TerraFin Station in Garner

After hearing many great things about TerraFin Station (http://www.terrafinstation.com/TerraFin_Station/Home.html) at 40/42 in Garner, I finally had a chance to try it myself a couple of weeks ago.  I went with a group of friends after a day of golf and sampled several of their best known dishes.



Lobster and shrimp mac and cheese



The restaurant is split into two areas; one main dining area and then a more pub-style bar area.  The dining room looked nice enough but the casual atmosphere and quality juke box in the bar area was great.  We were served by the bar tender and never had issues getting more drinks or having food come out quickly.

To start, we all sampled their calamari, wings, and fried shrimp.  Each was good in its own right; crisp from the frying process without being greasy and generally fresh-tasting.  I didn't really notice anything that stood out from the group, but I enjoyed the BBQ wings best for the sweet flavor and crunchy texture.  For bar food, all three certainly held their own.

On special, the chef was offering Guinness-braised short ribs with mashed potatoes.  Our table split an order to sample, and I was quite impressed.  The beef was extremely tender and plentiful, with good flavor and great marbling.  While I typically prefer short ribs to be finished in a sweet sauce to compliment the beef flavor, I found the gravy-style sauce perfectly suitable and quite good actually.  The mashed potatoes were fairly standard, but also tasty.



Ribeye (shown with mashed potatoes



For my main course, I chose the ribeye and had lobster and shrimp mac and cheese as my side.  To the steak first... TerraFin specializes in hand-cut Angus beef and they certainly didn't disappoint.  The ribeye was perfectly cooked medium-rare and extremely juicy.  The marbled fat, my favorite part of this cut, was melt-in-my-mouth delicious and was taken over the top by the butter finished on top.  For the cost (less than $20), I am not sure I can think of a better steak.  Compared with the major steakhouses charging $35-40 for various beef cuts by themselves, I'd call this a steal!

The lobster and shrimp mac and cheese, another TerraFin specialty, was different than I expected but still very good.  It's clear the chef knows how to cook the shellfish as both the shrimp and lobster pieces were perfectly cooked, still tender and flavorful which is tough to do with a hot pasta dish.  Both are served in great quantities in the dish, which is a surprise given the cost and the common method of skimping on lobster in particular.  As far as the pasta goes, I'd rather they use either macaroni or spirals.  The penne didn't hold the cheese sauce very well (which also had great flavor) and generally looked odd on the plate to me.  While the whole flavor profile of the dish was spot-on, I found it somewhat visually challenging, which always makes a difference.

Overall, TerraFin Station delivered consistently good food with quality ingredients.  I didn't find the creativity in dishes that can separate good from great, but I enjoyed everything I tried and felt that the prices were beyond reasonable.  While it's a bit of a drive for anyone living west of downtown Raleigh, I'd highly recommend TerraFin Station for those in the Clayton area looking to find upscale food that won't break the bank.