Terra Restaurant — Restaurant in Markham

OUCH !!! How do you give your "go-to" restaurant a less than complimenting review? tough. My wife and I haven't been to Terra for a few years due to changes in our diet and eating habits. Since we live in Richmond Hill, Terra has been our number 1 go-to restaurant for fine dining and yesterday we took our son and his girlfriend to celebrate his birthday. My wife likes to consult the menu online, and decide what she'll order prior to arriving at the restaurant. I like to be surprised. The first think that hit me when I studied the menu was that no dish jumped at me with a promise of being unique and different than in other restaurants. In my mind, An "eclectic" restaurant, as Terra defines itself, needs to always have something new and creative, surprising and thrilling, that makes you want to order it as soon as you lay your eyes on it, unlike an upscale steakhouse where one finds all the usual "suspects". The service was very good, as always. With my main course I have asked for spicy oil (I had the pasta) and we needed to remind the waitress after 10 minutes that we were still waiting for it. Not to be petty, but at a fine dining place that shouldn't happen. Every fine dining establishment should have excellent bread. The 2 types of bread we received were mediocre at best. The EVOO was of excellent quality so the mismatch was unfortunate. 2 of the 4 appetizers arrived barley warm (Calamari) and had to be redone. At a place like this you expect the chef to know that if there's one dish that couldn't sit at the window it's Calamari. It gets cold very quickly. The replacement Calamari arrived quickly and was hot. My wife's soup of the day (cream of Spinach, I believe) was very good but was just very warm. We believe a soup should be served hot. My wife ordered the Foie Gras appetizer as a main dish. Since she came prepared with the dish selection from her online study of the menu, she didn't bother to look at the printed one. Well, the online menu promised a Foie Gras Duo (grilled and a mousse) but the dish served was just grilled. When we inquired, the manager came over and explained that they have yet to correct the online version. Ii may be our own fault for trusting the online menu but the expectations from a fine dining place are a bit higher. When the dessert arrived (we all had just one, to share) it was nicely decorated with a "Happy Birthday" writing and a candle. It also made it onto the bill. One would think that after the Calamari had to be re-done, the soup was just warm and the spicy oil was forgotten, that the dessert which costs the restaurant $5 and is priced at $16, could be complimentary after the mis-haps... The food was good. Anyone who frequents fine-dining restaurants could easily tell that the ingredients were fresh and the dishes well prepared. All were tasty, and here exactly lies the problem: Not a single dish was of such flavours, creativity or uniqueness that would make one want to make come back for. Every really good restaurant needs such a dish, and even some of the Indian, Thai or Chinese restaurants north of the city, where the price of a meal is about 30% of what it is at Terra, have such...

Normally I don't leave a negative review because most restaurants of this caliber care about their customers dining experience. I originally wrote this privately to the owner and contact email but received no response.

I am writing to you about our awful experience at Terra on Nov 2nd. We were celebrating my father in law's birthday and thought that Terra would be the perfect place to convey how special and important this birthday is to our family.

The first disappointment occurred when my appetizer took longer than 40 minutes to arrive which is excessive for a small plate of honey truffle french fries. When my appetizer arrived, it was not crispy as I had requested. It was sent back to the kitchen two more times and finally I was told that it's not possible to do due to the honey truffle sauce. I should have been informed right away that this was not possible, so that I didn't have to wait a total of 1hr and 10 minutes for my appetizer. If this was mentioned at the beginning, I would have accepted the fries the way they were. Due to this delay, the kitchen waited to give the rest of the guests at our table their meals. Everyone was hungry, upset with Terra and with me due to my persistence at expecting my french fries to arrive the way I had originally requested.

As well, my father in law ordered more bread to compensate for all the guests being hungry from the delay of not receiving their entrees. I had to remind the server after 40 minutes of not receiving the bread he requested.

From the time we ordered our dinner, it took more than 2 hours for it to arrive, which is unacceptable and excessive. Both My wife and I ordered our entrees to have extra vegetables to replace the mashed potatoes and include the substitute of alfredo sauce. When the dinner arrived, none of this was adhered to and had to be returned to the kitchen. By the time that everything was done correctly, everyone else had finished their dinner and were waiting on us.

This disastrous experience strongly impacted on my father in law's special day because we had to rush the planned after dinner festivities due to this fiasco.

In addition, on my way to the washroom I overheard the kitchen staff yelling and complaining specifically about me. Your staff should be aware that they need to save their gossiping for a more appropriate time and not when there is a high probability that the customer is within direct ear shot of their complaining. This is highly unprofessional.

All these issues resulted in frustration, upset and discord at our table, ruining our evening and my father in law's birthday dinner. We expected much more from the caliber of Terra. Especially since we have a cherished history with your restaurant, having celebrated our engagement and rehearsal dinner there.

Sincerely...

I recently dined at Terra in Richmond Hill, a restaurant I’ve frequented during my visits to the area. It’s a place I typically enjoy, as someone who appreciates fine dining and is willing to invest in quality experiences. This time, however, my experience left much to be desired.

I visited with my fiancée, a friend, and his partner, and we ordered generously from the menu, including drinks, desserts, and a range of dishes, resulting in a bill exceeding $770. Among the items we initially ordered was a 40-ounce steak priced at $235, which we felt was ideal for our group. Unfortunately, we were informed by our waitress that the cut was unavailable and were recommended two 24-ounce ribeyes instead, which totalled $300 - more expensive and more food than we needed. While I respect a recommendation, the upsell felt unnecessary, and I mentioned at the time that I would like the steaks price-matched to what we originally intended to order.

When the bill arrived, I was surprised to see that the full price for the ribeyes was charged, with no adjustment made. Upon raising the issue, the waitress mentioned she needed to consult her manager/boss. After somewhat of a wait, she returned and informed us that her manager, who was on vacation, had denied the request over the phone, citing that “what was ordered must be charged.” I requested to speak with the manager directly, but I was told this was not possible. It’s unclear if the call even occurred, but the lack of resolution or goodwill was disappointing.

This experience revealed what I can only describe as a lack of basic “business 101” understanding - specifically the importance of customer lifetime value. A fine dining establishment should be acutely aware of the value of retaining loyal customers and ensuring they leave satisfied. Instead, we were met with rigid policies and zero effort to address the situation, let alone foster goodwill.

For a restaurant that positions itself as a premium dining establishment, I would expect more proactive service and fairness, especially for patrons who are clearly not trying to cut corners but simply want a reasonable and transparent experience. No alternative solutions were offered - no complimentary desserts, no gestures to acknowledge the misunderstanding - nothing. It felt dismissive and, frankly, beneath the level of service one should expect from a restaurant of this caliber.

This situation raises questions about whether the staff are empowered to provide solutions or if the management is engaged in ensuring customer satisfaction. I’ve always believed that a hallmark of fine dining is the ability to address issues with professionalism and grace, but this experience missed the...