On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Tue-Thu. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Loading...
Amazingly, we had never come to this restaurant before.
So we get there awaiting another couple that we were meeting.
Again, startlingly, we were early - well, hell, that calls for a celebration!
We got a bottle of bubbly from Argentina - a very interesting grape that I don't think I'd had. I didn't scrawl the name down, but it's the second one listed of two on the wine menu under sparkling wines. Really good and cut through some of the greasiness of the heavier plates we ordered.
Our guests arrive - we drink some more and order some appetizers. The pupusa (one) was great with the curtido. Tastes just like ones I've had at peoples homes or in LA. We also had this thing (I forget the name) that is a combination of picadillo and plantains. Please look up picadillo as it should be known in general by now. It was awesome. I think that any combination of plantains (maduros or verdes) with meat is just a combination made in heaven. Wrapping up the appetizers were some empanadas that were pretty good.
For entrees we did the lamb shank (moi), a shrimp thing (Sandy), the mussels (Susi) and black bean soup (Her). All enjoyed their plates without significant comment; Susi apparently orders the mussels frequently and raves about them.
Dessert: flan de cafe, tres leches, and crepes de cajeta. All well done, though my Mom and my wife make better flan.
Oye, ¡no cafecito! What's up with that?? Seriously, how can you end a meal like that without espresso??
We'll be back - it was good.
Somehow this restaurant seems to exist off the radar, despite being named one of Atlanta's best restaurants year after year. It doesn't have the name recognition of a Bacchanalia or Chops, and its modest setting (on Piedmont, just past the Botanical Garden) belies the treats within.
Tierra's menu, which they say changes weekly, is a nice selection of Central and South American dishes. They have the classics (Peruvian ceviche, Salvadorean pupusas), as well a selection of original entrees (I enjoyed the trout with gingery heart of palm and calabaza).
And while all the food was excellent, the service was a bit lacking. My Open Table reservation noted that it was my birthday, but our waitress failed to say a word about it. She was also slow with most steps of the meal. Still, given the quality of the food and the charming setting, I'm willing to overlook the mediocre service.
I took a small group here for an after work dinner. What a cute little place! I was surprised (and happy) to discover I had arrived on half price wine night. The wine I was eying was out of stock but our server offered up her advice on a suitable replacement which really hit the spot.
My black bean soup and grilled onion salad were perfect: light, deep flavors (in the soup) and very fresh produce. I also stole some papusa from someone, it was very tasty with a pickled cabbage side.
I highly recommend the back porch, very quaint with nice views.
Just being opened for 10 years solely deserves AJC's 2008 restaurant of the year... But obviously there's something else going on in here because who really trust the AJC anymore? It's the food.
Latin American and Caribbean cuisine that is done right is hard to come by. This mom and pop shop delivers the authenticity from those regions right to your front door without the airfare and vaccinations. I only wish all restos feel like this when you step in... Cozy, warm, inviting and comfortable. The food and service feels like home and from the heart all the time, every time you visit. The menu is ever evolving and it's just a treat to taste what they come up with next.
Pionono - Platanos filled with beef picadillo. Nuff said. Yum-mo.
Salvadoran Cheese Pupusa with curtido - Pupusa is so hot right now. These puppies can hold their own to any found on Buford Highway.
Roasted Chicken breast in Argentinecorn sauce served with boiled parsley potatoes - You know it's good when the server tells the room there's only one left. I don't know what planet the potatoes came from but they were the size of an baby's head. The abnormally large portion of chicken was tender and juicy as well.
Grilled Pork Medallions with tropical fruit relish and chipotle mashed potatoes - 3 perfect sized medallions were flavorful and spot on. The relish was delish, amazing flavors and colors. What is it with mashed potatoes that you just can't stop shoveling spoonfuls of it into your mouth?
