Terebinth

I was psyched when I saw a Groupon for this place after wanting to try to out for a while and after seeing the positive reviews from my peers after an elite event there. I was so excited that I got the Groupon good for two dozen macarons.
I called ahead just to ask some questions. Basically, do I need to order ahead of time, when’s the best time to come in, what flavors will be in stock, etc.
I spoke to Talia who was a middle (wo)man for the entire process and apparently the dishwasher who was helping out because they were short-​staffed when I called. It probably would’ve been easier to just speak directly to the person she was speaking to (who apparently turned out to be the owner) and cut the conversation time in half. However, apparently I needed to give a credit card number ahead of time. That’s normally fine if I placed an order… but I didn’t (no other info taken except my CC#). Anyhoo… so I end the conversation trusting my number will be safe with them and they ended the conversation with a warning (not an FYI) that if I don’t show up on Friday, then they will still charge my card. Ummmm, what? I didn’t even place an order. So, I hung up hoping these bad boys are going to be worth the initial headache. I called back a little while afterwards that same day and asked to speak to a manager. I spoke to Gabrielle who was super helpful (although she couldn’t find my CC info anywhere… yikes). We stopped by the next day (which is not like we’re in the neighborhood since it’s a bit of a drive from our place in VB) so I could get a peace of mind and to try some of the macarons. Best part about making the long drive out… they eventually found out my CC info was placed by the owner in the safe.
The macarons were definitely good! Very good. The Daughter tried the vanilla birthday cake flavor and The Son tried the Oreo flavor. Both were really good and well-​made. We placed our order of 2 dozen to be picked up the next day.
Our order was ready for us and we also picked up a cookie for each kid (snickerdoodle, choco chip, and oatmeal raisin) and the infamous Banoffee tart. The cookies were good with the standout being the oatmeal raisin. The Banoffee tart was very good but not mind-​blowing or anything.
Inside is really cute. When we stopped by on Friday, it was packed. Definitely am curious how lunch is and would meet a friend up if I was in the neighborhood. The macarons were very good and I love that they were made in house.
I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot with the CC debacle, but I’d be open to trying it out again. Although no concessions were made for all the hubbub, Gabrielle really did try to make our experience better. Also, a military discount is offered but only for active duty… ie. no spouses, dependents, or retirees.

Bonus points for great macaroons. However two issues:
1. Dinner tapas were lackluster. Ingredients didn’t seem fresh and plates were waayyy too small for the price (I understand its supposed to be small plates but seriously…)
2. When I tried to use my groupon for a dozen macaroons there weren’t any left and the owner wasn’t very nice about me using it past the due date since there weren’t any left. She was pretty much like. ‘Oh well’

I ate there for lunch today and I knew while the taste of the food was still fresh on my mouth that I had to post a review.
When I walked in it was not too full about 4 tables filled with people, (but there arent very many tables to begin with). About 3 waiters walked by me without speaking. I was going to leave until the woman behind the dessert counter welcomed me.
Once seated (about 10 minutes later) I ordered. I was glad the menu wasnt too overwhelming as I am very picky. I got the Turkey wild panini and lemon basil pasta salad. Due to the time it took for me to be seated I was surprised that it didnt take too long to get my food.
Can I say, the best sandwhich I have ever had? This is not your normal deli sliced turkey. Im thinking whole bird turkey thick sliced. The pasta salad was equally amazing. They had a lunch special for half sandwhich half salad for 6.99 but since the full size was only 2 dollars more and it came with a toasted bread with a tomato style dipping sauce it was worth it.
I took 2 cannolis, 2 lemon bars to go and since it was my first time the dessert assistant let me try a macaron. I got the salted caramel and I couldve had a few more!
I will definitely recommend this place and will visit again~

Cool retro place. I will review on the deserts since that’s all I had LOL!
So the deserts seemed to be baked fresh daily. I had The brownie & its a chocolate fudge texture without the nuts! Something hard to find in some places. Definitely will curve that chocolate crave!
The Macaroons that they’re famous for is sweeeet! Omg, can I say diabetic attack!?! I had the rosewater lemon macaroons and it seem that I was eating my Valentine roses! It was too strong of a rose flavor. The passion fruit — I don’t know it was too sweet to taste any fruits. Needless to say, I was done trying anymore of their macaroons. Are macaroons supposed to be this sweet?! The prices is a little pricey for the size of the deserts, but I will go back for those brownie!

