Da Terra () – London, England

East London. Not my favourite place in the world, but damn does it host some mighty fine restaurants and bars. A 4-minute walk from Bethnal Green station sits the 2-star Da Terra, a restaurant helmed by Rafael Cagali that offers a modern European-based tasting menu (mainly French, as evidenced by the exemplary sauces and consommés used) but with crucial influences taken from Brazilian culinary traditions, a nod to Cagali's citizenry.

Cagali has an impeccable CV – he trained under Martin Berasategui and Quique Dacosta in Spain, before moving to the UK to work under Heston at The Fat Duck, and then at Simon Rogan's Aulis at Fera in Claridge's (a restaurant that is no longer functioning, though Aulis has since become an entity in its own right). Now with his own restaurant Da Terra, which earned two Michelin stars in 2021, Cagali is off the leash.

This is only figurative, however. The kitchen, which is open to the dining room, runs like a well-oiled machine. Few words are spoken, the movements of the chefs seemingly choreographed; they probably are by this point. So it is that I have had one of – if not the – best meal that I've yet to have in London. The Clove Club has sat at the top of my list for London fine dining for the past four years (since before it was awarded a second star). That might now have changed.

The dinner service at Da Terra takes place across two areas, the bar-cum-lounge area where the snacks are served, and the main dining room. The snacks (appetisers, really) are each and every one worthwhile. The scallop and caviar in a buckwheat tart may be something that we have seen a lot by now (sometimes replacing the scallop with a tuna tartare), but – to me at least – it doesn't get old, just so long as the freshness of the seafood explodes against the palette, as this one did. The final fried appetiser of cassava and carabineros (a type of prawn) was also an early highlight, capping off the variety of the four on offer via a warm, crunchy, slightly oily bite.

After these snacks (which were served at a brisk pace), I was ushered through to the dining room. What is marked as a three hour dining experience was condensed to 1.5 hours, due to both being a solo diner and enjoying a brisk pace to a meal, and this didn't seem to cause any issue for the kitchen. The meal – outside of the snacks and petits-fours – consisted of five savoury courses and three sweet courses. Every one of these courses had at least one exemplary element. The hamachi was beautiful, the pear reduction fragrant and slightly sweet to ease delicately into the meal. The tortellini – perfectly toothsome, being al dente – was elevated by the robust quail consommé. The romeo & juliette (goat's cheese and guava) was truly a marriage, delicously creamy and an apt transition from the savoury courses.

Yet still, there was one particular standout, and three things to note due to the way they were presented:
Firstly, the standout. The moqueca, which is a Brazilian stew (the iteration presented at Da Terra is the Bahian regional variety), was joyous. Everything that Da Terra had done well up to thus point (sauces, composition, rounded seasoning) was in evidence in this dish, as well as – vitally – spice. Chillies native to Brazil were given on the side, with the option to crush them in yourself with the sauce. I really think they should make having one of these in the sauce mandatory, as just one (which is around 3 times the heat of a jalapeño, but with a pronounced pickly flavour that somewhat offsets the heat) brings so much to the dish. We simply don't see enough spice at this level of dining.
The other three notes:
I usually can't stand bread courses, as I think they ruin the entire flow of the meal. Da Terra gets around this by elevating the bread course to a real course in its own right. Three different types of butter, 3-week cured jamon, and whipped bone marrow made the bread stand on its own two feet as a course in its own right.
This is also true for the petit-fours, which are so often forgettable, but here again there was consideration given to what was put out in front of the diner. All four of the bites used ingredients typical to Brazilian cuisine, and played on the country's sweets. All four were impressive, and not at all throwaway.
Finally, what you see is what you get. There are no hidden charges. The menu is the menu, complete with black truffle and caviar. More restaurants should take this approach (Eric Vildgaard of Restaurant Jordnær is a big advocate for this, and articulates it better than I can).

While this is a glowing review of Da Terra, it is still not a perfect meal (what is?). I liked what they tried to do with the Baba, with the pistachio ice cream being a natural fit to the N25 Reserve caviar (this is Kaluga N25 that had been aged for 3 months, per Da Terra's spec), but the alchohol was overwhelming. I would have preferred the sponge to be lightly brushed with diluted cachaça, rather than drowing in it. In addition, the service was very good but felt a little cold; welcoming, but hard to feel at home here, I think. Music plays a little louder than one might expect in such a restaurant, and I wondered if this was an attempt to drown out noise from the kitchen, but I am not sure that this is really the case. The jury's out on that decision.

Despite those points, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Da Terra. The food is exceptional and well-balanced. Could it pack more of a punch? At some points, yes, but there's enough of a cadence here to not be too overly concerned with this. When considering the best menus currently on offer in London, I think this is a tough one to beat.

Courses:
1. Stout Cup & Scallop (pictured second. The rest follow in order, picture-wise, apart from the Moqueca).
2. Duck Caesar
3. Cep Mushroom & Madeira 20 yrs
4. Cassava & Carabineros
5. Hamachi, Nashi Pear, Daikon
6. Quail, Tortellini in Brodo, Black Truffle
7. Sourdough, Bone Marrow, Cultured Butter (salted and pink peppercorn), Gonnelli 1585 Olive Oil
8. Moqueca, Aged Turbot, Manteiguinha Beans, Farofa (pictured first)
9. MV Angus Sirloin, Hen of the Woods, Cavolo Nero, Lobster Rice
10. Romeo & Juliette (Cheese and Guava)
11. Baba, Cachaça, Pistachio, N25 Reserve Caviar
12. Blood Orange, Yoghurt, Sagu, Kinome
13. Sweetcorn Macaroon
14. Cupuaçu Cake
15. Caju Fudge
16. Quindim