Review of Sunday lunch at Terre à Terre: ‘Nobody does it better’
- Nick Mosley
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
You might not think that during the summer heatwave a Sunday roast would be the most obvious choice, writes Nick Mosley.
Although – as an occupational hazard – I seem to consume quite a lot of classic roast dinners, I have to say I’m not the biggest fan. Its a rare occurrence when I find one that is faultless; and frankly I find them supremely repetitive and boring.
Anyway, one Sunday lunch that recently piqued my attention was the ‘roast’ at Terre à Terre. I’m not sure why I hadn’t heard of it before as it launched around Easter time but – despite the temperature knocking 30ºc last Sunday – I donned my stretchy trousers and waddled to East Street to investigate.
Regular readers will recall that I’ve repeatedly rated Terre à Terre as my all-time favourite Brighton restaurant. Co-owners Amanda Powley and Philip Taylor first opened in Pool Valley way back in 1993 before relocating around the corner to East Street, sharing their unique style of vegetarian cooking.
Although there are many other good – and some great – restaurants in the city, for me at least, Terre à Terre has proved time and time again in its 33 years that it is consistently excellent. Mind-bogglingly creative dishes popping with colour, visually impressive layering and – all importantly – tip-top taste and texture are standard. Typically drawing on inspiration from the Far East, India, Levantine and European kitchens fused with mainly seasonal UK produce, I defy even the most committed meat eater not to be impressed.
In true Terre à Terre style, rather than calling this a Sunday lunch sharer they’ve termed it ‘Terre à Partager’ – that’s fancy French for ‘Land to Share’ and is typical of the playfulness of the restaurant’s expressive menus.
At £35 per person for two courses or £45 for three courses for a minimum of two sharing, its not pub grub pricing but its as far from pub grub as you could possibly get without being in slightest bit pretentious.
To start, Yorgy’s Yorky Batter Bread – an absolute riot of a dish. I don’t think the photo accompanying this review really does it justice as the first thing that hits you is the aroma as the plate makes its way to the the table. The heady waft of warming garam masala turned the heads of my dining partners rapidly followed by “wow, this looks amazing” and “doesn’t it just” as the actual plate came into view.
The dish’s namesake, Yorgy, is Terre à Terre’s sous chef and has been banging the pots and pans in the kitchen for around 15 years so he undoubtedly knows what to do with a vegetable or two. Clearly taking into account that most Sunday lunch lovers would baulk at the idea of a roast without a Yorkshire pudding, Yorgy has taken lángos, a traditional deep-fried flatbread from his home country of Hungary, as his twist on the humble pud.
Topped with an onion relish, mouth-popping sweet and spicy Roquito peppers, and a thick, tangy Labneh yoghurt for dipping, it was masterful with the only noise from guests around the table being the occasional reverential ‘mmmm’ or ‘aaaah’. This dish would be a meal in itself and sure knocks the socks off any lunch option I can think of in the locale of the Lanes.
Moving on to the main act, I’d say this was a feast in its own right. The centrepiece of the plate is the ‘Vol au Vent Crack Cobbler’ with a trio of mushrooms each cooked differently, bringing out unique umami flavour profiles and interesting textures. The rich buttery puff pastry was sensational and the perfect mop for the caramelised onion gravy.
Generous portions of accompaniments included roasted bubble and squeak hash bites with a very moreish relish of finely shredded red cabbage and horseradish, and an impressively visual ‘Little Allotment’ plate loaded with peas, grilled little gem lettuce, silver skin onions, watercress and the most gorgeous looking carrots I’ve ever seen… or indeed tasted. Definitely one to hide from Peter Rabbit.
Probably what could be yet another standalone dish was the cauliflower cheese which was more than enough for our table. This was no ordinary cauliflower cheese though; it was topped with torn cheese soufflé and crispy onion with a base sauce of Dijon mustard gratin. The pinnacle of comfort food has been reached.
The take away comment on the main course came from the ever-reliable Little Miss Greedy Guts: “they’ve nailed a vegetarian Sunday lunch that actually looks and tastes like a regular roast”. High praise indeed as she’s out with her Sunday lunch pensioner posse every week, and they’re all sick to the back teeth of nut roasts, roast cauliflower ‘steaks’ and ubiquitous butternut squash mush.
And so on to the pudding. To be honest we were all pretty stuffed at this point so ordered one to share. Desserts have never been an after-thought at Terre à Terre and this rift on a pavlova was no exception. Rich, chewy – not overly sweet – hazelnut meringue nests piled high with tahini ice cream, compote of rhubarb and slightly floral rosehip, forest fruits and luxurious Chantilly cream. A perfect sign-off to one of the most exciting meals I’ve eaten in a very long time.
Whether Sunday lunch, a la carte dining, sharing dishes or afternoon tea are your thing, Terre à Terre is unbeatable: nobody does it better.
Terre à Terre, 71 East Street, Brighton BN1 1HQ
01273 729 051 • www.terreaterre.co.uk
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