Review Terra Restaurants - Thornhill

Thirty years in the making as the city sprawled to touch its doors. A chilly night and a senorita at my side we entered a bustling retreat with dim lighting and burst of laughter. We were met like royalty and escorted to a quiet table. The service was crisp and the petite steaks with vintage wine delightful. What a beginning to an adventurous evening.

Best Italian I’ve had for a while! Went on for birthday, staff was super friendly and welcoming. - Ordered Half dozen of Oyster was very fresh and tasty. -Grilled octopus was excellent and tasty. Goes well with the tomato flavor and Smokey touch -Roasted chicken super crispy on the outside but super tender and juicy on the inside Very Recommended

The food was incredible. My boyfriend and I both said the lamb and steak were the best we’ve ever eaten. The service was really wonderful the whole time. A great place to treat yourself!

The atmosphere is really classy and the food is to die for. This place is a bit pricey but definitely worth every penny. Will definitely come back.

Excellent service, the food was great, the atmosphere was amazing. It is a lovely cozy restaurant. Very welcoming. The staff are both friendly and professional. There's a room in the back, that's great for small private events

Excellent service from start to finish. Appetizer of quail was delicious. The seafood pasta was cooked perfectly. Seafood was amazing. The desert was yummy.

We enjoyed our dinner very much. The bison special was delicious. Staff and patio table made the evening perfect

An excellent choice for a special occasion meal. Prices are high, be prepared. Food is delicious. Service is very good.

This past Sunday my beautiful family gathered to celebrate the confirmation of my little cousin, Julia. 😇 We were treated to a reception & dinner at the incredible Terra Restaurant in Thornhill, Ontario. I can say with confidence that it was one of the best fine dining experiences I've had in years! The food and service was absolutely outstanding, and that is putting it mildly... 25 people at the table and our glasses were always full, every single course and meal that hit the table was cooked to utter perfection and the atmosphere was perfect... I was beyond impressed! Big thanks to Andrew, Dimitri and all the staff that took such good care of our family during this epic meal! Please pass along my sincere compliments to the chef and kitchen staff as well... it was my first time eating at Terra and I will definitely be back... I'll be spreading the good word about your restaurant far and wide... Stay blessed and keep rising!

There are so few fine dinning experiences left where there is white linen on the tables and the staff are dressed in suites. Your chair is pulled out for you and your napkin is placed on your lap. The attentive staff is there to make your experience extra special and the food is top-notch. It's no surprise that every restaurant owned and operated by Substance Food Group takes the dining experience to the next level. If you haven't had a chance to eat here, set up a special night and go for it. And once you cross this off your bucket list add Francobollo and Sarpa.

Amazing staff and amazing food, would definitely recommend this to everyone:)

I loved the service, very friendly, they let me steal the little mini oyster tabasco bottles :0) Food was excellent and the entire room we were in had a great vibe. Lots of happy people. Expensive...... but worth every penny. I will visit again!

Spent New Years Eve with my kids at Terra. Excellent food great atmosphere lots of fun!!!!!! Staff, food, drinks, music and company 5 Stars !!!!!

The dinner was absolutely outstanding its a new menu. New chefs. New attitude. It was really the best dinner i ever had The atmosphere and the charm was unique❤️ It has been few days and i still think anout my meal . Iam very very pleased cant wait to go back.

The best dinner every year on our anniversary. Never disappointed us. Keep up the great standard of fine dining. Just a little advice fix the chairs at the bar and the bar appolstery is worn out.

I enjoyed my birthday dinner especially with such a beautiful ambience and delicious food. The live music was a great way to end the evening.

Fantastic meal and great service. It was a perfect birthday celebration. Terra is always one of my faves. I've been dining there since they opened in 1995. 💕

Perfect dining venue for some fabulous food. Amazing old school service with attentive and engaged staff. The rack of Lamb was perfect as was the other dishes ..

Very good service and fantastic food . Would recommend

It’s so cold in there we were wearing our jackets inside ,and by the way this is the second time happend and they didn’t really care until I said we are never coming back and trust me we won’t,

If there were an option for a sixth star, I would choose it. Alas, there is not. TOP notch restaurant in Toronto - Thornhill area

Very nice place.great service and delicious food.

