The ‘Feed Me’ menu is a homage to the best of Terra’s live-fire cooking. Photo: Tenele Conway.
The No Name Lane precinct may be missing its popular live-fire cooking venue, Terra, but at their new home just around the corner on Marcus Clarke Street, the team has well and truly settled in, reminding Canberra why charcoal cooking is the ultimate night out.
Many Canberrans felt the shock closure of Terra in May 2025, none more so than aficionados of Terra’s undeniable mastery of smoky flavours. After building a following over seven years, customers were given mere days to rush in and get a feed before they unexpectedly closed their doors.
At the time, it was reported on their social media accounts that it was the final feed, with no news of what forced the closure or whether they would reopen. Yet before the dust fully settled on their No Name Lane exodus, the news came that a new location for Terra had been found. By 3 June, they had pulled off an epic refit, and the grill was once again lit, this time in the former premises of Miss Van’s, the Vietnamese restaurant that had suddenly closed its doors only months prior.
Terra now resides in the former location of Miss Van’s. Photo: Terra.
Some might think a sudden, unexpected closure and subsequent reopening would be bad for business, but with the changes came some renewed national interest in Terra, with Time Out listing them in a Best 8 Steaks of Canberra story and a shoutout from the Good Food Guide not going unnoticed by the Terra owners, Sungyeol Son and Anthony Iannelli.
Now six months on, Terra seems right at home in its new digs, with the team sharing that the flow of the venue is better than the former space thanks to its long, narrow dining room.
Once I got my foot in the new doors, I had a pang of regret that I had waited so long to come back, and after testing out the new outdoor dining on a balmy mid-summer evening, I can safely say that Terra feels grounded in its new spot.
Sadly, the smoker from their original kitchen couldn’t make the journey due to space restrictions in the new kitchen, which forced the beef brisket off the menu. This caused a few waves among Terra fans, with diners taking to social media to say that the lack of brisket is a deal-breaker. But in all honesty, the charcoal-grilled meats on the current menu, which include Calula Creek lamb shoulder from Cowra, served with toum and salsa verde, wood-fired glazed chashu pork belly, plus whole rotisserie chicken, are show-stopping, and I challenge anyone to try the lamb and see if they’re still thinking about the brisket.
The sweet-and-sour pork jowl is an unmissable dish. Photo: Terra.
I can highly recommend the ‘Feed Me’ menu, which, for $94 per person, is the most efficient way to consume copious amounts of grilled meats. The platter delivered as part of this meal contains a little of everything mentioned here and is generous in portion and paced nicely for a leisurely meal, without dragging on into the night.
It’s not all about the platter of meats, though, and this meal is bookended with stunning dishes like the sweet-and-sour pork jowl, a wild ride of flavours and gloriously sticky meat, as well as the Basque cheesecake, which marries a dense, smoky cheesecake with a tart, sweet strawberry coulis.
The Terra team has always been on point and this visit was no exception. The front-of-house team manage to carry off a casually cool yet highly attentive service that puts QR code ordering to shame. Each visit to the table by our server feels like an old friend stopping by with offers of more drinks and even more meat, and we could all do with a friend like that.
The full wine collection that had built up over the years couldn’t squeeze into the new location, and some of it has made its way over to Terra’s sister venue, Outro, in Braddon, but the offering won’t disappoint, with cult faves like Adelaide Hills Ochota Barrels remaining.
The Basque cheesecake proves that smoke and sweets go together. Photo: Tenele Conway.
If lunch is more your thing, Terra does a counter-service lunch that they’ve called the ‘Terra Bench’. This unique spin on canteen dining lets diners select their own proteins and sides, making it perfect for those who work in the city and need a fast, reasonably priced lunch.
I could easily say here that it’s like Terra never left, but they did. It’s a good reminder not to take our restaurants for granted, because overnight they can be gone, and there won’t always be an ‘around the corner’ waiting for new tenants.
Terra is located at Unit 4/115 Marcus Clarke Street and is open for lunch from Monday to Friday and dinner 7 days a week.
