CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

View from the Door

When I first saw Tria Terra wedge between Chucky Cheese and a hair salon in the Carmel Commons Shopping Center it didn’t get hardly a second thought. Just another restaurant that’ll be gone in a year. A short time later a friend pointed it out to me as a surprisingly good Italian restaurant. I was skeptical but the name stuck in my head. Afterward I started hearing that name over and over so I finally caved and checked it out.

Restaurants in the Pineville area and along the Highway 51 corridor from Pineville and into Charlotte have been blowing up and getting good. Most haven’t stopped there though and are just really good. Tria Terra is well beyond good and hits the stellar category. I had judged this book by it’s poorly designed cover and I was very wrong.

When I walked in it was nicer than I expected. Not exquisite fine dining nice but a step above the typical family Italian restaurant. Service wasn’t particular stellar but I kept my open mind and checked out the interesting menu. What better way to introduce myself to an Italian restaurant than to order lasagna. So it was done, and what a good choice it was too. This stuff is light and full of flavors I’d never experienced in a lasagna before. I can’t describe it very well but it was amazingly good. My friends sandwich looked quite good too and he had nothing but good things to say about it.

I’m astounded at the quality of the food. The service was a bit below par, especially considering the quality of the food, but consistent with the typical family-owned Italian restaurants around town. The atmosphere isn’t bad but again not in the same league as the food. I went back a few weeks after my initial visit for diner on a weekend night and had a hard time finding parking. I noticed when I was walking up that parking was available behind the restaurant. We didn’t have to wait as I had feared from struggling in the parking lot but even if we had to I would have been fine with that. It’s food worthy of a little patience.

If you want to blow someones doors off bring them here and watch their expression after the first bite. It’ll blow them away and they’ll never expect it.

Pros

• Absolutely Perfect Food
• Mediocre Service
• Decent Atmosphere

Cons

• Be prepared to wait on the weekends
• Don’t expect the service to be as outstanding as the food

Rating: Recommended