Terroir Tapas
Southbourne, Dorset
‘Incredibly on-trend for Southbourne’, Terroir Tapas has an almost evangelical commitment to local sourcing, dry-aged meat and cooking over flames. It is also determinedly eco-conscious. Big Banksy-style murals of tattooed arms and hands holding produce and provisions are emblazoned on the whitewashed walls of the dining room, where piles of logs and wines are also stored. New head chef Jesse Wells got his grounding in hot spots such as L’Enclume, and never ventures far from home when it comes to procuring quality ingredients: fruit and veg are from a farm five miles away, fish is from the South Coast and meat is from rare-breed herds; all year round, the chefs work industriously, preserving, fermenting and pickling seasonal ingredients. There is ‘huge passion’ at work here. Everything is cooked over open fires in the open kitchen, with fuel provided by seasoned hardwood, grubbed-up vines from local vineyards and even old vegetable peelings. Meals revolve around a tersely worded, 10-course tasting menu that gives nothing away but offers huge rewards in terms of flavour: ‘lobster, noodles’; ‘onion, gherkin, pork’; ‘White Park beef, beetroot’; ‘cucumber, gooseberry’. A trimmed-down four-course version is also available some days, while meat lovers should take a punt on the ‘steak for two’ deal, where the centrepiece is a seasonal cut of 70-100 day dry-aged beef served with hispi cabbage, Bricklewood smoked cheese and onion. Alternatively, a separate small-plates menu is offered for walk-ins who fancy grazing on, say, pickled carrots with charcoal mayo plus a glass or two from the impressive UK-only wine list – an enterprising collection that manages to tick just about every box despite its geographical limitations.
Dining Information:
Counter seating, Wheelchair access, Deposit required
81 Southbourne Grove, Southbourne, Dorset BH6 3QX
01202 259933