I’d been meaning to try this place for a year. I bought a voucher on Groupon, so off I went. I took my kids and we each chose some mscaroons. Everyone’s favorite was the Nutella. We loved all the flavors we tried. I stopped in again this week to try more flavors. We will be back many times.

I recently fell in love with the cute lil spot during a Unilocal event. I was super excited the next day to discover they had a groupon as well!
My boyfriend & I had came back out to Greenbrier to have lunch & it was as yummy as my first visit. They were a bit busy but our server was friendly & attentive the whole time.
I ordered the ½ prosciutto panini with a side of the lemon basil pasta salad. I could eat that pasta everyday. My panini could have had a lil more prosciutto, but it was still yummy. My boyfriend ordered the chicken salad croissant with their pasta salad. I had a bite of his & it was tasty. I also love the bread board & tomato jam that is served before your meal. Lovely touch!
And now for the best part… the Banoffee tart… oh my sweet goodness is that dessert good. I had been thinking about it since we had sampled it at the party. We giggled like kids as we devoured it.
We had one last look at the bakery counter & hurried out before we bought everything in sight.

So classy.
I really love the design of Terebinth, it is beautiful, casual, yet classy.
For lunch I had: lemon chicken salad sandwich on a buttery croissant, house salad (minus the tomatoes), almond pound cake & 2 French macaroons. Everything was delicious and it was a very happy lunch for me after a few hours of hard work.
The wait for takeout was longer than I anticipated… but well worth it. I’m very excited for my next trip where I will be dinning in for the full Terebinth experience

Adorable place in the greenbrier area. A one of a kind gem.
First impressions are good! You walk in & the place has a bistro/​bakery feel to it. Cute décor & clean! They have everything you’d want for a quick bite to eat, or a lazy Sunday. Assorted teas, wine, and even beer. Definitely a place you could hang around in for a while.
I had samples of many of the menu items, as part of a Unilocal event. While, the lunch/​dinner food was good and unique, it wasn’t my favorite. The desserts are where this place shines. I had the rosewater macaroon and at first bite I was completely amazed. a new taste for my taste buds. It literally tasted like a flower & left my mouth feeling refreshed (who needs breath mints when you have these?) However, after several bites I realized these were best eaten with a glass of white wine or even a Bitburger beer. The flavor was strong, but still very enjoyable.
Overall, I am impressed with the unique items they offer & the fact that everything is homemade. I will be back to try more macaroons!

A friend and I decided to check out Terebinth for a Thursday lunch service. I like the idea of this place. Sandwich shop with wine that does desserts and a large assortment of teas. I’m obsessed with assorted teas and collecting them and where they’re from. I was actually really impressed to see their tea selection online (they have flavored Yerba Mate!) and then understandably dissapointed when I didn’t see their tea list on the menu, on the table, or showcased more throughout the restaurant. They have a small paper list of teas (available upon request). To that same point, they don’t offer, list, or showcase their wine menu either which I thought was strange because I saw a bottle from Jefferson Vineyards, a local winery, and it would probably behoove them to talk about and promote their overall wines more. Or else what’s the point of having such a great selection of teas and wines if you’re not going to talk about them?
The place kind of has that french bistro feel to it, I really liked the décor. However, the flow of the place was all awkward. You walked into three tables in the dead center of the restaurant and then 3 partitions separating a lounge area and another 2 tables towards the back of the restaurant. The lighting was VERY stark and bright in there, there was wait staff lingering all over the place, and before I had even sat down our server had rushed up and was asking what we wanted to drink. Anotherwards, it looked like a french bistro but it didn’t feel like a french bistro. Let me sit down, take a breath, look around, and glance at the menu first, good grief. I should just note that from hereonout, our waitress (blonde girl) was very weird, she hovered around our table the entire time, answered strangely to questions, and kept interrupting us to come to our table for the smallest of things. After our meal, she even insisted on picking up our checks and looking at our tips while we were still sitting there. So rude. She was just odd and didn’t have good social skills.
Service aside, I thought the food was pretty good. I ordered the caprese & proscuitto panini, which came with either a house or cesar salad. I asked if the cesar dressing was made in-​house, got a VERY long hesitation, and then a meek «yes?». That’s something else they need to list on their menus and chalkboards around the restaurants: is there emphasis on local? what do they make in-​house? Are those desserts contracted out? THAT’S the kind of stuff customers want to know. Not cheesy quotes about the old french tree of life and «laissez le bon temps rouler» or whatever the hell they had written all over the chalkboards on the walls and in the bathrooms. Tell me more about your PRODUCT (s) and your mission. My friend ordered the shrimp salad and said it was quite boring; there were 4 very small shrimp on it and the majority of it was a bed of lettuce. One cute touch was for all new customers you are given one free macaroon, although both of our macaroons (nutella and red velvet) tasted 2 day old stale, it was still a nice gesture. They weren’t fresh though so I’d never actually pay for them. Another weird thing is they stop serving lunch at 3 but they’re open until 7 for people to walk-​in and buy desserts. Uh ok, cause THAT’S how that works. I can imagine a couple seeing the ‘open’ sign, walking in at 6pm and being turned away for dinner service because the kitchen is closed but they are welcome to buy some stale macaroons. The owner really needs to modify her business plan because the whole thing is confusing and awkward.
I don’t know about this place. I don’t see it surviving. They aren’t open for dinner but yet they have this beautiful wine and craft beer list (that isn’t even showcased or offered!). I mean I know I’ve been known to have a glass or two with lunch but I don’t think that encompasses their normal business lunch crowd in the Greenbrier area who want to get in and get out (and would fare better at a place like Taste Unlimited). They had way too many wait staff just standing and lingering around, watching you dine and listening to your conversations. People don’t want that. If you want to convey a chic European bistro, then cut half your wait staff, encourage a casual meal policy rather than rushing guests along and out, nix the white table cloths, open for dinner, dim the lights and start talking about your wine, teas, products, and commitment to local. I want to know who you are and what you’re about Terebinth. I’m going to check back with this place in a couple months to see what kind of tweaks are made, hopefully they’re still open.

