Whether its breakfast, lunch, or dinner you’re after, Terrace Cafe in Ballantyne serves up tasty options for all three meals. It opened last year in Ballantyne Village on the ground floor of the building that houses the Ballantyne Movie Theater. Just above is Jade, another popular Ballantyne restaurant.
A parking space can be difficult to find out front, but there are ample spaces in the large parking garage behind Terrace Cafe.
Inside Terrace Cafe, you’ll find a well thought out and designed interior space with large metal sculptures, colorful original artwork, and warm and inviting oranges and reds throughout the restaurant. A beautiful bar extends along the length of the right side of the room. A variety of tables and booths are spaced fairly close together, but even when crowded, the noise does not feel excessive, just energizing.
The interior design has been carried right down to the smallest details whether it be the artful design of the drinking glasses, which curve to one side, the matching asymmetrical flatware, or the tea served out of brightly colored ceramic pots. Everything about Terrace Cafe is visually exciting.
On a nice day, you won’t want to miss a chance to enjoy a meal on the outdoor patio where you can watch people enter and exit the neighboring Mellow Mushroom and Villa Antonio.
We have eaten both breakfast and dinner at Terrace Cafe and breakfast is by far the standout, easily one of the best breakfasts in the area. Breakfast choices range between $10-15, a little pricier than some breakfast choices, but when you factor in the superior atmosphere and service, it’s a reasonable price.
Banana Pecan French Toast
Terrace Cafe’s signature breakfast dish is the Red Velvet Waffle served with a cream cheese drizzle. Also tempting is the S’mores French Toast, chocolate dipped Texas Toast coated in graham cracker crumbs sandwiched with marshmallow creme and chocolate ($10).
On our visit, I was very pleased with the Southern Sausage Benedict served on a buttermilk biscuit with a side of hashbrowns. Ted had the Banana Pecan French Toast, 3 slices of Banana Nut Bread topped with banana slices and pecans and drizzled with rum-flavored maple syrup.
Oreo Waffle
The special of the day was Oreo Waffles and we couldn’t resist bringing some home as a special treat for our kids. The fruit salad is a real winner consisting of a fresh mixture of ripe cantaloupe, honeydew, blueberries, pineapple, raspberries, grapes, and kiwi.
If breakfast isn’t your thing, Terrace Cafe also serves lunch and dinner menus with everything from chicken salad on a croissant to fresh salads and seafood. The fresh berry Margarita, pictured above, is one of the best Margaritas I’ve had in a long time. They also have a fresh berry mojito.
I couldn’t resist ordering the Fried Oyster Spinach Salad. The oysters were plentiful, plump, and cooked just right. It was however a little lacking in bacon and the mushrooms could have been cooked better. They were either canned or sautéed in the presence of so much steam that they tasted canned. 
The Shrimp and Grits, while definitely not the best Shrimp and Grits to be found in Charlotte, were serviceable. The use of chorizo, instead of andouille sausage was a nice change-up in flavor and the whole fried okra was a nice twist- something I feel should be standard with Shrimp and Grits.
If you don’t feel like a full meal, Terrace Cafe has a selection of small plates including Fried Alligator, Fried Green Tomatoes ($6), Spicy Crawfish Dip ($8), and Country Ham Slders with Pimento Cheese and Green Tomato Chow Chow ($7).
Peanut Butter Cheescake
Live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights.
Terrace Cafe
14815 Ballantyne Village Way Suite 150
704-369-5190
Sunday-Thursday 8am-11pm
Friday and Saturday 8am-midnight
Twitter
[...] it at all. Very few people are so-so on it. The Blue Taj, located in Ballantyne Village behind the Terrace Cafe, is hands down my favorite place to eat Indian food. It’s a little more upscale and pricier [...]