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Da Terra

London, Bethnal Green - Modern European - Restaurant - ££££

High-end contemporary cuisine with a big personality

Overall Rating: Exceptional

Uniqueness:Does the establishment stand out in the context of the local area? Very Good

Deliciousness:How delicious is the food? Exceptional

Warmth:How warm is the service and the hospitality in general? Very Good

Strength of recommendation:How enthusiastically and widely would you recommend the establishment? Exceptional

In 2019, Brazilian chef Rafael Cagali took over the high-profile dining room in Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel (formerly home to Lee Westcott’s Typing Room and Nuno Mendes’ Viajante), and Da Terra has been on an impressive upward curve ever since. Compared to the early days, it now feels as if he’s giving us more of himself. We see his personality in the bold abstract art on the walls, the kitsch Ninja Turtle figures at the pass, and the painted wood sculptures on the mantelpiece. And, of course, we see it in his cuisine. Cagali, born in São Paulo to a part-Italian family, has said he doesn’t want Da Terra to be categorised as Brazilian. However, it’s the Brazilian-influenced dishes that really set it apart. Moqueca, a traditional fish stew – served midway through the full-on tasting menu – is first presented as a large copper pot filled with okra, whole langoustines, coriander and limes. When it’s returned for us to eat, i...

In 2019, Brazilian chef Rafael Cagali took over the high-profile dining room in Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel (formerly home to Lee Westcott’s Typing Room and Nuno Mendes’ Viajante), and Da Terra has been on an impressive upward curve ever since. Compared to the early days, it now feels as if he’s giving us more of himself. We see his personality in the bold abstract art on the walls, the kitsch Ninja Turtle figures at the pass, and the painted wood sculptures on the mantelpiece. And, of course, we see it in his cuisine.

Cagali, born in São Paulo to a part-Italian family, has said he doesn’t want Da Terra to be categorised as Brazilian. However, it’s the Brazilian-influenced dishes that really set it apart. Moqueca, a traditional fish stew – served midway through the full-on tasting menu – is first presented as a large copper pot filled with okra, whole langoustines, coriander and limes. When it’s returned for us to eat, it has morphed into an elegant restaurant dish of aged turbot (cooked fashionably lightly, dare we say too lightly?) with palm hearts and farofa (toasted cassava) in a frothy coconut sauce, stained yellow with dendê palm oil. Whole biquinho teardrop chillies, fiery and fruity, come on the side. Other Brazilian touches include a palate-awakening baby caipirinha in a hollowed-out lime; slices of raw Arctic char acidulated with tucupi (a fermented manioc root juice, widely used in the Amazon); and a take on the traditional 'Romeo & Juliette', a sweet-savoury love match of fresh cheese and guava.

Cagali’s Italian heritage comes to the fore in a debonair duck raviolo (course eight) with whey sauce, duck skin crumb, and slivers of duck ‘ham’, grand on its own gold-rimmed Wedgwood plate. A signature entitled 'the humble chicken', is barely recognisable from its 2019 iteration, but for the impeccably, rosy-pink liver parfait. The updated version has a yakitori skewer of thigh and heart, a boned-out puffed-up fried chicken’s foot and a confit egg yolk. To nitpick, the heart had lost most of its heat by the time we got to it. The individual dishes served over three hours were near faultless; taken collectively, however, they defeated us. Fish roe four times – Cagali likes his caviar – is nothing less than Lucullan. A shorter menu is available at lunch.

The wine list impresses with its well-judged choice of low-intervention heroes including Friuli’s Dario Princic, Vega Sicilia from Ribera del Duero, and Fanny Sabre in Burgundy. Service is absolutely first-rate.

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VENUE DETAILS

Town Hall Hotel, 8 Patriot Square
Bethnal Green
E2 9NFGB

020 7062 2052

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OTHER INFORMATION

Accommodation, Separate bar, Wheelchair access, Credit card required

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