I saw a groupon for Terebinth, showcasing their macaroons. I didn’t want to buy the deal without having ever tried a macaroon so I went there first. I seriously purchased one macaroon and wished I’d bought a dozen. Not that I could’ve so late in the afternoon. They were practically sold out.
The macaroon that made me a believer was the biscotti. And yes, I bought the groupon.

I attended a private tasting party as part of Unilocal and I must say I am pleasantly impressed with this place.
The décor is made up of recycled materials and done very stylishly. Service was superb. We had several bite sized tastings of their menu items and a wine pairing by a sommelier who will be giving tastings regularly at the shop.
Recommendations: Turkey Wild Panini (a savory, buttery good sandwich with a nice flavor), Lemon Basil Pasta (tart with a bit of zest, GREAT with a Pinot), a fellow Unilocaler won a contest for most creative macaron: Bacon-​Maple Syrup. I hope to God it becomes a regular item because it was DIVINE.
My only complaint is that I wish they were open longer to accommodate after-​dinner dessert dining or to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings.
A great, upscale place to rival Taste. HIGHLY recommend you check it out!

Terebinth is amazing!!! Not only is their food unique and delicious, but the staff is very knowledgable and friendly. I also really appreciate that they have made efforts to be eco-​friendly. They have regular table and they also have comfy couch-​like seats. I found out they will soon be having wine tastings there as well! It’s just a really cool place to go and can’t wait to go back.

Came here for a Unilocal Elite event and thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We were able to sample several food items, so here are my favorites:
1) The Banoffee Tart
2) Turkey Wild Panini
3) Lemon Basil Pasta
4) Passion fruit macaroon
I spotted a tray of cannolis that looked divine, but I’m not sure what happened to them. Will have to get my hands on one of them soon…
There was a contest for a new macaroon flavor and the winner was Bacon-​Maple Syrup. Delicious! I hope it becomes standard menu fare!!!
Terebinth’s décor is open and airy with a pleasing sense of color. Nice for a patisserie/​bistro.
Open Monday-​Saturday from 10am-​7pm, this would be a great place to grab lunch and a glass of wine. I do wish it could stay open later to capitalize on the desserts, but I understand that Chesapeake as a whole doesn’t ‘get’ the concept of nightlife.
Kisha has a great place here — give it a try!

Just had a great time at Terebinth tonight at Unilocal’s Sexy and Sweet event. The food we tried was amazing, especially the banofee and chicken salad croissant.
The wine pairing we had was good and I am looking forward to going back when the pairing becomes a regular thing. The macrons were good and I enjoyed the unusual but delicious flavor of the rose water macron. I would definitely recommend this place to other people and plan to go back with my family some day really soon.

