Terra Mia

Went here on a Saturday evening, place was ok. Not the greatest. Calamari was chewy. Don’t order that crap. Seafood linguini smells like Oakland pier. Yuk. Server/​owner was busy so not the best customer service. Sorry terra Mia me not going back.

The food is great. I made a reservation for weekend lunch to celebrate Father’s Day.
The place was cozy. Price is ok.
We ordered cozze e vongole for starters –mussels and scallop on a very tasty sauce and toasted bread. The shellfish are fresh.
Manuel (our server) is friendly.
Then we have Margherita and Carbonara Pizza. My daughter loved the Margherita pizza (tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese only) while the carbonara is salty for my taste. We also had Ziti Salmone and my husband and I loved it (my hubby usually don’t want seafood pasta but this one he ate a lot).
Take note that you need to ask for bread if you want to dip it in olive oil and balsamic.
The only thing a bit off is the time interval of serving our main food from the starter is a bit long. We finished our starter and almost all the bread and we till waited for 10mins.
Overall, worth the drive going here.

Been here three times and will not return. Dislike bashing establishments but the only thing saving this review from one star is the waiter. He was great. Everything else was so subpar. Absolutely, without a doubt, the most over-​priced place in Livermore. The food is just boring. In my recent visit I had a chicken saltimbocca and I swear they put jarred gravy on it. For a table of 10+, there wasn’t one of us that can say they really enjoyed the food. No one got food poisoning so that is good but with entrees averaging over the $ 20 a plate, I can find far superior Italian food somewhere else.

FOOD POISONING! I HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS SICK IN MY LIFE! My niece and I had lunch here yesterday. After ordering our drinks, the bus person/​wait support brought bread and water to our table. It was VERY Obvious that he was sick with a cold. That alone was concerning, but we had ordered and decided to stay hoping that he was not doing food handling or prep. Owners and managers should send visibly sick employees home.
My niece ordered a caprese salad, I ordered the small organic house salad and we split an order of carbonara. By the time we finished our meals and drove back to where we were staying I was already feeling sick. The food poisoning got so severe into the night that I ended up in the hospital with IV’S and in a TREMENDOUS amount of abdominal pain. The physician in th ER kept me for several hours and after running tests concluded that it was food poisining. That was the only food I had eaten that day, so I know it wasn’t from any other source.
I have been sick from food a couple of times in the past. This was like noting I have ever experienced and I have had major surgeries, etc. I hope that anyone considering dining there will read this first and I hope that the owners read this to ensure no one else will have to endure what I did last night and am still dealing with tonight. I will now have $ 1,000’s of medical bills for all the testing they had to do to rule out any other possible illnesses.

This is the worse place to eat. We had a dinner here several months ago and had a very poor experience. No working A/​C so the place was extremely hot. The deco is old and outdated, the location is in a strip mall that needs renovation. The food was poor and the service was non existent.
Yesterday we happened to be in the area late and decided to try Terra Mia once again because it was close to where we were.
We made an order to go with the «Host» and went to the bar to wait for our order. The bartender completely ignored us for 20 minutes and never asked if we wanted to order drinks.
When we got home, our pesto pasta had no chicken (something we specifically ordered), my Shrimp Diablo pasta had 5 shrimp, and Brussel sprouts and NO PASTA. The dish is $ 26 and it only had 5 shrimp with NO PASTA. My wife’s linguine and clams was watered down with no flavor.
This place is only recommended by locals that come to drink and socialize. If you are looking for good flavorful Italian food, in a clean atmosphere with good service… this is not the place. It is over priced and the food is terrible. STAY AWAY!

Wow, what a great place for great Italian food! Met up with 3 other couples for dinner and Terra Mia did not disappoint. I had the gnocchi with gorgonzola and they were incredible! Everyone else with the exception of my husband thought their meal was great. My husband ordered the special which was Halibut and he said it was overcooked. No problem, they did right by him and removed it from the bill. Drinks and desserts were on point too. Our server was awesome and very attentive! Will definitely be back!

