TAMPA — It’s exciting when a new restaurant completely sidesteps your expectations.
When Bar Terroir first opened, the owners billed the spot as a “French-ish” bistro, serving classic French fare and wine in a petite South Tampa location. Words like “steak frites,” “cassoulet” and “escargot” were thrown around and it was easy enough to envision the new spot falling comfortably into a well-worn culinary canon.
While dining at the restaurant during its opening weeks, I got a glimpse of what was in store, and realized there was more to the story. The menu featured dishes like heirloom tomatoes sidling juicy compressed cantaloupe, a light tomato water gelée and candied pistachios; a niçoise salad reimagined with arctic char; and a wagyu hanger steak tucked beneath a silky cognac-laced au poivre sauce accompanied by bronzed and crispy beef tallow fries.
There was nothing predictable about it. And that’s what has made it such a delight.
Bar Terroir takes a page straight from the book of Parisian bistronomy, turning out classic French cooking with a contemporary, chef-driven edge. The bistronomy movement started in Paris in the 1990s but really took off during the early 2000s. It was, in part, a backlash to the formality and often very high price points associated with Michelin-starred restaurants.
Like the dishes I found at Bar Terroir, bistronomy fuses the casual feel of bistro dining with the finesse of high-end gastronomy. And at a time when ultra high-end dining appears to be waning, the concept feels right at home.
None of this should come as a surprise: The hospitality group behind the restaurant, Tastes Pretty Good, is the same one that brought us Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Rocca and modern Mexican taqueria Streetlight Taco. That the food here carries some of the hallmarks of fine dining makes sense — the group’s culinary director Bryce Bonsack, Bar Terroir chef de cuisine Max McKee and chief operating officer Greg Proechel II are all tenured chefs whose resumes include a long list of impressive gigs including New York City’s Blanca, Corton and Eleven Madison Park.
The team’s background in classical French technique is evident, and the menu at Bar Terroir pays tribute to more than a few icons of the cuisine, including a classic escargot with garlic butter ($22), onion soup ($16), short rib boeuf bourguignon ($42) and the excellent steak frites ($40). But look close enough and you’ll see them coloring outside of the lines. It’s that slight pushing of the envelope that really makes this spot shine.
It doesn’t matter how many timesyou dine here, you should always start with the grilled baguette ($8), mostly because it arrives with salty Normandy butter, which has a higher fat content than other butters and is just all around delicious. Next up, don’t skip the restaurant’s excellent cheese and charcuterie selection. Want it all? Order the Le Tour ($69), where a three-tiered stand comes toppling with a selection of all the meat, cheese and accoutrements listed (including the hard-to-find Swiss Tête de Moine, a rich and nutty cheese shaved into frilly rosettes).
Each selection is sold separately, so that if a mid-meal craving for pink, silky slices of jambon de Bayonne ($12) or dark orange wedges of mimolette ($10) hits, it’s an easy fix. You should probably get the Comté cheese ($10), too, mostly because the velvety, sweet and savory apple butter it arrives with is simply irresistible.
The short menu continues on with a selection of hors d’oeuvres and entrees, where there are always some things in flux, depending on the chef’s whimsy, seasonal aspirations and ingredient availability. That tasty play on a classic niçoise is long gone, and with fall approaching, the bright and colorful heirloom tomato salad doesn’t appear to be long for this world either (it will likely make a return down the road).
A solid bet is the shrimp cocktail ($23), which features herb-flecked plump Key West pinks. Poached in an aromatics-packed courtbouillon, the juicy shrimp come hugging a rimmed coupe filled with a sumac-laced cocktail sauce heavy on the horseradish that packs a bright, tangy punch. Also very good is the steak tartare ($26), a classic version of the dish made with grass-fed flank steak topped with fried capers and a bright orange egg yolk. The fun detour? It comes paired with crispy beef tendon “chips,” which are not unlike an airy, crunchy chicharron, for scooping.
