Eataly Boston Unveils Terra in April

A bartender at Terra at Eataly Boston pours a glass of Cambridge Brewing Co. Brett Conspiracy from a nitrogen line / Barrels of the Rack AeriAle system. / Photos provided

It’s almost time to taste the barrel-aged beers from Cambridge Brewing Company, Italy’s Birrificio Baladin, and more: Terra, the third-floor restaurant at Eataly Boston with a unique new draft beer system, opens to the public on Tuesday, April 4.

The long-awaited project will be the fourth full-service restaurant inside the food emporium that opened late last year. Chef de cuisine Dan Bazzinotti, who left Bisq to join the Mario Batali-involved Eataly USA, is behind the seasonally inspired, wood-fired menu.

An open grill anchors the restaurant, firing shareable, seasonal plates, like sirloin, calamari, and quail; plus spiedini (skewers) of tuna, lamb meatballs, and pork sausage, as well as asparagus, and broccoli. Terra will also offer fried seafood, pasta, and a selection of bruschetta.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery founder Sam Calagione, who is a “Birreria Brother” at Eataly’s North American outposts, dreamt up the brand new Rack AeriAle draft system, which debuts at Terra. Designed by AC Beverage Draft System Installers, the floor-to-ceiling setup, visible from behind the bar, houses rotating beers from local and Italian craft breweries in various repurposed wine barrels. Eataly Boston beer and barrel manager John McKusick controls the carbonation (or nitrogenation), and bartenders tap the barrels directly, resulting in unique pours every time. Calagione, CBC brewmaster Will Meyers, Eataly USA CEO Nicola Farinetti, and more previewed the so-called Barrel Room ahead of the Extreme Beer Fest in February.

“For me, Terra will be a very sensory experience: the aroma of the grill throughout the restaurant, the taste of the barrel-aged beer on tap, wood burning and popping,” Bazzinotti says, in a press release. “Terra will have a vibe all its own.”

Not a beer person? Terra will also have a robust wine list with more than 300 labels, including rare vintages. There is a full cocktail program, too, featuring herb-infused spirits made in-house.

The earthy themes continue to the decor: verdant plants surround the wood-fired grill, and the furnishings are rustic.

“With Terra, we want to rekindle that very fundamental connection with Mother Earth that somehow we lost along the way,” Farinetti says, via today’s press release. “and cooking by fire—letting the very simple flavors of great raw ingredients, American or Italian, shine through—does exactly that.”

Terra, opening Tuesday, April 4, at Eataly Boston, Prudential Center, 800 Boylston St., Boston, 617-807-7300, eataly.com.