First time visit here. We had a table of six for dinner on a Saturday evening. This is an interesting restaurant for sure. It’s in a strip mall, so you wouldn’t exactly expect it to be here. Interior is clean and decent. Pretty loud inside, and with it full of patrons, we had difficulty hearing each other across the table. Service was pretty good the entire night. But, there really wasn’t anything standout good as far as the food was concerned. We had a little bit of everything across the board when it came to all six of us ordering something. So, I can’t say it was anything in particular. Just kinda boring. So «meh, I’ve experienced better» for me. Sorry…

Yesterday I was on my way home from the Pacific Coast Dream Machines show in Half Moon Bay, and wanted to eat somewhere in the middle of my travels. I googled places from San Mateo to Livermore. Found Terra Mia with rave reviews, and decided to give it a try. Boy am I glad I did! Not only was Brian a great server, always checking on us, clearing our empty plates, the food was served fast, hot and delicious! Awesome little place in a small strip mall that I will definitely put on my favorites list! Thanks again Terra Mia staff!

My boyfriend’s family and I went here this past weekend. We went for his parents wedding anniversary.
It was my first time at this place and I was really excited because I had been wanting Gnocchi Gorgonzola for months now and knew it was on the menu.
The atmosphere was nice and loud, like any Italian place but extremely cold with fans on all over the ceiling and a tile floor, wear a jacket… Seriously.
We ordered the Bruschetta and Calamari for appetizers. I didn’t have the calamari but my boyfriend and his brother enjoyed it.
The Bruschetta was odd, it was as my boyfriend says «make-​it-​yourself». The tomatoes and olives fell off and there was so balsamic already on the pieces. It was hard to take a bite because the bread was extremely tough and hard and stale.
For my meal I got the Gnocchi Gorgonzola. I had been to a little Italian joint in Pleasanton called «Manga Mia» which also had Gnocchi Gorgonzola.
I liked it better here at Terra Mia. It wasn’t super heavy, or rich. It was lighter, and very delicious. Both my boyfriend and his brother tried it and agreed.
It’s a nice place for a family outing, NOT a date night.

Can I give a six-​star rating?
I have been coming to Terra Mia for years and every visit I leave full and satisfied. This is one of the few restaurants where I order a drink, an appetizer, entrée, AND dessert every time– yes, everything really is a must.
The Terra Mia Pizza is fantastic. I always like to order one to share for the table, because, smoked mozzarella– need I say more?
What really blew me away and sent my tastebuds over the moon is their Sunday brunch. I went this past Sunday with two others and we decided to get a few dishes and share everything between the three of us.
I had not one, but two of the Sgroppino Classico brunch cocktails. They were absolutely delightful. We started off with the Morning Bruschetta– fresh ricotta, pear, kiwi, kumquat, and sunflower seeds. And WOW this was a crazy good combination of sweet and tart flavors, very European. I highly suggest this starter.
We then shared the French Toasted Cornetto (with lingonberry compote and whipped mascarpone), Pizza Carbonara (pancetta, smoked mozzarella, and a farm egg), and Uova al forno e Nduja (oven baked eggs with tomato, fontina, and spicy nduja sausage). The entrees come with a choice of potatoes, crispy polenta cakes, or fresh fruit. I highly suggest the crispy polenta cakes. Nice crisp bite on the outside, warm melted heavenly goodness on the inside– topped with marinara sauce. SO. GOOD.
Everything on the brunch menu sounded amazing. I can’t wait for my next visit to try new dishes. I’ll be back for you, Terra Mia. I see many more weekend brunches here in my future :)

I have to start this review by saying, I am sorry! I hate writing negative reviews but we were so disappointed with our food that we had to tell the truth. This place is not worth the high ratings.
My husband and I saw great reviews of this restaurant. We were visiting from out of town and craving Italian. Unilocal told us to try this place.
Unfortunately we were disappointed. I ordered the fettuccini Alfredo. My husband had lasagna. Based on what we ordered, this restaurant is not at the rating that Unilocal gives you.
Perhaps we ordered the wrong items, but we feel these items were typical items you would have at an Italian restaurant.
In short, the food was very bland. It was lacking flavor. It just tasted like it was made from very cheap ingredients. There is no care that goes into this food. It tastes as if it was just pulled together. Nothing special.
Service was decent. Average.
Honestly, if you want Italian, you might as well go to The Olive Garden. The food tastes much better there and you know what you are getting.
We were looking for a delicious, homemade, authentic Italian taste. What we got left us disappointed and wishing we tried another place. There are many other places in Livermore with great food and we feel we wasted a meal here.