Dan and Ticha Krinsky have stayed the course of what they set out to do from the beginning and like the old saying... "If it ain't bwoke, don't fix it". You just don't find gems like this anymore, this is the warm and fuzzy feeling we all crave.
I need to change my strategy by ordering backwards next time because my pouch leaves no room for the Tres Leche cake at the end which is why everyone come here for in the first place.
Muy bien.
Burp!
This place deserves every bit of the praise it receives. We came in with pretty high expectations and this place delivered. My gf and I shared the black bean soup and a pupusa to start, both were good, but the black bean soup was the clear winner of the two. I then got the grilled pork, which was killer, and she got the sauteed shrimp, which she was very happy with.
Not a wine drinker, but apparently this place is not lacking in that department either. Give this joint a try, I think you'll be pleased.
What a cute cozy little restaurant.......
My friend and I sat outside on the deck which had beautiful art and plants along the side. Nice date place.....a lot of couples were sitting outside sipping on their wine and enjoying the mussels cooked with white wine sauce...looked yummy.
For appetizer, of course we got the pupusa, which was very good. (very good comfort food) with a glass of Malbec...
For our entrees we got the scallops and the beef tenderloins. Scallops were fresh and tasty which came with a slice of polenta bread. The beef tenderloins was cooked perfectly, and was drenched with a tastey pico de gallo with a side of plantains (YUMMMMMMMMMMY) and a rice and bean concoction. Really tastey entrees...
For desert....(the best part) ....Tres Leche cake with a side of their own homemade....(hmmm...restaurant made) dulce le leche ice cream....wow...so rich and creamy and tastey.
Great ambiance put together with great wine and food.....makes for a good night for me! (and of course great company :)
What a hidden gem. Restaurant of the year! And I can see exactly why. Everything from their subtle yet elegant dining room, their service and especially their cuisine was impeccable.
A perfect restaurant for a double date. Although we may have been the noiser group in the bunch. We were seated promptly at our reservation time and given an overview of the menu. For terms which may elude the average foodie, you're given a glossary of terms on the table. Needless to say, the wine selection and the company kept for great conversation and little need to peruse the glossary.
I thoroughly enjoy ceasar salad, so when it's on the menu, I'm ordering. A finicky orderer that I am, always dressing on the side, and always pleased to have my order delivered without confusion. Followed by the seared scallops. I will say, to my lucky self, I was happy to have the opportunity to taste not one, but two wonderful entrees, as my date was kind enough to share. Mole Pollo Lasagne... I actually was planning on ordering the lasagne until the scallops caught my eye. So the best of both worlds.
The final touch of the night was the desert. It was his birthday, so I wanted to have a little happy birthday cake for him, candle, song and all. As I went to the ladies room, I quickly mentioned to the server that for his birthday we'd be having the tres leche cake. Unfortunately, she didn't keep that to herself and made a big announcement. My bad for not mentioning to keep it quiet, but if I flag you down and tell you there's a birthday, I'd assume you'd know. Oh well, the Tres Leche Cake made up for any miscommunication. It was divine.
Thanks for a wonderful night with good friends and a celebration. Definitely recommended.
Tierra is a great place near the Botanical Garden on Piedmont. They feature specialties from Central and South America during different times of the year. Check their website for the calendar and features.
My hubby and I went there for my first time a few months back. WOW what great food. It's definitely hopping/noisy inside if it's a packed night (which from what I hear what night isn't packed)?
The menu changes frequently but everything we tried was top notch good. It's one of my husband's favorite spots here in Atlanta.
It's pricey so we do special occassions there if we do all the courses.
I've been to Tierra before, but only for dessert. Speaking of dessert...this is the BEST PLACE FOR TRES LECHE CAKE!
Every month, David and I enjoy taking our friend and hair stylist extraordinaire, Roxanne; out to dinner. We also invited our friend Jacob to get him out of the house and have fun. Tonight was Roxanne's choice of where to eat and since she is about to run an ultra-marathon in Peru, she wanted to eat at Tierra. The place is super cute and not very big. The menu changes daily and there is a large selection of wine to choose from. Our waitress Harley was amazing...and she actually knew Roxanne, which is a plus! She was very attentive and it was nice getting to know her.