The food and service were exceptional--I would have given them 5 stars but we were made to wait for our chosen bottle of wine despite having been served our appetizers.

best oysters in town, amaaazing food and service.....

Amazing service and attention to detail. Food was very good and really enjoyed the live entertainment.

Service? You name it! They gonna show what the service is. Fantastic!

I love this week place, the food the service everything deserves a 5+ never a disappointment

Amazing experience! Delicious food and very good service! Will definitely come back.

Food and service are ALWAYS amazing! How anyone could rate it less than 5 stars is a Mystery to me! We will be back again and again and again...

Great food great atmosphere and the service was great.

Out of the few times I have been and the few parties I've attended that they have catered, 100% impressed! Always take time to go out of their way to ensure we're satisfied. Andrew is fantastic!!

Spent my 42 birthday here. Great choice. Had an awesome time. The crew served well and on time. Great food. Spectacular looking place. Will definitely come back.

Delicate cuisine. Excellent service. Great place. Amazing atmosphere.

Love Terra! Food and service is always excellent!

Good food..exellent service

Great food!

Carpaccio was 8 on 10<br/><br/>Foie Gras 8 on 10<br/><br/>Cheese 8 on 10<br/><br/>Calamari 6 on 10<br/><br/>Steak 9 on 10<br/><br/>Mushroom risotto had no salt 5 on 10<br/><br/>Chocolate Fondant 8 on 10<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>

WORST DINING EXPERIENCE! We made reservations for my wife's birthday at Terra. We were nine people. This was the worst fine dining experience any of us had been to. To start, the wait staff was extremely slow. It took forever to get drinks. The food was completely underwhelming. The worst part about the food, however, was that 3 of the 9 people ended up with food poisoning... As for dessert, we had taken 2 large cakes (each was supposed to feed 12 ppl). The staff was nice enough to cut and serve them for us. At the end of the night our head waiter tells my wife that both cakes were nearly finished and they'd be happy to "dispose" of them for us. Note, we were only 9 and the cakes should feed 24. So, my wife insists they bring out the cakes and miraculouslyore than half of each cake was left! At the end of the night, I go to pay the bill and I realize that they have charged us for 6 bottles of wine when we only ordered and opened 4 bottles. When I confronted the head waiter about it, he can't even remember the exact number? After getting home, my wife noticed we were charged for 10 large water bottles ($100 on just water). The wait staff would always open a new bottle of water when serving us, but never left it on the table. They'd always take it away and open a new bottle when asked for water. I have tried calling the restaurant twice now to try and get some resolution, but both times I was told a manager named Michael would call me back. Till now, no calls- I guess they don't care about their patrons... Avoid this place at all costs!