The food was amazing. Service exceptional even for a busy night. We started with a pizza Terra Mia and our main courses — the Ravalloi Anna, the special of the night and Ziti alla Calabrese. Best Italian food in Livermore by far. Will be back again and can’t forget the dessert was DELISH acompnayied with a cappuccino!

My boyfriend and I never eat Italian other than on our anniversary haha. We were seated right by the fireplace.
I ordered the spaghetti con muscoli with white sauce. It was delicious, warm and not dry. Generous serving of clams and muscles. Bf ordered ravioli.
For dessert, we had the chocolate cheesecake. It was moist and ice cold! Yum!
Service was quick, and our waiter was very friendly.

I paid $ 27.50 for charcoal briquette lamb pops. I have never been so overcharged and underwhelmed.

My boyfriend and I tried Terra Mia for the first time on Valentine’s day. We arrived quite early before our reservation time so we waited out front. It is really cute and I commented that you feel like you are in another world there. It is a great romantic spot for a date especially! We were called for a table only about 10 minutes after our reservation time, which was good considering how busy they were. In the spirit of Valentine’s day, they were also handing out long stem roses, nice touch!
We each ordered from the pre fixed menu for the evening, which included an appetizer, entrée, and dessert per person for $ 49 each. They ran out of the Insalata Caprese Bella Napoli appetizer (they were packed and it was like 7:45pm by that time so understandable) so I went with the Calamari Mare Monti, which was really good! It is kind of like a tomato-​ish calamari soup. After that, my entrée came and it was definitely the best part! I had the Veal and Prawns, which was a bit smaller in portion than I would have liked, but it had such a rich lemon white wine sauce that was excellent! My boyfriend ordered Pollo Saltimbocca, which was good, but not the best we have ever had. Hence the 4 stars, instead of 5.
I also tried their Vernaccia wine and it was quite tasty. One of the co-​owners was our waiter and he recommended it. After our entrée’s we enjoyed the Tiramisu (I can’t ever pass this up at Italian restaurants!) and the Fragola. Both were very tasty and a good portion! These are the only two things I took photos of since we ate the food so quickly!
All in all, besides the food I really appreciated how attentive they were and how often they offered more bread! My meal was really good and I look forward to going back to try some other items that are on the regular menu!

I came here for dinner with a group of friends. There was a huge lot of us. It was a very odd experience. We were waiting for a member of our party so we didn’t order yet but parts of our group were ordering drinks. Our last piece was a little late but during that whole time, we just received anxious service. They didn’t offer any complimentary bread or anything.
We finally ordered 2 appetizers (friend still not here) and the service was meek. Finally when the friend came, we ordered and service was still just ordinary. After our orders were taken, we received our complimentary bread. This is something that should be given as soon as you’re seated — especially since there’s drinks being ordered — where they get their highest margins.
Our appetizers come next. Calamari and Bruschetta. Calamari was too chewy and the breading didn’t stick to it. The sauce tasted canned. The bruschetta was okay. But it wasn’t delicious. It was bread with tomatoes and olives.
I ordered the ziti with pork sausage which did not impress me. the sausage were larger than meatballs. the ziti was regular and the sauce tasted canned. My Bertolli dinner for two at home tasted better than this.
No one at the table was impressed by the dishes. I’m not sure if they didn’t like us for ordering so late and gave us «slapped together» meals or if the food really is that bad.
I would not go back and I do not understand how their Unilocal reviews were so great.

