Opened just couple months ago in Westport, Terrain is a home and garden store (and a sister brand of Anthropologie) that mixes vintage furniture finds with unique accessories, fresh flowers and potted plants. The place feels very organic and fresh. You can’t miss the impressive building situated right on Post Road – parking gets full pretty quickly but valet service is available when things get busy.

My first time at Terrain was all awe and wonder. The assortment of products, the way the store is merchandised, the friendly staff, great background music – it was all good. There was even a cafe serving small bites – I was in heaven! I picked up couple of gifts for friends and clients, including a birthday gift and baby shower gift. If you are looking for a present for someone who loves nature, serenity and all things green and organic, Terrain is the place to go. In addition to trees, perennials and containers for your garden or patio Terrain has a huge selection of potted plants and terrariums. You can pick a glass vessel of your liking and the friendly staff will help you design your own little indoor garden (but they also have tons of ready-made ones). They hold workshops for those who want to learn how to make their own terrarium. 

simon pearce terrarium

And so, with this love story between me and Terrain developing, I was thrilled when my best friends made a reservation for 4 for a dinner there last Saturday. The restaurant has only been open for couple of weeks but it already has a huge following mostly thanks to the unusual location. If you are seated outside you eat surrounded by trees, ornamental grasses, bubbling fountains and dozens of stands holding planters overflowing with flowers in all the colors of summer. There is also an indoor seating withing the main store – kind of cool as you can see the store through glass walls.

So here comes the dining part – both bad and good. I was very excited about dining at Terrain as it is run by people who support locally grown food and only use fresh and organic ingredients. I had high expectations, I wanted to see lots of vegetarian and vegan options.

We arrived on time and even though we had a reservation we were seated at a table all the way in the back and just 2 feet from the kitchen door. My friend, who made the reservation, was not happy and made it be known so after a short wait we were lead outside by an unapologetic hostess. We liked the setting and got immediately lost in a conversation. The menus arrived (there are no specials as menu changes daily based on what is available at local farms) and I studied mine only to realize that there is only one vegetarian option in entrees – the dreaded “vegetarian platter”. I ordered fish instead and moved on. William, also scared of the “platter” ordered a bunch of sides – a vegetarian’s rescue in vegetarian-unfriendly eateries.

About 20 minutes later (as I was picturing my fish to be slowly cooking on the grill) our waitress, (whom we knew from her previous gig, and who saved the evening with her good sense of humor and desserts on the house) informed us that the kitchen ran out of fish. She asked me and my friend who order the same dish, to choose a replacement but also gave us hope that the chef may find another kind of fish after all. Intrigued, I wanted to find out where exactly he is going to go fishing at this late hour but it turned out that a fish scout was sent to Whole Foods in an attempt to save our original order. Meanwhile, we were almost done with the first bottle of wine and the situation was seeming more funny than annoying.

The salads arrived and they were OK. The second bottle of wine was even better than the first (isn’t that always the case?) and finally we got the good news – the fish is here and ready! My dish was very good, William liked his veggie combo and by the time the free deserts arrived we were happy.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Terrain has an amazing online store. Check it out!

Image via: Terrain.com