A simple-sounding salad verte ($17) is anything but, brimming with crunch and flavor from a garlicky, tangy green goddess dressing. It arrives with a flurry of radishes, red onions compressed and pickled in cornichon brine, and creamy hunks of Fourme d’Ambert — a mild and buttery blue cheese from France.
If I had to design my perfect meal it would very much involve splitting the salad and the roasted heritage chicken ($75), where a half bird arrives crispy-skinned and sidling smoky sweet potatoes and garlic confit, everything swimming in a rich and sultry foie gras jus. Yes, it’s pricey, but one could easily share this dish with two if not three people and leave more than satisfied.
A note on price: Bar Terroir is not a cheap restaurant, and some of the menu borders on very expensive, though the prices on some dishes have fluctuated since opening. Quality of product and culinary execution with this group is still paramount, though, so I wouldn’t expect any huge slashes anytime soon. (A dish of gnocchi a la Parisienne might imbue a little sticker shock at $65 per plate, but when the perfectly bronzed, crispy dumplings arrive showered in black truffle alongside sweet bites of Maine lobster and snappy haricot verts, that’s easily forgiven.)
Though subtle, the team’s more laidback approach is also part of what makes dining here so fun. Take the bathrooms, for instance. One is decorated with “Pulp Fiction” memorabilia and the other is decked out in a Daft Punk theme, inspired by the iconic French electronic music duo. (For someone who came of age listening to “Around the World” and “Da Funk” on repeat, this hit.) It’s a loosening of the proverbial chef’s toque: the dueling bathroom decor and soundtracks; the commissioned painting of the restaurant’s owners’ heads on the bodies of Napoleon; the gargantuan over-the-top burger fashioned as a tribute to the iconic Royale With Cheese.
That burger ($38), which is only served at the bar and only on select evenings, reads like an argument against the latest smashburger craze. It fashions dry-aged beef and hanger steak trims into an impressively huge patty paired with melted Comté cheese, a tangy sauce gribiche, pickled onions, Dijon mustard and Little Gem lettuce on a buttery bun sourced from Miami’s Sullivan Street Bakery. It’s a messy, glorious thing, and a reminder that the more fun the kitchen has, the better off the diner is.
Though petite, the restaurant has two tour-de-force desserts including an over-the-top chocolate mousse ($15) topped with meringue, hazelnuts and a drizzle of Pedro Ximénez sherry; and the show-stopper pain perdu ($15), which features a custardy brioche French toast with a caramelized crust paired with orange marmalade, Marcona almonds and chamomile ice cream.
And because drinking and snacking here can be as enjoyable as a multi-course meal, any night is made better by the creative cocktail program, led by bar manager Miko Lakkapää. The list includes a French 75 ($17), reimagined with pink peppercorn syrup and cucumber; and the Vierge Martini ($16), which felt like a garden party, pairing vodka, gin, tomato water, herbs and sherry into a delightfully potent quaff. The wine list, curated by the group’s wine director Dustin French (formerly of Bern’s Steak House), includes a wide and versatile collection ranging both in price and variety, with an emphasis on France, but also featuring wines from Austria, Germany and California.
As much as I love the idea of sidling up to the bar for an impromptu glass of wine and a snack, the restaurant’s popularity means even the bar seating can get snagged by reservation. But a policy of reserving seats at the bar may soon be softened to allow for more walk-in diners, which could help make a quick stop-in here more feasible (the restaurant is currently in the process of adding extra seating to the dining room, which will help).
It’s interesting that, at the intersection of price and concept, Bar Terroir appears to be shifting ever-so-slightly into something more casual and, ultimately, approachable.
The goal, Bonsack recently said, is to become a true neighborhood spot. More than three months in, the restaurant appears to be well on its way.
Where: 3636 Henderson Blvd., Tampa. 813-535-7922. barterroir.co
Hours: Dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Tuesdays.
Prices: Hors d’oeuvres $8-$28; entrees $32-$78.
Don’t skip: shrimp cocktail, steak tartare, Royale with Cheese.
Details: Some parking available at Barrow’s Gourmet Deli; $5 valet. No outside corkage. Reservations recommended.
Dining and Cooking