Terra American Bistro Review

Great service, food was excellent!
Very clean place, friendly staff.
Thank you! I was there for Thanksgiving dinner.

Delicious food, nice and quiet ambiance that is perfect for conversations and a nice wine list.

I have to say over 5his place everytime I'm disappointed, the money food ratio is not good the interaction with the employees was flat and overall it is not a place i would take anyone . People who follow my reviews know you get three chances before I review and i am out on terra American.

I have been a customer of Terra since they were in Uptown. I was so happy when they moved to La Mesa. Their food is high quality and I appreciate that they maintain a seasonal menu. They keep their popular items, but always have specials and new items to create variety. Some of my favorites are the short ribs, beef stew, Lobster Mac and Cheese, Terra Burger, the chocolate cigar and the flourless chocolate cake. During the pandemic they have made it extremely easy to place orders to-go and follow careful guidelines.

We ordered the family meal to go special that included a salad, to entrees and two sides as well as a dessert for about $45. Everything was delicious and very well prepared. Especially the mac and cheese, brussels sprouts and chicken and salmon, all were very good to excellent!

Quality food, excellent service and a friendly neighborhood environment

This was actually pretty good. Solid food and service, but rather loud.

I had visited Terra a few years ago for restaurant week and remember enjoying every bite. Today we celebrated a birthday over brunch. The Terra stuffed french toast is definitely the best French toast experience I have ever had. Coated in cinnamon and corn flakes and stuffed with a berry cream cheese, it puts all other sweet breakfast dishes to shame. My friends had a delightful omelet, a very good chorizo skillet (housemade chorizo!!) and chicken and waffles that sent the birthday boy into a state of bliss.
The service was very friendly and inviting. The server took interest in our party and went above and beyond to make it special. Thank you!!!
Terra is a must do for Sunday brunch or dinner anytime!

Limited menu and food undercooked poor waitstaff attitude

Surprisingly unusual find for El Cajon Blvd! Tried it out last weekend and the dining room was more than half full within first hour from start of dinner service. Had the brussel sprouts appetizer, it was delicious. I would go back just for that. Our entrees were very good as well, the brisket was melting in every bite and the jalapeno corn bread pudding was decadent. Great dining not far from the La Mesa Village, give it a try.

I ordered the Asian bowl with grilled chicken a week ago and got sick form the chicken being under cooked.

Good food, nice setting. Really nice to know where everything comes from - very local. Dishes not very exciting.

Always amazing
Farm to table

Consistently great restaurant. Jeff has been doing farm to table for 12+ years, and shows his experience.

SIMPLY AMAZING! Farm-to-table freshness. I can not fully express how delicious our food and mimosas were! Best steak and egg brunch (Highly recommend) I have ever had! Tender, flavorful and fresh!

Our date night to Terra was so wonderful. Our server Eddy was attentive, suggestive & safe. We grazed with a few appetizers and specialty cocktails. The Brussel sprouts were roasted perfectly with olive oil & topped with cheese- my hubby s favorite. Steak bite skewers had such a good flavor and the sauce on the side (tomato jam) was outstanding. Presentation of the calamari in the rice bowl/wave- so awesome. The salt & pepper light coating was light & crunchy. Owner/Chef Jeff came out & greeted us. So grateful & friendly, what a pleasure to be there & participate in this gem. We ll definitely be back soon.

Thoroughly enjoyed Fried Chicken Friday! Ordering online was a breeze and pick up was smooth and easy. The food was hot and delicious!

Food was good & plentiful. Out of my regular price range but nice for a special occasion!

The service and quality of the food are always excellent.

Love this restaurant for the food and the wonderful service. Happy hour is one of our favorites in San Diego.

Great. As always great food and really friendly service.

Great service, great food awesome restaurant week place.

Thank you, Chef Jeff, for opening East County's first farm to table restaurant. There are just a few more in recent years, but Terra is the best! Friendly staff and delicious food! Also, great cocktails!!

The food was spectacular! The atmosphere clean and quiet enough to talk over lunch. Salads to die for. Our waiter not so much. Never refilled drinks or brought out the extra dressing we requested. He was friendly though. We would eat here again if we could have a different waiter.

One of my favorite places to eat! We come here regularly. The service is awesome, everyone is friendly, and the food is delicious.

Stopped by here during restaurant week and they have a great special. Had a three course meal, every part of it was delicious. I'm not a fan of sweets but the chocolate dessert I had was awesome. Definitely recommend to come during dinner.