I am writing this review the day after visiting the restaurant, and subsequently falling ill from the meal. Today is the last day of 2016, and I can easily say this is the worst overall dining experience I've had this year, and quite possible last year as well. <br/><br/>Firstly, let me openly state that my wife and I are food snobs. We search for the best food everywhere - we have eaten amazing meals in roadside shops in Jerusalem and Bangkok, eaten our way through Spain and had life-changing sushi in Japan. We can point you in the direction of the best fried chicken in a 500 km radius from home, and we will chase food trucks and restauranteurs when they deserve it. I don't take time to review dining experiences often, mostly the outstanding ones, and this was an outstandingly atrocious one. <br/><br/>If you read website reviews for a restaurant and see a trend of "great, great, great, terrible" reviews, there are two likely scenarios. One: the restaurant is truly good, and the bad review came from a disgruntled diner; two: the main clientele for the restaurant is unrefined, and the bad review came from a sophisticated diner. I would, without a doubt, now state that the latter is the case for this restaurant. However, my wife having grown up in the area and hearing for years about this place, we decided to not judge a book by its cover (although the restaurant management certainly does, more on this below) and give it a shot. Certainly an experience to close a terrible year. <br/><br/>The ambiance: nice decor, makes you quickly forget that the location is within a suburban strip mall. When we arrived, soft clubby music was playing, but quickly changed to enjoyable live jazz guitar. <br/><br/>The wine: First sign that something was really off with this restaurant, $3000 bottles on the wine list, but when asked about an Ontario wine from a Prince Edward County winery we personally frequent, the sommelier indicated it to be from Niagara. Extremely sad that a supposed "fine dining" restaurant does not seem to be aware of Ontario's hottest new wine region, let alone know where their bottles are coming from. <br/><br/>The food: Truly, very unimpressive, downright appalling for the price point. The tomato soup was only impressive if you've never have had goat cheese before. Garlic potato soup was delicate and balanced well enough. Foie gras appetizer was acceptable, although quite small and buried within a croissant platform. Before our entrees arrived, a lemon sorbet palate cleanser was brought, which was appreciated. <br/><br/>The risotto main was absolutely flat, with no layers whatsoever, and clearly not made smooth by the proper way risotto is cooked (that is, slowly and with the gradual addition of broth), but rather by over-adding cream. The gnocchi were nicely presented, browned on the pan, but simply served with, again, a flat, overly rich cream sauce. <br/><br/>By the time our entrees had arrived, I noticed a fruit fly around the bread basket. One lone fruit fly, however, this is utterly unacceptable for an establishment serving $40-50 mains. Not to mention the $3000 bottles.<br/> I should have asked to see the manager at this point, but wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, this turned out to be a big mistake. <br/><br/>The service: The staff are clearly trying very hard to bring a fine dining experience. Table was cleared promptly, water was refilled often, and although more than the one bottle of sparkling water we ordered was brought, we were only charged for one. Sadly, this is where the flare ends. Based on our experience with the food and the flies, we decided to forgo dessert. When the sommelier/manager returned to ask on our choice of dessert, I requested to speak to him in private. I politely informed him of the problems with the meal, and of my intent to present these on online reviews, as it is not fair to a restaurant to receive a scathing review for which no opportunity at reparation has been offered. The manager thanked me for the information and told me that he would relay the information along. After this, we received a small plate with complimentary crackers and Parmesan cheese slices, on which, tragically, another fruit fly arrived. We did not touch this plate. Following this, our full bill was delivered, with no apology from any management or staff member, and thus no attempt whatsoever at salvaging our experience. <br/><br/>I must assume that, since my wife and I do not drive a European car, and since we came dressed to enjoy each other's company, rather than to impress other diners, the management thought it unnecessary to address our immeasurably disappointing experience. I would counsel anyone who remotely enjoys dining for the food itself, to avoid this establishment at all costs. If you don't leave Thornhill often, need to impress a suburban date with a unrefined palate, and don't mind the occasional fruit fly with your $300 bill, you will probably love this place.

Valentine's Day at Terra = 👌🏼 perfection. We loved the food, atmosphere, service, and the roses they gave to every single lady there. The rack of lamb is amazing and must be tried! We started with a Caesar salad and calamari, both amazing. I heard the oysters here are good as well and I wanna try them next time. The Salmon is also really good if you like turnip sauce. I definitely recommend this place.

Last month I had the pleasure of attending a menu tasting at Terra Restaurant! Located in the heart of Thornhill, Terra has developed a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the GTA – home of the best steaks in GTA. Luckily enough for me,I had the opportunity to celebrate their 20th anniversary last month whilst sampling a wide array of their speciality items.

The food is incredible at Terra! Especially the fresh oysters, steaks and Ostrich fan! <br/>I went to Terra, which admittedly is a little out of town, and had a lovely evening in the romantic setting. <br/>The wine is good and there is plenty to choose from (for all price ranges.) <br/><br/>The menu is edging on the pricey but the Oysters are reasonable at $2.50 each. <br/><br/>I had scallops and pork belly to start, which was delicious with excellent big, juicy scallops.  I followed this up with the Ostrich fan for main which is served medium rare on a bed of mushroom risotto. I cannot recommend this dish more! SO GOOD. The meat was tender and so tasty, plus it was great to try something a little different. <br/><br/>For dessert I opted for the Dulce de Leche cheesecake, which was heavy but delicious. I would totally recommend sharing this with someone if you want a nice tasty dessert but don't feel you can manage anything too dense. <br/><br/>Overall a great experience with very friendly and helpful staff.

