While Eataly Los Angeles opened earlier this year, their brand new rooftop restaurant will be open to the public on March 29th. We were lucky enough to get a tour from the CEO of Eataly himself, Nicola Farinetti, and sample a few of their new dishes.
Terra means “earth” or “land” in Italian and that has influenced many aspects of the restaurant, such as the aroma, decor, drinks and food. From their earthy green and blue decor to an actual garden on the rooftop- Eataly has outdone itself. Throughout our tour Nicola stressed that they want to “connect people to the earth” through this dining experience and I would definitely say they have succeeded.
The first thing one sees when walking into the restaurant is the wood burning stove. The aroma of the almond flavored stove permeates throughout the entire restaurant and is reflected in the delicious food. The large menu offers a diverse listing of meats, roasted vegetables and pastas. The food was absolutely delicious and even looked beautiful too. I loved their roasted vegetables and artichokes; I could really taste the difference the almond base on the wood stove made on a simple dish like roasted vegetables.
The restaurant is split into an indoor area and an outdoor area. Both areas have their own bar and seating options, but they have different menus and reservations are required for the indoor area. The entire restaurant was extremely beautiful and designed to be able to accommodate big groups and families. The indoor area is more traditional, reminding me of an authentic Italian restaurant.
My favorite part about the indoor area is that their is an option to have a gelato cart come to your table for dessert and prepare fresh gelato for you.
The outdoor area reminded me of a trendy Los Angeles brunch spot or night club with its’ couches, high tables and amazing view of Los Angeles. The rooftop also has a huge olive tree and a garden which is used for their dishes and cocktails. The outdoor bar has over 100 types of gin from all over the world (5 of which are from Los Angeles) which were hand selected and used to create custom cocktails, which taste as good as they look. It also was mentioned that there will be a DJ there a few nights each week and a special brunch menu will be released later this year.
The creators of Terra shared their vision for the restaurant with us: “Terra is the essence of Eataly. It’s the place built on the very foundation of cooking, where the ingredients are celebrated before the recipes.” They see it as a place where anyone can come and create their own experience and enjoy natural delicious flavors made from high quality ingredients.
With the opening of Terra, Eataly has become a one stop shop. It’s now a grocery store, coffee shop, ice cream store, winery, pizzeria, restaurant and rooftop bar. I think I’m ready to move in.