Jacob and David ordered the pork, Roxanne got the grilled grouper, and I got the beef tenderloin. We also ordered a vegetable platter to try out all the unique vegetable items on the menu. Each one of our dishes were fantastic and if you have never eaten a purple sweet potato...I highly recommend it! It's like a dessert and who can resist eating something purple!? David and I also tried the black bean soup, which was amazing!
Since we decided to go out afterwards, I decided to pass on dessert. Which is very rare since I would have totally ordered the Tres Leche cake! I guess I will have to treat myself to one in the near future or maybe the boyfriend will read this review and get me one tomorrow! :)
GS and I went here for V-day, because we wanted to try a new place in our neighborhood. I actually pass this place on the way home a lot, so I was curious and excited that he picked it. We walked in and the place was a little non-atmospheric... sort of not big enough to be regular restaurant sized and didn't quite have the hole-in-the-wall feel. The decor involved sheets of aluminum, and the lights were bright and not romantic at all. But you know, we can roll with whatever.
So, then we get seated at a table RIGHT next to the door, and it's kind of chilly in there anyway. When our server comes by to ask what we'd like to drink, we ask very politely if we could move to another table, which we pointed out specifically - it was back by the bar and had no one at it. There were two or three other tables that also had no one at them.
So the manager (or owner? I'm not sure), a bearded guy wearing a bright red button-down, comes over and says rather abruptly, "I'm sorry, no." We knew what he was responding to, but it was a little shocking since he wasn't the one we had asked, and he didn't preface his statement at all! We stared blankly at him and he continued "I'm just too full tonight, there's no way I can move anyone. " He was practically adversarial, and it created this awkward tension between us and him that would continue throughout the meal - we didn't really feel like we could look at him, which was difficult because he was walking around the whole time. Plus, the interaction seemed to have ill effects on our server, who treated us coolly thereafter, perhaps in anticipation of a stingy tip (self fulfilling prophecy much?? luckily we're both former waiters, and tipped ~20% despite everything).
In the end, a main reason we didn't get up and leave right then was out of sheer curiosity - we wanted to see if there was actually any legitimate ground for not moving us to the table we wanted and seating the later table where we had been. As it turned out, there didn't seem to be. Yes, the restaurant filled up, but it was all deuces and I did not see a single reason why we couldn't have taken that table since we were earlier. If there WAS such a reason, like that the people had specifically requested that table (and this held true for the two or three other tables empty at the time of our requests), he could have told that to us and we would have been understanding. I mean, we're very reasonable diners, and like I said, formerly in the restaurant industry. But given the lack of explanation and the brusque tone, the only assumption that I can really make is that he was either unwilling or not entirely competent at customer service. Either way, we started off on a very strange note.
After hemming and hawing about whether or not we should leave, we ultimately decided to stay put. We ordered a house salad and a pupusa to start. The house salad was refreshing, but nothing really special. The pupusa was great. I miss these from a restaurant I used to go to in Ann Arbor.
I ordered the tuna with Guatemalan spicy pineapple sauce, and asked for it on the rare side. G had the vegetable plate, which is 3 sides. The food was prepared well, but it didn't blow my mind. The tuna was good, but the sauce for the tuna tasted canned. The plaintain flan the tuna was served with was really yummy. The vegetables were fine, just a little boring. The mashed potatoes were quite good. If you're a vegetarian here your best option is pupusa, mashed potatoes, and platanos. Not such a bad lunch, actually, but they're not open for lunch.
We didn't have dessert because we were not in the mood and because I was still freezing. Oh, and because no chocolate dessert on the menu - though I hear the tres leches cake is great, I wanted chocolate :). We decided in vain to try our luck at Melting Pot (but that's another story). Our ultimate conclusion was - perhaps we won't experiment on Valentine's next year.
