Tèrra — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

Terra is a wonderful little fine dining place, with just 4 tables and a very cozy atmosphere. It has a stunning 15 course menu that takes you to a journey through Denmark and all it has to offer, from the sea coast to the forest to the inland area. Every dish has very complex and balanced flavors, very clean taste and very elegant and minimalistic look. The wine and juice pairing (both very skillfully designed) are so well matched with the dishes. Their zero waste approach is of course extremely valuable, and their knowledge and creativity can turn any kind of scrape into a star dish. Just for this, it deserves 5 stars. But where Terra absolutely shines and beats every other fine dining place I've been to, it's the attentive care that Lucia, the owner and maître d', puts into describing every plate, the flavors you're gonna feel, where the food has been sourced from, etc. You can see she pours her whole heart into what she does, and she will go the extra extra mile to try to find the right beverage pairing for the dish, and make up for anything that might leave you unsatisfied. It's always lovely to meet a fellow Italian with such a great background story of success and passion abroad, but even if she came from Mars, I'd say the same. She's probably the best host I've ever met in my many fine dining experiences, she's dedicated a lot of time to chat to us and answer our questions, in a very genuine, honest and open way. She said her goal here is to establish a connection with other people over food, and boy does she achieve that! Her partner and another chef are in the kitchen, designing these stunning dishes with extra care and knowledge, but they found the time to come say hi to us, and you can really tell these three people who are the only backbone of the restaurant, really put their soul into it. They deserve whatever recognition they get, and I hope they can keep doing this for a long long...

Térra is the result of passion/ labour of love from the dynamic duo Lucy and Valerio Serino. They showcase their Italian root by showcasing the freshest ingredients around the nordic region (with a hint of seasonal flavour from Italy of course).

The menu consists of 15 unique creations from chef Valerio’s wildly imaginative mind. They welcome us with a warm broth celeriac and hazelnut oil, like a warm embrace from when you visit grandma’s house it makes me feel right at home. Then the experience starts, while decor is dimly lid by the interior lighting, a clear sign of acknowledgment of nordic influences. So it was when it comes to the presentation of the courses themselves. While looking like a plate of well structured and calculative nordic design, each of them roars with combination of flavours that challenges our pallets to dig deeper!

While this is my second time dining at the restaurant and some courses looked familiar, the familiarity ends there. Valerio has tweak what were hidden underneath, which transformed them into something totally different than what I encountered previously! As they say “looks can be deceiving” and chef just presented me with his greatest remix.

Not only that, Lucy with her immense knowledge of wine brought us her selection for the evening. We chosen to have one wine and one juice/tea pairing for our evening. The lushness of fresh almonds and fruits influenced tea, and the crisp/ mineral note of various sparkling/white/orange wine transported us from a nordic theme dining room directly into the warm evening in the Italian countryside. With the occasional cool breeze on your face and the grass under your feet. Last but not least, Lucy concludes our night by presenting us a nicely curated pot of hot tea infused with various herbs from her garden!

What a...

Lucky us that Google suggested this hidden gem and that Noma was booked solid for the entire year. If you want to experience a first rate banquet, with emphasis on local ingredients under the hands of a master of sophisticated northern cuisine you must book a table at Terra. The rewards will far exceed the trepidation of going to a place that is not within the natives radar. The locals' loss but our win.

Since this review is taking place a few weeks after we dined here, will be unable to name the ingredients of each dish. Sufficed to say that it was a Seasonal menu, which means by the time you read this review, those ingredients will no longer be available. But whatever is available rest assured that il signor Valerio Serino, as the true chef and conductor of this enterprise will enact a masterful performance, coaxing all the ingredients at his disposal like a consummate conductor does with an orchestra, extracting unimaginable flavors from his vast repertoire and training. He is aided in delivering astonishing dishes to your table by Lucia, the most gracious hostess one can wish for. We felt we were treated like royalty, and each dish transported us to new heights. Bravo Valerio and Lucia for giving us your all on a memorable evening. Tanti auguri...