Their grilled chicken is one of the best in t dot. White meat is hard to perfect, they cook it near perfection. Pretty pricey, worth it once in awhile.<br/><br/>RM

It's been 10 yrs since our family moved out of this area. We returned to this restaurant with a great experience. Food was delicious, service was professional, and atmosphere was lovely. The waiter was knowledgeable with the menu and quality, and did not hesitate to take back a dish that was not what we had expected. We also appreciated his honesty when we asked if we had ordered too much! Highly rated and will return.

Terra is still on point...fine dining at it's best.. In my opinion, you get what you pay for. Top quality service & food prepared professionally. Chef Perrin has directed his kitchen team to consistent standards for many decades, but when he is hands on, you can see & taste the perfection of his dishes.My last visit, I was very impressed with our dinner & was informed that the Chef was at the helm of the stoves & was executing the flawless appetizers & mains. They should advertise when he is actually cooking. All in all, it's always a great dining experience, some reviews are sent by low class diners that don't know much about fine dining.

DELICIOUSNESS!!. First off, this is my first review because I usually never write reviews. But for Terra I had to because this is seriously one of the best kept secrets out there. Terra is AMAZING!<br/><br/>My family and I go to Terra every year for our Christmas/New Year's dinner. Last night we went as 4 adults with 2 kids. We ordered 3 Sundaylicious items, a rack of lamb, and a spaghetti for the kids. The Sundaylicious menus were upgraded to a Chilean Sea Bass, Veal and Seafood Spaghettini.<br/><br/>My mother ordered the rack of lamb which was mouthwateringly delicious! Cooked to a medium rare, this was one of the most tender rack of lambs I've had. Normally, I like it with mint jelly but this was so good, it'd be a shame to spoil it with a lesser condiment.<br/><br/>The spaghettini was cooked perfectly to al dente and the seafood was surprisingly substantial with scallop, giant tiger prawn, Alaskan king crab legs and a half lobster tail. Usually I'm never full at places like these (I'm one of those bottomless pit asians that eat everything without gaining weight) but the seafood was actually filling AND delicious! BONUS!<br/><br/>I only sampled a bite of the sea bass - simply sublime. It's by nature a very oily fish, and my favorite cooked fish, so it felt a little heavy after so much food. Still, I'd be hard pressed to find fault with it.<br/><br/>Unfortunately I was too full to sample the veal but my brother in law seemed quite happy with his meal.<br/><br/>Then came dessert! My preference is for a chocolate lava cake but the chocolate torte left me with no quibbles. Fresh, moist and drizzled with chocolate fudge, it just hit the spot with a side of earl grey tea. So delicious!<br/><br/>Well that's it. My first, and maybe last, post ever. But for Terra it's truly worth it.<br/><br/>PS. Terra is not cheap but their Sundaylicious menu is well worth it ($39). Plus, they often have incentives like buy one get one free Sundaylicious cards. If you're feeling cheap, bring a date along and split the discount. You really can't beat it at that price point, although you should really look at upgrading the Sundalicious item to something more expensive (it was ~$10 upgrade for the seafood and veal). Finish it off with some tea or uncork a bottle of wine and it'll come out to ~$60 after tax/tips but it'll be one of the best dining experiences ever! :)

Terra, time warped.. Let us start with the decor which leaps out at you when you walk in. In one word, hideous. Gold painted walls, crystal bedecked wall sconces and heavy crystal chandeliers. Hello circa 1973 lounge. To complete the 70s lounge feel, welcome the blaring, conversation destroying, middle of the main path through the restaurant, band. I couldn't finish my meal quickly enough after they started playing. I mean that, literally. The service was very polite, but inefficient (three different servers tried to take our orders at different times) and slower than all hell. <br/><br/>My visit was with a party of six, the size of our table could have comfortably seated ten. I like elbow room but I couldn't hear half my party even before the lousy band started playing. The food, when it did arrive was underwhelming at best. Tough, chewy calamari, over salted soup, steak cooked beyond asked for doneness. Then they took our after dinner drink and dessert order, (I would have preferred to just pay and leave, but my party wanted dessert) brought teas and coffees (no espresso or cappuccino) to the table and promptly forgot that we even ordered dessert at all. One of us had to ask, we received an apology. <br/><br/>The positives of the meal? The frites were crisp and delicious, the flourless chocolate torte was decadent and rich.<br/><br/>I am far from a fine dining novice. If Terra were in Downtown Toronto, it would last a month. This was not the 800$ dining experience the bill indicated. Will not return.

