I went for two Small Plates: Truffles on toast, topped with bone marrow, and smoked eel on celeriac remoulade. Both were superb, but possibly the bone marrow just won the day. Haven't had that since my youth – thought it was illegal, in fact – but there it was, just as creamy and unctuous as I remembered.
Two of our companions had – and raved over – the quail and , having mopped up some of the sauce, I could see why. My only niggle was that the large portions were served up in such small bowls, it was difficult to get to grips with it, unless we did a Henry VIII job and ate, messily, with our fingers. One dessert that desserved (sorry!) a special mention was the panacotta with blood orange and Campari – an intriguing combination that really works. I'm going to try this one at home.

Terroirs is a funky take on the classic Parisian natural wine bar (the sort of wine bar that offers artisan wines straight from the domaine). It is dominated by its curved zinc bar one end of which looks on to a tiny galley kitchen out of which emerges all manner of delicious snacks and tapas dishes. The charcuterie is superb – chunky, pistachio-studded pork terrine, rosmarino, a fatty, rosemary-scented pate from Tuscany, and various Pyrenean sausages and hams amongst other piggy nuggets. The range of plates includes meaty smoked eel with crunchy celeric remoulade, a decadent dish of blobs of bone marrow on truffle-brushed tartine, potted brown shrimps and steak tartare. Five plats du jour usually number bavette, or choucroute, and assorted meaty bistro classics. Last time I went I had a fantastic black bream with baby squid and piquillo peppers whilst my partner enjoyed pot roasted quail. The dishes are served without frills. The wine list is a revelation and pretty unique for London, being about 250 bins of organic and biodynamic wines and some smashing eaux de vie – as I have found to my cost! Plenty of choice by the glass (and the classic pot lyonnais) make it an ideal place to mix and match with the various dishes one might order. The quirky tasting notes are a nice touch. Service is generally with a smile, although Gallic insouciance occasionally manifests itself as carelessness. But Terroirs has the vibe of a place where people enjoy themselves and are happy either to go simply for a glass of wine and a single dish, or, to use a Damon Runyon expression, somewhere to “commit eating” in a more gourmandising way. All in all a little treasure in central London.

I've been here a few times now and feel my initial enthusiasm for the concept is starting to wane. The atmosphere is such that you can pretend you are in Paris, rather than in a poky building behind the giant post office on the Strand. The food is good quality, fresh and well cooked and the ‘Cervelle de Canut’, despite sounding like a 15th century brain disease, is a creamy, garlicky, chivey, herby delight of a dip, but is it me or is the menu just a little bit annoying? Great if you just want to share some dips and charcuterie with friends but if you want a meal you either have to spend a fortune on a variety of oddly sized little dishes served in frustratingly difficult to eat from receptacles such as frying pans or mini hot pots, or, as has happened everytime I've been there, you leave hungry. I guess I will go back though to keep trying to perfect the ratio of dishes to expediture. As they did once serve me the most delicious vegetable soup in this life.

I really enjoyed my evening at Terroirs. It was like a modern Parisienne tapas-style restaurant. The service was friendly & helpful, the food was very tasty & interesting, as was the wine. I also liked the atmosphere; narrow but wide tables for intimacy & room for lots of little dishes, close to other tables, but not too close, good lighting, ecousitcs, just really nice. I will definetly go back.
We ordered breakfast radish with butter & salt (didn't really “get” that), a vegetable & egg dip , which was delicious, anchovies & a squid dish – all great. For main I had a tasty, meaty cod & my husband had a rear steak, but unfortunately ,that was a bit tough, however, he did eat it all!

What a difference to the old place! Light, busy decor, all ‘real’ French people behind the bar, excellent wine list – though suspicious of the last Spanish entry? – yummy food, serving the French equivalent of the tapas bar formula. Which works! And reminds me of my french grannie's farnhouse kitchen with its aromas, colours and tasts. Not cheap, but nothing worthwhile ever is these days, and I would much rather drink just one glass of a delicious thouroughbred, then a whole bottle of something indifferent and simply colourful.
Charming staff too – for a few hours, I thought I was back in France…
Anne