I really shouldn't be reviewing this place... its too good, and not very well known. Its Caribbean and South American inspired, and just very, very nice.
A bit pricey for my normal dinners out, but I take almost every opportunity to take people when my work is picking up the bill. Its ~$20/plate + app +drink + dessert. And trust me, you do want all of these.
If you are planning on partaking in vino tinto, I would suggest heading out on Wednesdays when bottles are 1/2 off ($50 limit I think).
Appetizer: Pionono (plantains with beef picadillo). This dish is just the right balance of salty and sweet and will start your night off right.
Main dish: either the Jalapeno and Onion Filet Mignon, or the Mole Lasagna. I have tasted the scallops too, and if you are a fan, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Dessert: you cannot go wrong... while most like the Tres Leches Cake, I have never been a fan (anywhere). Instead, I usually go straight for the Cajete Crepes, or the Salvadoran Fig Pie.
WARNING: Their menu changes, so at any time any of these things may disappear, possibly never to be seen again. While some might not like that, I think it gives one a chance to find out something new about an old friend.
Ok, now forget what you read. Tierra doesn't exist. That place that looks like a little taco stand just north of the botanical gardens, really is.
I've now been here twice and the most recent visit has left me with a less favorable impression. It's a neat location (you'd hardly know it was a restaurant the way it's tucked into a strip of stores on Piedmont near the Botanical Gardens) and the patio is nice, but the food is lacking in flavor. For the price, it just wasn't worth it. For a place that's supposed to have signature dishes (e.g., the pork tenderloin) and exotic flavors, it falls flat. The service was a bit slow too.
Last night we had the mussels as an appetizer (not much flavor at all to the sauce). Then I had the vegetable plate with mashed potatoes, kale, fried plantains & rice. Nothing had flavor and they were all pretty dry. My date got the pork tenderloin and it was ok, but a little dry and also not much flavor. I did, however, like the Spanish wine I got. The drinks seem to be done well at least.
I think of Tierra as one of those restaurants that only Atlantans know about...I've never seen it super busy, but it consistently provides some of the best eating experiences I have in Atlanta.
The restaurant front is tiny and inconspicuous, but what lies beyond it is a very cool authentic South American restaurant.
As a person hapless with the Spanish language, I appreciate the mini Spanish-English food dictionary on each table. It describes often-used spices and plates that may be unknown to the majority of patrons. Probably put there at the waiters' request.
The one savory dish that comes to mind as being delicious is the mussels, especially when they're featured in a white wine or creamy sauce. A must try.
Everyone else has mentioned this...I will anyway - the tres leches cake. Good Lorrrrd. The frosting tastes like marshmallow fluff. What lies beneath is even better. We can split this sucker between two of us and be satisfied. Although Robert M's style sounds MUCH more fun :)
So, when I was looking for places to take my fellow yelper for a Valentine's Day dinner, I came across Tierra. I might have actually found it on Yelp. Regardless, it sounded nice - a small locally owned and operated restaurant near the Botanical Gardens and in our neighborhood. The menu also seemed as if it would be a good choice. The prices were not extremely steep, but just high enough to make you believe the food would be really good.
So, we pulled up and walked in to the restaurant - excited to try a new place and have a nice meal. The restaurant is very small, but nice. It was a bit bright for Valentine's day - I mean really, couldn't you have just slightly dimmed the bright overhead lights - would it have killed you. If you don't have dimmer switches, I would recommend a visit to Home Depot. The ambiance would have been much more romantic and cozy if the lights were less office-like. We walked in and were told the hostess would be right back. No big deal, but my fellow yelper and me both felt a bit awkward, because when you walk in there is a table right next to the door and it would appear as if we were going to have to stand right on top of this couple eating dinner.
