Da Terra

Creative Latin fine dining

Mushroom doughnut and cod croquette

I first encountered head chef Rafael Cagali’s creative cooking at Da Terra back in 2020 when he hosted a special one-off dinner with the talented Alex Dilling. The unusual, fun ways of his take on Latin-inspired cooking have got me interested to return to try out the tasting menu to truly experience what he has got on offer. Fast forward to 2021, Da Terra has gained a second Michelin star, a remarkable achievement, given it was only launched a few years ago. The restaurant only serves a tasting menu with an open kitchen within the Town Hall Hotel. You either pick a short or long tasting menu and you won't know what you will be getting till the food arrives at your table.

Chicken yolk and truffle

Chicken liver, wing, and foot

Moqeua

Wild halibut, pam, farofa

The first course of the evening was a raw Scottish scallop dressed with apple with fennel, it had a really clean, sweet and refreshing taste, a somewhat classic fine dining combination but one that executed brilliantly. I was a big fan of the Moqeua dish which I had in my last visit,  The halibut itself was as moist as you can get, and the sauce had such a rich, creamy and umami taste from the shellfish and coconut milk. The main of Cornish lamb sirloin was done to perfection. The lamb was super tender, and the kale offered a sweetness and crunchiness, which offered a lovely contrast to the meat and the creamy sweetbread. The dessert of cachaca baba had a really outrageous combination of caviar, sounds crazy at first, but when I shut my eye and truly focus, it actually had a fine sweet and salty balance with a fresh clean taste from the cachaca, and it turned out to be really special.  

Duck raviolo, whey, duck ham

Cornish lamb sirloin, kale, sweetbread

Cachaca baba, pistachio, caviar

Strawberries, yoghurt, 40yo balsamic

The cooking was indeed very experimental and you likely wont find anything similar in London, Da Terra use top notch exotic ingredients, combining with prime British ingredients to create something unusual and fun in a fine dining manner. It might be a bit extreme for some but I found generally everything worked pretty well, something not easy to get right in modern fusion cuisine. The only down side for me is the wine was pretty overprice given the quality and what you can find on the high street. Town Hall hotel has housed some remarkable restaurants over the year but I think Da Terra is the best of the lot. 

Food 4/5


Average cost without drinks and services:
£155

8 Patriot Square, London E2 9NF

https://daterra.co.uk/