This upscale Italian eatery is very good!
While this is my first Unilocal check-​in it is not my first time here. What comes out of the kitchen is lively and good, the bar has some creative beverages that stand outside the norm, and dessert an event not to be missed.
While lunch was good I have enjoyed dinner here. And it reminds me that the spouse and I are overdue for a visit.

Having just moved to the Livermore area and enjoying that there’s a small downtown area with some decent dining, I’m slowly starting to see that a lot of the restaurants that keep my belly happy happen to not be in the downtown area.
I was craving pasta on a night out with a girlfriend. I found Terra Mia based on some great Unilocal reviews and voila! It was a pretty decent sized restaurant. The lights were pretty dim making it feel like an intimate setting. There was a small bar to the right of the entrance should you catch yourself waiting for a loved one.
While I could probably travel into Alameda or even as close as Pleasanton for some on point pasta, Terra Mia sure fed the craving.
My friend ordered a meaty pasta dish which she seemed to enjoy. I had ordered the seafood linguini which was on point for my craving and had subsided the need to bust my gas all the way to Alameda. I had myself a glass of Pinot Noir which the waiter had suggested and it was a good night of catching up with my girl.
Thank you Terra Mia!

Came here with my boss and senior management. It looked nice from the outside but even better when you go in. The layout was nicely done. It was a little too dark for me, but overall, the presentation was nice.
Sat down. Ordered drinks and food. I ordered the ravioli with some sort of cheese. Didn’t think much of it, because it’s just ravioli. How can you make it wrong? As I took a taste of it, wow, I was shocked. This place came out of nowhere, because I was not expecting the food to be that good. The ravioli was handmade, and the cheese that went with the ravioli was great. The mixture of the two favors were well balanced. I thoroughly enjoyed their food.
Rating:
Food: 4
Price: 3 (it was a little expensive, but I am always willing to pay for good food.)
Ambience: 4
Service: 4
Overall: 4
Definitely coming back here.

My wife and I love Italian food, and are always looking for authentic restaurants back home, trying to recreate some of the magical dining experiences we had when we visited Italy. One of my few regrets in moving to California a few years ago was the dearth of good Italian restaurants here compared to our previous stomping grounds on the east coast.
So imagine my surprise when one of our good friends (who happens to be half-​Italian) mentioned that when family visits from Italy, he always takes them to Terra Mia when they start missing the flavors of home! «Terra Mia?! That restaurant in the strip mall on East & Hillcrest?» I said incredulously. «Yup,» he replied. «The founders are Italian and many of the cooks and wait staff have emigrated to join them over the years!»
A few days later, our family was comfortably seated in the cavernous interior of Terra Mia, my wife and I poring over the menu and specials, the girls enjoying their anise mints and choosing from the kids menu options (we went early out of consideration for dating couples and others who wouldn’t want kids around, but need not have bothered as they were both well-​behaved).
The pace was unhurried, the service quietly efficient. I started with a glass of the Bozzetto Chianti, which was translucent yet delightfully full on the palate, my wife ordered a Moscato which she found refreshingly sweet. The kids had spaghetti with marinara and ziti with meat sauce (both decent-​sized portions for $ 7) and we ordered calamari fritti for the grown-​ups.
This was the best calamari I’ve had in a long time — fresh, the big chunks not too chewy, the smaller tentacled morsels not too crispy. My older daughter attacked the latter when I told her it was like octopus (having seen octopi just the day before at the Monterey Bay Aquarium).
The entrees arrived. My wife had ordered the gnocchi Gorgonzola, I the lasagna Bolognese. My lasagna was «transport-​me-​back-​to-​Italy» delicious — I consumed half my plate in less than two minutes it was so good! My wife loved her gnocchi as well, but wanted to swap plates. I tasted her gnocchi and immediately knew why. The gnocchi was rich and flavorful, but a little too heavy, in stark contrast to the surprisingly light lasagna she was polishing off. I had to pace myself, and yet I could not finish it.
With all this eating, we had zero room for dessert. Which was just as well, as lovey-​dovey couples and well-​heeled patrons were beginning to file in, and it was getting close to the kids bedtime. So we bid farewell to Terra Mia — where we were treated and fed like family. We can’t wait to go back!