Not sure what is happening to a usually good place. Extremely long wait for food to arrive, approximately 80 minutes. After 45 minutes we asked if order was lost the only communication we received was there wasn't enough kitchen help and we were fifth up. At to end of 80-90 minutes we asked to be cashed out and they wanted to check again. The food was magically available..the lobster was not cooked and inedible.

One of my top places for american food. Service is prompt even when they are busy. The service was very helpful and welcoming. The bill was decent for the quality. This place has great reviews for a reason.

We order take out. The food is amazing! Depth of flavor. They take into account modifications we write down. Plenty of food. Great take-out staff.

Christmas dinner was garbage 50 bucks really should have paid me...chef needs to learn how to cook lamb all fat ....what a disappointing experience don't go never again. Garbage times 10...Popeyes better disgusting food got sick from this place

All good all the time. Short rib hash is the best. Sub potatoes for veggies if you like that type of thing. You won't regret it.

Not what it used to be. When ordering salmon, it should not be from a can.

Excellent spot for delicious american food. Looking forward to going back again. The bill was fair I would say. Feels similar to a cafe in Chicago I liked.

Food is delicious.
I highly recommend. Downfall is the parking. Not much of it.

Good place for delicious american food. Got there about two, it was not packed. Service treated us so kindly. Prices are decent for the quality. Feels like a place in Los Angeles I loved.

Been there twice for breakfast, first time I had rib tip hash which was decent, 2nd time was on mothers day, we had a 10:00am reservation, they called us a couple days before and asked to reschedule it to 10:30 to provide a better dining experience. Ok fine, but when we got there at 10:30 we didn't get seated until almost 11. I had their breakfast quesadilla which was terrible. Dry tortilla, almost no cheese and just a couple shreds of beef in it mostly just filled with a scrambled egg. Definitely not worth the pricing. They also add a 3% surcharge to all checks to cover "minimum wage increases". For some reason this rubs me the wrong way. Like if you can't make ends meet when you charge $17.65 for a tortilla with a fried egg a sprinkle of cheese and a few shreds of beef without adding a 3% surcharge to the check, maybe you're in the wrong business. Look elsewhere for quality meal.

Christine had always been great whenever we visit. The specials never disappoint. I personally love the calamari and of course a must try BREAD PUDDING.

One of my favs. Pot roast or Mac and lobster. Gets loud though.

Food is delicious with great service. The menu has a pretty wide range of different types of food.

The goat cheese-cheese cake is to die for. You won't be able to share this it's so good.

Best service and most creative menu.Christine is a rockstar bartender!

Is ur looking for a five star experience u need to come here

Good food. Good cocktails. And the best bread pudding I've ever had. Good vegetarian options too.

Great place with some super fresh food. Hope to come back to try desserts drinks and some appetizers. The Garlic Brandy Cream Shrimp was amazing!

The chicken and waffles is AMAZING! You can get the chicken spicy and then they cover it all with a pecan syrup. The layers of flavor and texture are perfection. I rarely go back to restaurants unless they are something special; I'm having my bday brunch here because it was so good. They have wonderful service, a comfortable atmosphere, and bottomless mimosas.

Expensive, don t get much, not a lot of choices. The tea was rancid. Won t be going back!

Place is very consistent and the service has been great everytime that I have been here.I've tried the lobster mac and cheese, the porterhouse chop, and the iron steak. Presentation of every meal was excellent along with taste. Kudos to the chef for creating such great works of art. Deserts were delicious as well from the persimmon creme Brule to the banana pudding. Definitely will be back again. Great atmosphere and ambiance. What a gem to find in east county!

I always have a good time at Terra. Good food and wine in an atmosphere much nicer than the surrounding neighborhood.

Great food
On expensive side

This place is a little hidden treasure. There's a selection of comfort food with lean options as well. Everything was fresh and quality. There is a full bar and numerous wine options (the espresso martini was delicious). We visited for restaurant week. The baked brie was a generous portion. The brisket, salmon, and short ribs all were delicious. The staff was very busy yet still attentive.

Service was very good. Three of us all loved our dinners (fish special, spare ribs)..chicken lettuce app was excellent. Noisy atmosphere but it cleared out finally so we could hear each other. That's why I gave 4 stars. Needs some noise abatement.

american food... so delicious. cool place to meet and catch up with coworkers. next time i'll be back with my relatives. prices that are reasonable.

