Brooklyn has always rewarded those willing to travel for flavor, but every so often a place arrives that justifies the pilgrimage outright — the kind of restaurant that makes even the tippy top of Manhattan feel like merely a starting point. Terra in Sheepshead Bay is exactly that kind of destination: a polished, playful, casually luxurious modern European restaurant where precision plating meets theatrical cocktails and every course arrives like it knows it is being watched.
This is what happens when fine dining loosens its tie, keeps its standards, and turns up the charm.
Founded by longtime best friends and Sheepshead Bay natives Oleg Rybak and Dmitry Khavko, Terra is built on equal parts appetite and audacity. One is an oenophile attorney, the other a whisky devotee in finance, and both grew tired of trekking 45 minutes into Manhattan for serious food and serious wine. Instead of complaining, they built the answer in their own neighborhood — an upscale yet approachable dining room that reflects their roots, their palate, and their refusal to settle for mediocre local options. The result feels intentional rather than trendy — a restaurant with backbone, not just branding.
The menu, led by Executive Chef Dima Martseniuk, carries both pedigree and pulse. His trajectory reads like a culinary novel: Ukrainian-born, originally trained in international economics, he arrived in the United States in 2009 for what was meant to be a short English-learning stay and never left the kitchen. He rose from prep cook at Veselka to Executive Chef, modernizing Ukrainian cuisine and earning national attention through appearances on Beat Bobby Flay, Good Morning America, Guy Fieri’s projects, and The Rachael Ray Show, along with winning “Best Latke in NYC.” After earning a Grand Diploma from the French Culinary Institute, he opened Ruta on Capitol Hill — the first Ukrainian restaurant there — cooking for dignitaries including Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg, and President Zelensky. He later took top honors at the World Chefs’ Summit in Japan for his borscht. That level of discipline shows on every plate.
He is joined by Co-Executive Chef Anna Shitova, whose New York fine-kitchen training sharpens the menu’s modern edge. Together they produce food that feels European in soul and contemporary in execution — heritage refracted through refinement.
The dishes land exactly where you want them to. Braised Veal Cheeks over Creamy Polenta deliver slow, velvet luxury with architectural plating. Halibut with Roasted Cauliflower and Watermelon Radish balances delicacy with visual snap and textural contrast. Beetroot Ravioli with Goat Cheese and Tarragon plays earth against brightness with a confident hand. Sauces are brushed with intent. Garnishes are composed, not scattered. Each plate looks editorial and eats generously — a combination too rare.
Chef Dima describes each dish as designed for conversation, plated with precision, inspired by heritage, and finished with surprise. That promise holds across the board. You taste lineage first, then invention, then a small flourish that makes the table pause mid-sentence.
The cocktail program performs like a headline act. Mixologist Boris Gerliani, formerly of Moscow’s White Rabbit, brings high-concept bar craft without ego. Clarification and molecular techniques are used as instruments, not gimmicks. The Molecular Piña Colada arrives clarified and intensified, topped with coconut ice cream foam that drinks like a tropical silk. The Clarified Basil Smash is crisp, aromatic, and layered with basil and cardamom in clean definition. These are cocktails dressed for the gala but built to be enjoyed, not merely photographed — though they photograph outrageously well.
Wine is not an afterthought here. It is a pillar. The list, curated by Guillermo Lesassier — formerly of Michelin-starred Casa Enrique and Andanada — alongside Oleg Rybak, runs more than 600 varietals deep, with another 600 bottles in reserve. France, Spain, Italy, the United States — all heavily represented. Champagne selections include Billecart-Salmon and Salon. Napa powerhouses such as Harlan Estate and Hundred Acres appear alongside global icons including Pio Cesare, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and Vega-Sicilia. It is the kind of list that invites both celebration and study.
What makes Terra glow is not only technique, though the technique is undeniable. It is conviction. The place knows exactly what it wants to be and executes it with polish and pleasure. The room feels celebratory without stiffness, glamorous without pretense, serious about flavor without draining the fun from the table.
Yes, it is in Brooklyn. Yes, it is worth the trip. Go hungry and dress like you expect to be seen.
Website: https://terra-nyc.com
