Terrain Cafe

The gardener and botanophile in me really wanted to love this place. The atmosphere is stunning; the air is fresh, and the sunlight offers a bright and cheery respite from these cold end-of-winter days. The service was amiable, and the mocktails were well-balanced and reasonably priced. It is rare for brunch restaurants to accommodate my spouse's celiac disease, so we really appreciated their willingness to do so. Unfortunately, though, the food left something to be desired. The complimentary bread muffin — served cleverly in a terra cotta pot — was stale and cold. I would have expected to find it in the discounted "yesterday's goods" bin at a grocery store. It could hardly be saved by the whipped maple butter. The mushroom frittata was merely okay but unpleasantly dry and served without any sauces. The side of greens served with the entrees was exactly that — a literal pile of spring greens, lacking any additions. Frankly it was reminiscent of a snack for small rabbits or squirrels. Mine was served without dressing (which was brought when I asked) and topped with a large, spoiled brown leaf. Honestly, I get it; I might have even considered eating the leaf if it had come from an expired bag at the back of my fridge in the nearly untouched salad drawer. But we're spending good money here. Please, just take the time to remove the brown, spoiled leaf from my greens pile. The smoked salmon toast was advertised as sourdough, but I tasted no sourness and am convinced it wasn’t sourdough at all. However, the beet relish was excellent and complemented the smoked salmon well. Without that combo, I would have rated the food 2 stars or fewer. Lastly, we had a very odd experience with our stroller. We brought our baby and a small collapsible stroller, and strategically sat in the corner away from the midday brunch rush. We were told that having a stroller was a health code violation because it brings in germs (?!?). It is almost certainly not a health code violation. The stroller was not blocking egress either. Of course, it’s the restaurant’s prerogative whether to allow strollers, but please don’t lie to us about code violations that we know don’t exist. All that said, I think we’d be willing to give this restaurant another shot, but we’ll likely be more particular about what we order. Hopefully, the kitchen can make some improvements.

Terrain's chef is great. I can't eat gluten or dairy and the chef created a delicious dish by modifying a menu item. Thank you!