Tera Vita, the new kid on the block at Khan Market, with its ultra-feminine decor and cheese-laden menu is the place to hang out with your women friends, says Saimi Sattar

Petite, feminine, pretty, candy floss — some of the words that come crowding around as soon as we ascend the steps to reach Tera Vita, a new restaurant in Khan Market. Done up in shades of pink and blue, the restaurant has small niches, quirky posters and more which add to its hip young image ideal for a girls’ night out. It has an old-world charm which transports you to a corner of Europe. Certainly a place where you can click Instagram-worthy images.

The brain behind the restaurant is the very young and affable Chahat Jain, who tells us it was two things that inspired her to start the place. Having travelled the world, she felt that there were certain segments in food that lacked authenticity in India and she wanted to plug that gap. The second factor was that her elder brother is one of the founders of Grub Fest, the most successful food festival, held in the capital. “I had a job at hand but the joining date kept getting delayed. My brother wanted me to be a part of his team but I wanted to strike out on my own,” she says. 

First, she started out with a food delivery service and then decided to start a dine-in. the result was Tera Vita. The restaurant is named ‘Tera’ after the Roman goddess of the ‘Earth’ Terra, while ‘Vita’ translates as ‘Life’ in Italian. “Everything here, from the colours and furniture to the posters and artefacts have all been selected by me. In fact my family tried to take off some load and bought some pieces but it was not what I had in mind and got it all changed,” she says.

Coming to food, the first thing that grabbed eyeballs was Invisible salad because of its name. I noticed the ingredients only later and that made me certain that this was the dish I wanted to go for. A mix of green apple, goat cheese, mesclun greens and candied nuts, tossed in a sundried tomato paste made for a mix that was healthy and decadent at the same time. While the greens and the fruit made it nice and crunchy, it was the goat cheese which added a smooth texture, a slightly salty taste and creaminess to the melange. I could practically make a meal out of this.

Next up was the Charm brocolli, which was served with harissa, sour cream and peanut crumble which combined both crunch and smooth texture. However, it was the Heaven brulee with its warm Italian goat cheese, roasted beetroot, peeled mandarins and roasted walnuts that had my heart. Not only did it walk the tightrope between the textures but also balanced the flavours with equal panache. The tart mandarin, slightly sweet beetroot, nutty sweet walnut and salty cheese were polished off the plate in record time. This one is certainly a winner on hands. And incidentally, also the owner’s favourite

Another one would be the House prawns, cooked with nothing more than roasted garlic, onion and olive which was served with sourdough crisps.  while the prawns were cooked just right, the garlic added a pungent flavour while onions and olives make for value additions.

Certainly the place to head to when you head out with your girl gang next time.