We really wanted to like Terra. It's two blocks from home, and seems like it could be interesting, but satisfy your curiosity somewhere else. We went a month or so ago and after an entire hour had still not received our food, we discussed it with the manager who promptly made our food appear. The problem was the kitchen did not finish cooking it. We left without most of our party eating and told the manager we would give them another shot. And while today was a little better, I am being generous with two stars. The service was painfully slow, drink refills while we waited had to be requested by flagging down the server, ouriends ordered breakfast dishes over-easy and received over-hard. My food was ok but nothing special and we still waited 50 minutes to get our food. Like I said we wanted to like it here, but after two tries I see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Wonderful dinner, great service, nice atmosphere. Well be back.

Always excellent service
And lovely dining choices.

This is one of my favorite restaurants to go to. I think the restaurant looks awesome. I got the bison burger last time and it was phenomenal. The bacon jam is delicious on it. We tried the chicken pot pie frozen TV dinners to take home as well and that ended up being great the following night.

Friendly staff. On sundays bottomless mimosas are $6.50. Farm fresh locally grown veggies, unique ketchup which was yummy, and a country feel with country music in the background. Appropriately fast service. Chicken chorizo and my breakfast burrito had great flavor. No rosemary in the country potatoes was awesome!!!!

We were there for breakfast and all the Food was very good.

Fantastic food in a quaint, friendly atmosphere. Hats off to Chef Jeff. Make one trip to this unpretentious location, and you will be coming back for more. 5 stars all the way.

Awesome food and service. Brisket had a great flavor and was fork tender. The Bread Pudding was the best! You must try it!

We visited here for Sunday brunch. The place is nicely decorated, and feels comfortable. Food was very good and the service was great. We will be returning.

Very good food table service was very slow restaurant wasn't to busy but it took a long time to get attention.

Amazing food. Great service. It's gem we had not tried before. We will definitely be back

Great food and cocktails. Would have liked a 2nd drink, but the place was as so busy, I didn't get the chance before I had to leave for the theater

The service is very good and our food got to us real quick. We had the ginger chicken pot stickers, some bugers, and banana bread pudding for desert. The food was delicious and desert was killer, it was not overpowered with banana and just right. They are farm to table, so the food is very fresh and really good!

Great food good service, only not so great things was a super runny lemon tart and not cooked enough green beans. Waitresses were super friendly and attentive. Loved it! Can't wait to go back!

We were disappointed that they no longer accept the Passport dining card, but usually enjoy their food. We ordered the Beet and Goat cheese salad with grilled shrimp. When our salads arrived it had baby bay shrimp and they looked really unappetizing, white not sauteed. The shrimp were warm which was good but not what we expected. Should have taken a photo, sorry Service was great!

American food, mmm, super delicious. I give this place double thumbs up. Fast, efficient, and courteous service. The bill was decent for the quality.

Food is great! Went for restaurant week not respecting much, but was blown away.

Absolutely the best Short Ribs with 3 sides! Lemon tart dessert was delicious!

I first wasn't impressed by the small selection of vegan options (but that's not really an issue for me, it just didn't help the experience).

Then when I ordered the tofu scramble (listed as being made with: san diego soy dairy tofu, onions, peppers, arugula, smoked tomato sauce, and also was listed as being vegan), I got pretty much that (minus the tomato sauce, but whatever), but it also had scrambled eggs with it as well.

We asked the waiters if this was vegan, and after checking with the kitchen, they confirmed it was not vegan, despite being clearly listed as vegan.

So all we were left with was some potatoes and the blandest tofu chunks I have ever had. But really the main problem is just that it was listed as vegan, when in reality, it was not.

The wait staff was nice and mostly apologetic, but if you're a vegan, just go somewhere else. They have like one other vegan option, and fingers crossed that it is actually vegan.

If you're not vegan, try it out I guess, the non vegan food looked fine.

Overall, just a bit disappointing. Service was ok. Got my side order wrong. I don't send things back, so I ate it. The biscuit and gravy was spot on, but did I just pay 90 dollars for a nice biscuit and gravy? When you take your special girl out for a nice dinner, you expect better than ok. If I wanted ok I'd go to another American bistro, Applebee's. Step it up folks.

The staff were super relaxed and kind of let us do what we wanted! The food was amazing for the price!

Delicious! From the appetizers to dessert everything was good!