Annoying Music. I really like the food at Terra and the staff is professional and friendly. I just find the music to be awrful and it has made me not want to go back. I don't understand why a fine dinning restuarant plays music that a dance club would play. We couldn't have a nice conversation. We were going to stay for desert but found we were getting headaches so we went to Symposium close by instead.

My gf and I are here for our two year anniversary. They knew it was a special occasion and greeted us with two complimentary glasses of Champagne. I ordered the summerlicious menu and my gf simply had the gnocchi which are arguably the best in the city. Crispy and in a creative flavourful sauce. <br/>I began with scallops which were flavourful and cooked to perfection. <br/>My pappardelle with smoked duck and grated Parmesan was so flavourful and creative. The Chardonnay which was suggested as a pairing worked perfectly. And the upside down pineapple cake was moist and delicious. Thanks Terra for another outstanding meal and making our anniversary dinner so special

Good and service are top notch. This is a hidden gem. Also pretty sure it's an Italian restaurant so I'm not sure why it's classified as Canadian

Excellent!. My family and I dined here tonight. I'd give it a 10/10. The portions were huge. The service was excellent. The hostess was a little slow but all of the servers were excellent. We shared all of the apps in a platter of calamari, scallops, tomato/buffalo mozzarella salad, grilled shrimps, and ahi tuna. I could have been done after that, we were so full. I had the duck! it was cooked to perfection. I tried my grandmother's lamb, also amazing. Everything had tons of flavor. The desserts were outstanding. Very rich! Look, the prices are high. Know that. But you get what you pay for! I will definitely be back. I recommend this restaurant for any special occasion.

All Honesty.... I been to Terra a few times even though they are quite over priced. I say over priced because the taste and flavours of the foods don't do the prices justice. <br/><br/>The first time I went, my family went crazy on the oysters. They were so fresh and neatly shucked, there was no need to clean it or watch out for any bits of shell when you ate it. Everything was perfect and my steak was perfectly tender. It was an 8/10. <br/><br/><br/>Just the other day I went with my boyfriend... I ordered the filet and it was more like a New York. The texture was really not great... it should cut like butter but it was resistant and did not melt in my mouth. To make it worse, my very first bite, there was a long piece of plastic in it. The waiter told me it was from the brush from when they brushed something onto my steak. Brush or not, it really isn't my business. As a customer I felt like crap, spending this amount of money on my steak and having something foreign in it. They offered to make me a new one but seriously I'm not gonna wait half an hour and watch my boyfriend finish his meal... A typical restaurant would just take it off the bill. Even going to McDonald's or Milestones, they wouldn't charge you for THEIR faulty behaviours that caused an error that affects the customer's food. It's just unprofessional. I was not happy that they charged me for it but I did not want to argue and ruin my boyfriend's night. Also the oysters were shucked soooooooo poorly. I love fine foods so I know when some novice is working in the back shucking the oysters. There were shells EVERYWHERE and that's not good when these babies cost over $3.00 a shell. Also the meat was cut off and not fully detached from the shell. <br/><br/>This experience definitely makes me stay away from Terra from now on. For steaks, I'd definitely recommend Morton's midtown. I am more than upset... The servers are perfectly nice though.

Fantastic I always have such a great experience it's fine dining without having to go downtown, amazing food and service. I highly recommend

I have dined there several times and taken out as well. There are not many fine dining choices in Thornhill but thank goodness for Terra. The rack of lamb is cooked a perfect medium rare, the risotto is the desired consistency, the steaks are done simply but flavorful, the gnochi are the most creative and delicious ive had in toronto. The food is presented elegantly and service is outstanding. Its my go to place for me and my gf and am looking forward to valentines dinner there tonight

The food was delicious. Came here for my birthday with my friend. We ordered the seared ahi tuna and the seared foie gras as appetizers and for our main we had grilled bison tenderloin and the Australian rack of lamb. We didn't have any room for dessert so we missed out :( the food was delicious and service was wonderful.

