Terra at Eataly L.A. — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I am writing to express my disappointment with my recent visit to Terra Restaurant. on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 7:30pm. I was with my 27 year old Daughter and we have enjoyed our annual Christmastime dinner at this restaurant. Our experience this year was very disappointing on all counts. The primary reason I decided to write was due to the serving of our filet which still included butcher's twine cooked into the filet and therefore not first noticeable to the eye.

Upon arriving for our reservation, at 7:30pm we had to wait a good 15 minutes as we were told they were getting our table ready to dine. However, several people were seated prior to us and when I walked through the restaurant there were plenty of open tables. Finally, upon seating at table out in the middle of the outdoor area, there was minimal heating at our table.

The waitress was mediocre at best with minimal interaction of conversation.

There was an annoying DJ playing club music at a high level and in our opinion the music was not a good match for this finer dining experience. Although, I suppose it was enjoyed by a couple of intoxicated female diners who decided to get up and dance a bit. We would have rather enjoyed simple background holiday music.

We started our course with the measly amount of tuna tartare with barely any avocado. You should check out Paul Martin's restaurant for a much more generous and fulfilling tuna tartare appetizer.

When the filet arrived, my Daughter did not notice at first, but after experiencing difficulty cutting into the meat and eating much of the filet , she discovered cooked butcher's twine still in the meat. Additionally, the meat quality was certainly not at the level of Ruth Chis, or Flemings. We pointed out to the waitress the foreign object we had no idea at the time was butcher's twine. She did not even know what it was and took the item to a few people, including a manager. One Manager came to our table and did not quite know how to explain how it was butcher's twine due to his first language not being English. But assured us he would "take care of us" with a complimentary desert and not charging us for the filet. Then, about 15 minutes later, another Manager-type man came to our table with another order of the Filet. We explained to him how we were not hungry any more and I suppose it would have been nice to take the filet in a go bag, but WE did not want to pay for the first filet, so we declined the second filet.

The Waitress, asked us if we wanted a desert and I implied how the manager mentioned a complimentary desert and ordered the tiramisu. This desert was overwhelming taken over with way too much cream and not enough cake and other tasty ingredients.

The bill came, with the credit for our filet but not for the desert. It had been awkward and uncomfortable enough with the entire dining experience and we just wanted to pay the bill and leave the restaurant. And, not question why we had to pay for the desert.

I would enjoy thinking we shall return next year for our meal, or even throughout the year when we also go to the AMC Movie theatre. But, at this point I feel it would be more predictable of a fine dining experience at the nearby Toscanova restaurant.

I do hope this feedback is helpful with training staff and perhaps improving the food presentation, and atmosphere at this typically well respected and known Eataly...

My husband and I had wanted to try Terra. So when I noticed that it was participating in DineLA, we saw this as our chance to make a new friend. Unfortunately, we were really disappointed. We ordered the prix-fixe dinner, which usually is a restaurant's attempt to put its best foot forward. But it was bland and heavy on the starches --oodles of bread (eventually) and fried potatoes. The main problem, however, was the service, which is weird because the place was swarming with staff (does any restaurant really need four hostesses?). The ambiance, which was loud, crowded and ill-kept, was also turn off. The initial problem: my chair was situated on top of a number of shifting tiles. I couldn't at the beginning figure out what was going on. My seat kept moving for no reason -- like a minor earthquake. Eventually I realized that any time staff members went to any of the three tables surrounding us, their weight tipped the tiles under my chair. I complained to waitress, expecting to be relocated. She'd never heard of the problem, she said, but would keep it in mind. (Of course, that made no difference.) Ultimately, my husband offered to switch places. But he was also affected. There's no way that others haven't complained of this, he said. So the fleet of host staff knowingly sat us a damaged spot, and then the waitress acted oblivious to the issue when we tried to get some kind of relief. But that wasn't all the weirdness. Midway through the first course, another server practically confronted us: had we gotten bread, he wanted to know. No, we said. We hadn't known to expect it. Then he asked again: had we gotten bread. No, we assured him. The table was itty bitty. Look, there's no bread here, we said. Then get this: it still didn't come! Eventually, we brought the matter up with our waitress. When the bread arrived, it came on a big board that would've been impossible to miss. We never had to have been interrogated on the matter; the absence of the board would've said it all. Then a fly dove into my husband's wine after he'd drunk about a quarter of the glass. The issue didn't seem surprising since were eating on an outdoor patio. When we brought the problem to the attention of the waitress, she -- to her credit -- prompted whisked it away. Meanwhile, I'd gotten a second glass and only taken a sip. Surely, I though, they'd give my husband a full glass for his trouble. Nope. The glass back with the same amount as when it left. We could tell by comparing it with my nearly fresh pour. My husband joked that it looked like they'd just run the contents of his initial glass through a strainer and returned the glass. Throughout the waitress kept asking us after a course was delivered but before we'd had a chance to taste anything, "How does everything look?" Finally, I said, we haven't even tried the food; it's too early to pass judgement. Still she pressed on: "But how does everything look?" There were more unpleasant experiences, but I think you get the idea. More than $200 later, we left vowing to...

A Deeply Disappointing Experience After Years of Loyalty

My husband and I have been dining at Terra for many years. We’ve always loved the atmosphere, the food, and especially the staff—Spencer and Justin are consistently wonderful, and Jenny was a longtime favorite. We’ve never had any complaints, and this is actually the first restaurant review I’ve ever written—unfortunately, it’s a negative one.

My husband made a reservation for us and specifically requested, if available, to be seated outdoors at one of our preferred tables (101–103). When we arrived, several outdoor tables appeared open, yet we were directed by Emilio to a table near the back patio door. As we followed him, he suddenly said, “Wait here,” and walked off, leaving us standing there awkwardly. After a few minutes of waiting with no explanation, we went to look for him and found him up front, talking to another couple. He then led us right back to the same table by the back door. I kindly mentioned our request and asked if we could be seated at one of the other tables if available. His dismissive response was something along the lines of, “It’s Saturday night, we don’t have time for this.”

Trying to be understanding, I asked if there were any outdoor tables available. Emilio claimed they were all reserved for large parties. I even offered to wait, but he insisted that nothing outdoors would open up. Meanwhile, I could clearly see tables 102 and 103 were empty. When I asked about those, I was told they were for four people only. I then asked about a small, separate table near the entrance, and he claimed it was part of a large party—even though it was clearly isolated.

This continued with several other tables, including a sofa-bench table we’ve been seated at multiple times before (again: “for four only”). Eventually, I pointed out a high-top table near 103, which he finally allowed us to take—but only after I suggested it, not because it was offered.

What was most upsetting wasn’t just the refusal—it was watching, just minutes later, multiple couples being seated at the exact same tables we were told were unavailable: table 103, tables along the window, the single table near the entrance, and more. Meanwhile, the sofa-bench table remained empty the entire evening.

When I brought this to Emilio’s attention, rather than apologize or acknowledge what was clearly happening, he deflected with confusing and contradictory explanations.

To be clear: the issue wasn’t that we didn’t get a specific table. The issue was how poorly the situation was handled—being dismissed, misled, and spoken to without courtesy, then seeing multiple couples seated at every table we were told was reserved for large parties or unavailable. Emilio’s attitude was careless, unprofessional, and dismissive, which is completely out of step with the high standards we’ve always associated with Terra.

This experience wasn’t just frustrating—it was deeply disheartening. After so many years of wonderful visits, we expected better. Sadly, this was a major...