Skip to content
Book a table Book

About us

Rooted in the South

TERRA starts from what surrounds us. The seasons of Tartu and Tartu County, South Estonia’s food heritage and the produce of our fields, forests, gardens, rivers and lakes all reach the table in one way or another. We connect this with ideas and thinking from the wider world of cooking, but we always start from the season, the place and respect for good ingredients. Our wish is to offer food and hospitality that are considered, rooted in a local feel and memorable.

A dish on a white plate on a wooden table, beside a wine glass and a table lamp
Chef Karl Pajussaar in chef’s whites, sitting on a wooden bench

A signature in the kitchen

Chef Karl Pajussaar

“clarity, seasonality and respect for the ingredients“

Karl Pajussaar’s cooking is carried by clarity, seasonality and respect for the ingredients. His style brings together fine-dining experience, a strong classical foundation and a curiosity about local flavours and food heritage. At TERRA this becomes dishes that join South Estonian produce, modern technique and a considered sense of taste into a natural whole.

Our kitchen’s idea

The ingredients speak

Our cooking starts with the ingredients. We work with what is fresh, seasonal and full of character, and build each dish around its natural strengths.

Local produce and South Estonian food culture are an important foundation for us, but we don’t treat tradition as something set in stone. We interpret it in our own way, ask questions and carry it forward. That’s how food is made that belongs to this place, yet stays open, curious and alive.

A cheesemaker checking cheeses between the ageing shelves
  1. 01Viinamärdi taluricotta tortellini · handmade gelato · local cheeses
  2. 02Andri-Peedo talulocal cheeses
  3. 03Andre Farmlocal cheeses
  4. 04Leokitrout carpaccio
  5. 05NõvaSiberian sturgeon fillet · caviar
  6. 06Järveotsaquail coq au vin
  7. 07Loona talupumpkin and pearl wheat risotto
  8. 08Peipsionions with the veal tartare
White wine being poured on a candlelit table

Poured alongside

The story continues in the glass

For us, drinks are not separate from the food but a natural part of the whole. Wine, paired drinks and other thoughtfully chosen companions help create rhythm, contrast and a complete experience at the table. We prefer drinks with character, origin and a story of their own — drinks made with thought and feeling, not simply to a formula. Together with the food they create combinations of flavour that are layered, lively and memorable.

Drinks list (PDF)

Opening hours

Tuesday – Saturday17:00 – 23:00
Sunday – MondayClosed

Tuesday–Saturday 17:00–23:00

Book a table