We were seated at a table right in front of the door - so that every time it opened we were hit with a blast of cool air. Normally, I would insert some kind of joke here about girls always being cold - but I had on a sweater and was a bit chilly, too. In fact, I think the tips of my ears and nose were chilly. Not being the shy types, we both almost instantly asked the server/waitress if we could move to another table.
The server/waitress appeared as if she was about to say something when a somewhat crazed bearded man rather abruptly said "no, I'm just too full tonight." I'm sure he said more, but I was shocked - there wasn't even the usual - well, let me check my book or let me look around. It was flat out - no, the customer isn't right and we won't do anything to make you more comfortable. Wow - that was a first for me - abrupt and non-apologetic when, as a customer, I asked for what seemed like an easy request to handle. Now, maybe I'm just not that bright, but there were a number of other tables in the restaurant and all of them were two-top tables. I mean, I would understand not moving us if tables were being held for a big party that was going to come in to the restaurant. Still a bit dazed, my date and I pondered whether we would be able to go down the street to Atmosphere, One Midtown Kitchen, or somewhere else, but decided that would be a big chance on Valentine's Day. The strange thing for us was that throughout the night we continually both eyed the rest of the restaurant to see who filled the warmer looking tables - -much to our chagrin, the tables weren't filled by large parties, but rather people with reservations after us. Some tables never filled up. I mean really, couldn't the later reservations have been sat where we were sitting - maybe they would have been dressed warmer or not of cared about being close to the door.
Anyway, after our abrupt scolding we asked to have the heat turned up a bit - which it appeared was done. We ordered a couple glasses of wine, which was very good and then our meals. The bread was nice, but we noticed the server became a bit less friendly after our scolding and prolonged pondering of whether we should stick around.
We ordered a house salad and pupusa for appetizers. The salad was refreshing, but nothing special. Having lived in Central America for a number of years and having eaten hundreds, if not thousands of pupusas - this pupusa was excellent. The flavor tasted as if it came off the fogon. I was actually pleasantly surprised. For our main courses I had the vegetarian plate, which was my choice of any three or four sides. You know - it was a nice thought to put something vegetarian on the menu, but my personal preference is not to be treated as a side thought. Being a vegetarian - although not always thought so highly of by chefs, is very common place. It would have been nice to see a vegetarian option pre-set on the menu - i.e. veggie x, y, or z and if you don't like that - please pick any three or four sides and we will do ANYTHING we can to make your dining experience great. Anyway, I picked the plantains, zucchini, and mashed potatoes. All of which were very good - the potatoes had a nice kick and the plantains were well done. My date had the tuna - rare. It was also pretty good. So, overall - the food would have been a three or probably a four, but the ambiance and snappy attitude took my review down a few notches.
We had both heard the tres leches cake was excellent, but just didn't feel like sticking around for more coolness.
Everything about Tierra is amazing, but not your typical Atlanta hotspot.
My boyfriend heard about this place through a friend and we decided to check it out one Saturday night. It is definitely a hidden gem, and by hidden I mean we drove past it 2 or 3 times (it was dark and raining to give us some credit!) before finding it on Piedmont. From the outside it looks like a dive Mexican restaurant, but the inside is quite cozy and small, but inviting.
We started out with a bottle of Viognier that was light and fresh and their famous mussels, which were both great, and our waitress was enjoyable. We were there the last day of the winter menu, and it changes by season, but we were both very impressed with both of our entrees, and we definitely licked out plates clean!
I am a chocolate fanatic, but our waitress suggested we get the tres leches cake for dessert, and I am so glad she did. It tasted like heaven on earth and with a scoop of caramel ice cream to go along, I forgot why I liked chocolate so much!
It was a little pricey for a regular evening out for us, but I will definitely be back for a special occasion or for wine and dessert:)
Tierra is underrated. The food here is excellent, and the wine list is different and great. They know their wines, and the owners go way out of their way to find good ones. They make recommendations and are spot on.
