Terra 1345 Railroad Ave. St. Helena, CA. 94574 - Tel (707) 963-8931

Eating at Terra for the second time immediately brought to mind the words of Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst if times." Paraphrasing it relative to our dining experience at Terra would result in: "It was the best of meals, it was the worst of meals."  The first time we dined at Terra we were with a chef from a prestigious Napa Valley restaurant.   The second time, about two months later, we were alone. The first time we were treated like kings and queens, the last time like vassals. Obviously, it is important to be "somebody" at Terra.

The first meal we had at Terra was in May of 1998 and it was incredibly good. It started with a selection of appetizers including delicious crab cakes. Knowing that we would be eating quite a bit we chose to forego other appetizers and proceeded to the entrées. These included 1.)Sautéed Maine Scallops and Black Mussels in Tomato Saffron Nage with Asparagus. 2.)  Grilled Filet of Pacific Salmon with Thai Curry Sauce and Basmati Rice, and 3.) Spaghettini with a Stew of Tripe, Tomatoes and White Beans.

Being friends we all shared the entrees. Each was delicious.  Especially interesting was the Tripe dish. The flavors were subtle and the treatment of this meat was very nice. The scallop and mussel dish was very well prepared. Each ingredient was cooked perfectly, and the tastes were very complementary.

For dessert we elected a Selection of Sorbets, and espresso and cappuccino. Our colleague, provided the wine. It is not included in the price of the meal given below.

Service throughout the meal was superb. The bill for this meal, including tax and tip was $129.52.

The second meal at Terra was in July of 1998, and was a disaster. Our reservation was for 9:00 p.m.  We arrived at 8:45 p.m. and were told that our table would not be ready until 9:00 o'clock, notwithstanding that there were a number of tables with no guests seated at them.  We left and returned by 9:00 p.m.   We discovered that approximately 10 potential diners had arrived and were  now ahead of us. All were waiting to be seated. The staff chose to ignore our return, and seat them before seating us. It was not an auspicious beginning.  We were finally seated at a corner table where one of us looked directly into the kitchen throughout the meal.   If you have never been in a restaurant kitchen, this is not a pleasant way to spend a meal.

We began the meal with appetizers of a Tataki of Tuna with Calistoga Field Greens, Ponzu Vinaigrette and Wasabi Tobiko and a salad of Braised Beef Tongue, Leeks and Yukon Gold Potato Salad with Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette. The former was quite good. The tuna was cooked to perfection. The flavors in the dressing complemented it perfectly. The tongue salad was disappointing. The tongue pieces were too large, and the dressing was tasteless.  Additional  condiments failed to resuscitate this dish.

Entrees included the Grilled Fillet of Pacific Salmon with Thai Curry Sauce and Basmati Rice again, and the Broiled Sake Marinated Chilean Seabass and Shrimp Dumplings in Shiso Broth. The salmon was good, but the sauce was over flavored. The taste of curry was lost to what seemed to be a peanut sauce.  We cannot say for certain what the flavor was, but the end result was that we left the sauce, and ate the Salmon.

In a word, the Sea bass was terrible. The flavor was acidic and pungent, and the fish was overcooked. The best way to describe it is that it was "mushy". This was very surprising in that this is a signature dish at Terra.

We initially planned to enjoy a glass of white wine followed by a bottle of our favorite wine with our entrée.  After the appetizers, we   decided against this. There was little reason to indulge in an overpriced bottle of wine.

We chose to forego desserts and to simply pay the bill and leave. The bill, including tax and tip was $81.29.