Seattle: Terra Plata (August 2014)

My spouse and I dined at Terra Plata for dinner on a Sunday night in early August 2014. We made a reservation on-line using the Open Table reservation system, and the hostess seated us promptly at the table of our choosing. Terra Plata is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, brunch on weekends, and dinner daily. Parking is available on the street, or in a nearby parking lot or garage (such as the garage at the Convention Center or the garage at the Homewood Suites). We stayed nearby at the Homewood Suites, so it was a quick 5-minute walk (although slightly uphill) to Terra Plata.

Terra Plata enjoys a prominent location in the First Hill / Capitol Hill neighborhood in a triangular / wedge-shaped building near Melrose Market. Although seating on the ground / street level is indoors at both a bar and tables, the restaurant can slide open the walls / windows to the street, so you feel as if you are semi-outdoors. However, the restaurant also offers true al fresco dining on its rooftop. The kitchen is partially open to the dining room. A large bar adjacent to the kitchen is “divided” from the restaurant tables without segregating it by a wall. (Instead, interesting curved wrought-iron pieces separate the space.) The restaurant decor features light wood and low lighting.

Tamara Murphy is the executive chef at Terra Plata. Formerly, she worked at Brasa, Campagne, and Elliott Bay Cafe. Chef Murphy produces seasonal farm-to-table cuisine.

Because so many dishes on the menu sounded amazing, we shared several items, and Terra Plata delivered on all of them! We started with two appetizers: blistered shishito peppers sprinkled with sea salt accompanied by an aioli dipping sauce, and roasted green and purple grapes mixed with olives, walnuts, and thin bleu cheese wedges served with tasted crostini slices. Next, we shared a watermelon and feta salad that was fresh and suitable for the summer night that we dined. For our shared entree, we ordered the roast pig, which was a stew-y kind of mixture that contained pork, chorizo, clams, tomatoes, and potatoes topped by a chicharron. For dessert, we shared a delicious chocolate peanut butter s’mores concoction.

The service was excellent. Our server was knowledgeable about food and the dishes that were offered, and she had personal opinions and offered great suggestions.

Because our meal was so successful, and because the menu still contained many items that we wanted to sample, we were seriously tempted to return to Terra Plata on a subsequent night in Seattle.