True definition of great fine dining. I've been there twice and both experience were impeccable. We went for my husband's birthday the service was amazing dispite how busy they were. The food was absolutely delicious. If you want to impress someone, I highly recommend this place. Definitely get the shared appetizer (buffalo cheese, seared tuna.. delish!) I've ordered a medley of fish and it was superb. My husband had a steak and we were constantly sharing bites because both were so good. A speciality they have is the ostrich. Definitely worth trying as well. Service is respectable, classy and my definition of great fine dining.

The restaurant was just ok. We went with a groupon voucher. The service definitley could have been better, basically it was mediocre. The food was decent but not worth the price or full price. The bread was very hard. The live music was good but too loud for the room size.

Went with hubby a couple of weeks ago using my groupon. I thought the food, service and atmosphere all lived up to the fine dining experience i normally associate with high-end restaurants in more urban areas. I started with the arugula salad with pear, blue cheese and walnuts - a classic combo and it was done right. The main I chose was the lamb chops which were also delicious. I was really full after my meal and didn't have room for dessert, but the selection was good. When it came time to pay, I expected an eye roll or something for using a groupon, but they happily took the number down off my phone and politely told me that gratuity was included in the bill since I was using a groupon. That was fine by me, and actually, I appreciated that they took time to tell me this, because I might have not noticed and double-tipped if they didn't.

2nd Visit was my last. I had dinner at this restaurant on two occasions.<br/>My husband and I loved it so much on our first experience that we decided to return for our anniversary dinner.<br/>When my husband called and made the reservation he informed the restaurant that it was our Anniversary and requested a nice table.<br/>When we arrived (to a fairly empty restaurant) we were seated near the bar next to a servers station (computer station). And next to a noisy table of individuals who were clearly on a business dinner. <br/>I was pretty pissed, and asked the server to please relocate us to the nice, quaint dinning area to which I recieved a rolling of the eyes and a "i'll see what I can do"<br/><br/>We we're relocated, but we should have never been seated there to begin with. The service from that point on was Sub par and the food was not impressive.<br/>Big disappointment!

The food was okay... But the service was quite slow. The staff brought out the wrong wine twice and the soup was quite salty. Could've been better.

Y J Hamlin is an idiot. Y. J. Hamlin, calm down there buddy! Let me guess, you're somehow related to that restaurant? <br/><br/>I was looking to try this place out, but definitely gonna stay away now if it attracts douches like you!

Btw R.H.Leo this one if the best restaurants in town and the only reason you don't like it, is that YOU ARE CHEAP

TERRA. A recent return to Terra was a wonderful evening. Highly recommended.

Terra has a cozy and fairly romantic atmosphere with super elegant chandeliers across the dining area. I am a real sucker for chandeliers. The last time I was here, they even had a live jazz band to spice up the dining experience. The staffs are friendly and responsive. A good selection of wines are available on their menu, and our server was knowledgeable in pairing our entrée with a good glass of wine that fit each of our taste. Although I was unprepared for how not casual the night turns out to be but the food helped bring us together along with some ironically carefree conversations. Originally I thought I’d go for

...it was delicious! The chicken was moist and tender. The jus was extremely flavorful. The aroma of garlic had really pull the dish together.

Fantastic meal at Terra Restaurant! The food was delicious every course of the meal and service was good. Bonus: Terra has online booking with OpenTable and you can get 1000 points for dining there.

If you're looking for a fancy restaurant uptown to celebrate a special occasion, Terra would be a good choice.  The bread wasn't the best, but held us over while waiting for food.  Crab cakes ($19.95) - mango papaya salsa and coconut-kaffir froth My boyfriend and I shared the crab cakes as an appetizer. I'm happy to report that the crab cake was packed full of real crab meat. I also really enjoyed the tropical accompaniments, which brightened up the flavours. Even the strange looking coconut foam worked!  Pan-roasted potato gnocchi ($27.95) - roasted garlic, cream and corn sauce, grilled king oyster mushrooms, truffle essence and Parmesan I'm still drooling thinking about Terra's gnocchi- it was simply perfect! Everything, from the savoury sauce to the texture of the gnocchi, was executed beautifully. The dish was truly delicious.