TERRA - Food Concept — Restaurant in Funchal

It was our third visit yesterday. After two 5-star-experiences in 2022 and 2023, we were deeply disappointed yesterday compared to the last visits. The concept has changed and they only offer a three course menu for 45€/guest, no criticism here - this could be a really good concept, if done the right way.

Regarding the food: We both ordered the vegan first and second dishes. the first was a Peruvian Solterito, which was all in all low in flavors. In addition to that, they used a grated vegan cheese as a topping which would normally used for gratinating in melted form. As Solterito is a cold dish, the cheese remained in its unmelted texture, which was very grainy because of the release agents used in the product. In our opinion, a vegan feta or fresh cheese style would have been the better option, especially considering the price point. the second course was a vegan tartare, which was really tasty and interesting Unfortunately the portion sizes of first and second dish were a lot smaller compared to our last visits both vegan desserts were tasty (once they arrived…)

Regarding the service: service in general was disappointing in comparison to our last visits the owners, who served us the last times, always gave a little description for every dish. They were not present yesterday. All dishes, except the Amuse-Guele and the bread, were served without any words. servers were inattentive and didn’t fill up glasses from bottled drinks. This was done perfectly at our last visits. they forgot to bring us our desserts. Maybe this was due to a misunderstanding: they said we asked to wait after the second course but actually we asked to get the desserts right away. But anyways, even if we would have wanted to wait, I expect a follow-up by one of the servers after ~15min. After almost 25 minutes of waiting (with empty drinks), I had to go inside and ask for the dessert.

All in all, I have to say that this visit made us really sad about spending more than 100€ for a dinner with two persons, without alcoholic drinks. In my opinion, the experience did not match the price point at all.

If we come to Funchal another time, we will not visit this...

As an avid fan of authentic Asian cuisine, I recently decided to try the Ramen at TERRA-Food Concept, which is known for its Asian-inspired menu. Unfortunately, my experience was a complete disappointment. I ordered the Ramen with high expectations, but it fell way short of my anticipation.

To start, the egg that came with the dish was hard-boiled, rather than marinated and soft to a jelly texture, which is a key component of a good Ramen dish. Additionally, the dish was lacking chasu, an important ingredient that is typically included in a good Ramen dish.

Furthermore, the Ramen was incredibly over-salted, to the point where it was practically inedible. I couldn't taste any of the other flavors in the dish due to the overwhelming amount of salt. The noodles were also disappointing, resembling fettuccine more than traditional Ramen noodles. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that instant Ramen tastes better than the one served at TERRA-Food Concept.

To make matters worse, the dish was extremely expensive, and the portion size was disappointingly small. It was hard to justify the price tag, especially considering the low-quality ingredients and the unsatisfactory experience. To add insult to injury, I ended up leaving the restaurant hungry and with a bad stomachache. The uncomfortable policy of locking all the doors every time someone entered the restaurant only added to my unpleasant experience. Even the water, which was probably tap water, was the only decent part of my meal. Overall, I would not recommend TERRA-Food Concept to anyone looking for a good...

I've visited TERRA a few times and it's a good place to eat, but with managed expectations.

What we liked:

The service is always fantastic, and the atmosphere is very nice. They've recently moved to a rooftop (ish) location which is a nice place to eat.

The menu often has innovative and experimental dishes which is quite exciting if you're a foodie.

The tuna dish that we had recently was perfect, and there's a good selection of drinks which are nice.

What we felt could be better:

It's not cheap so expectations are high (especially with really good competition around), and several dishes have been disappointing in terms of their quality when leaving the kitchen.

Lately the lamb dish was very poor - rubbery and should not have left the kitchen if checked (unfortunately we ordered one each, and we found similar reviews online afterwards).

The Panna Cotta was also disappointing - nice idea with the flavours but it was hard and grainy (again, probably should not have left the kitchen if checked).

The staff were very good and understanding about the lamb and I couldn't have asked for more from them (I didn't have the heart to tell them that the Panna Cotta wasn't good quality either though).

Overall:

Great service and a good place to eat with managed expectations, but I hope next time that I go back the quality of dishes that leave the kitchen reflects the price and matches the...