The inside is small and a little cramped, but the food makes up for it. You have to make sure you save some room for the Tres Leches Cake, it is the BEST I've ever had, anywhere. This....I believe....just may be the top dessert in all of Atlanta. I've actually gone there and just asked for a few slices of Tres Leches to go. Then I sit on my couch like a glutton and eat every crumb, making sure nobody is around to share it with!
Tierra is one of the few places to get authentic food from South of the border since they closed Ay Maria and neutered Zoccalo. Tierra focuses on South American food and takes the task seriously. The menu does not change very often, but it changes deliberately and as a result of the chef/owners Research trips to South America. The Mussels and Tres Leches Cake are reliable constants, but adventuresome ordering is usually rewarded.
The patio overlooks a parking lot, but at least it's wooded and very well decorated. The dining room is crowded, but not cramped. It can add to the community aspect of this neighborhood place, if the right people are there.
Yum, super fresh and delicious and the wine was 1/2 off bottles under $50; can't beat that. We went on a wednesday where wine is 1/2 off. The restaurant is small and intimate... This would be a good date spot. Both the red and white bottles of spanish wines were very good. I got a beet salad for starters and it was yummy. I also got flounder with carribean aoli, here was just enough sauce to go with every bite. The side were mashed purple sweet potatoes- delish- and grilled asparagus. I really liked the simple flavors in the dish and especially liked that the amount they give you will actually fill you up. To sum it up : GO and GO on Wednesday nights.
Do not patronize! The owner Ticha treated us like lepers! We spent $140 dollars for two people. Given the state of the economy, most owners would graciously appreciate your business. I called Ticha after our dining experience as a courtesy to share with her that we left feeling less than welcome and Ticha pretty much told me that she could care less! She stated that she has a business to run and she caters to people who have the forethought to make reservations. Her restaurant was empty when I arrived and during most of our entire meal. She told the server to give us our check and clear our table without asking. I will NEVER return! They do not deserve our hard earned money.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Service, Food, Atmosphere....everything was great. There was nothing bad about this place. Started with the black bean soup and papusa (black bean the best of the two). I had the sauteed shrimp and my bf had the pork chop...both were amazing. I highly recommend this place and you should run to it!
Tierra was a great place to spend our night off in ATL. We weren't sure if we'd get seated, being walk-ins in a place that seemed mostly reservations-only, but I batted my eyes at the host, and we were seated within five minutes (and there was more than one empty table available during our entire meal, by the by). The wine list is extensive, with quite a few fairly inexpensive choices. We chose a nice Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. A beet salad with citrus vinigarette was a lovely starter. For my entree, I had a seared scallop dish with linguine in a sweet curry sauce. My LORD. The scallops tasted just-caught, and the curry sauce was a perfect foil for their seared saltiness. The pasta was perfectly al dente, as well. My dinner partner waxed poetic about his shrimp baked in some sort of Chilean cheese. The tres leches cake looked SO good passing by us that we had to order a slice. It was the perfect end to a truly perfect meal. Deeeeeelish!
(One star taken off for the slightly snotty attitude at the door. A moderately-priced place like this wouldn't be able to afford such exclusivity in NYC.)
The restaurant has upscale prices, but not sophisticated flavors. The staff at the restaurant treat you particularly well if you are a regular. And seeing as I went there for the first time, I did not get my bread till about 30 seconds before I got my entrees. We sat there for at least 15 minutes with our very mediocre $5 margaritas (only on tuesdays) before bread was served . Why make a drink special that isn't all that special. I would only go there to get their tres leches cake to-go. There is no reason to eat-in. Go try their tres leches, and nothing else.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Brazilian
Neighborhood: Midtown
Category: Brazilian
Atlanta, GA
Category: Brazilian
Neighborhood: Buckhead
Category: Brazilian
Chamblee, GA
Category: Latin American
I love to travel and do it whenever I can, but…
Here's where to go for a birthday, anniversary or…
