(4.5 stars)
When brisket calls to you in Canberra, get thee straight to Terra Bird’n’BBQ. While the menu reads like a hipster barbecue joint, the CBD digs are very upmarket, in a power suits and upmarket red wine kind of way. Sitting at the base of a tower block, Terra has that heavy concrete feel that Canberra is famous for, with cracked aggregate floors, subdued lighting and wall lights mounted on industrial steel girders.
Pulling up on padded little stools, we place our order at the counter and get stuck into some slightly pricy Garage Project beers. White Mischief ($12.50) is an easy-to-like sour beer made on lightly salted soured wheat and white peaches. I like it so much I bought a six pack at Blackhearts & Sparrows later in the day.
The Big Boy Box ($55) is the perfect way to sample across the compact menu, centred upon meats cooked over charcoal on the rotisserie. It presents sliced smoked Angus brisket, a moist quarter of bird, and a mound of fruity-sweet pulled pork shoulder on a tray with four different sauces. While the Terra hot sauce balances the slightly too sweet pork, I’m most enamoured with the miso gravy on the accompanying chips. Super fruity BBQ and garlic sauce rounded out our included saucing selections.
In terms of vegetables, you get to select two from the list of four sides. Fried cauliflower is delicious, with the bite of harissa moderated by sweet vincotto, pepitas and flash-fried leaves. Iceberg lettuce is jazzed up with sesame praline, preserved lemon and dill, with a bowl of tangy house-made pickles rounding out a bargain lunch in a ritzier-than-expected setting. See less
... See all
4.4