–Macaron Pick Up Review Only–
After my first week on the job, I decided to spoil myself by making a trip to one of the few (if not only) places that has macarons. The place is located in TownPlace right by Moe’s. Once inside, there’s a counter that displays those tiny desserts for you to gawk at. I’d say there were about 10 flavors or so available. Here’s what I got…
The Food (pictured).
–The favorites: Earl Grey, Lemon, Lavender Passionfruit, Chocolate, Strawberry, Salted Caramel.
–Not so much: Nutella. Shocking, I know. I absolutely love Nutella on different things, but find that this had too much of it in one bite.
–Overall: Love the flavors, though I feel like I’ve had a lighter kind at the places up in D.C.
As for the rest of the place, the décor is a bit eclectic and classy. I kinda feel like the place tries to be homey, but doesn’t really quite hit it. Maybe it’s how open the area is or the concrete floors. As for the service, I don’t think it’s as streamlined as some other sweet shops I’ve been to. There aren’t any labels on the macarons to tell you what type there are and I needed the list to be repeated a few times to get a handle on what I wanted.
Overall, nice to have some macarons available to get in town.

If you’re looking for damn good Macarons and by that I mean pillowy, soft, flavorful round pastries and not the stereotypical and often confused for Coconut Macaroons, then make the trip out to Terebinth located in the Greenbrier area of Chesapeake. Specifically located in the shopping center with the new Aura apartment complex you’ll find it right across the way from Spaghetti Eddies.
It’s dim in here I’ll say and if it’s to set an intimate dining atmosphere then I can see what they’re going for here conceptually. There are about 8 tables/​booths in this small but accomodating Patisserie/​Bistro. You can see the French influence expressed in the décor on the walls as well as the framed terminology of classic sauces en route to the bathroom. There’s also a nice lounge area with comfortable couches to enjoy a pastry or two if you’re not in the mood for a sit down dinner which they offer Thursday through Saturday after 5.
When you enter Terebinth straight ahead you’ll notice the pastry case with an assortment of pastries, pies, and cakes. I came here because of a GroupOn I had and was looking to try a good variety. I came with my girl and we ended up getting a box with an assortment of macarons (Samoa inspired, Earl Grey, Pistachio, Salted Caramel, and Coconut) along with an Apple Crumble Tart and their «Bee Bar» which had Caramel Honey filling along with a variety of nuts and fruit on a tart shell.
Each of the pastries was delicious and the macarons were outstanding in flavor and texture. Making a good macaron is a fine art and the pastry chef here has it down pat. The fillings in each of them were also very delicious, not overly sweet but definitely a nice accompaniment to the pastry itself which also was flavorful. The Apple Crumb Tart had a good balance of sweet and tart with the use of Granny Smith Apples. Don’t cringe when I say this, but I’ll take this over a McDonald’s Apple Pie any day of the week! As for the Bee Bar, it was really good. A little hard to chew at first but the flavor and crunch from the whole almonds and various fruits made it a very good combination of flavors.
Upon talking with the staff they also offer small plates (tapas) for dinner between Thursday and Saturday after 5PM in addition to the pastries in the case. Looking at their offerings they sounded just as delicious. The braised short rib with polenta dish was the one I could remember of the top of my head. I’ll have to make a return trip to try that along with some other small plates.
«WHAT’S IN THE BOX! COME ON! OPEN THE BOX!» — Brad Pitt (Se7en)
«Relax! Good Sweets and Good Eats for 2!» My response

The first time I tried french macarons was at Chantal Guillon in San Francisco. Ever since then, I’ve been on a search for local bakeries that offered some. I’m no macaron connoisseur, but I know the difference between a poorly made (stale, wrong consistency) macaron & a fresh, high quality one.
I first experienced Terebinth’s macarons at a friend’s wedding. It was their wedding favors, and I was so thrilled to see macarons on our table that I ate them right away: P They were perfect! The texture was soft, the crust was thin/​egg-​like, and the filling was just right. As soon as I had the chance to ask where they ordered the macarons from, I google mapped it right away. I was happy to find out that Terebinth is near where I work!
I’ve been here a few times now, and I’ve never been disappointed with their macarons. My favorite flavors are nutella, earl grey & salted caramel. They offer different flavors each day and they do run out sometimes (I’ve had my few shares of going too late), so I would recommend calling ahead.
Based on their macarons, I would give this place a 5 star but I’m giving it a 4 for now because I have yet to try their lunch & other pastries.

This new desert and coffee café also serves a small array of soups, sandwiches and salads making it a perfect stop for lunch or light dinner.
The atmosphere is modern chic with concrete floors, high ceilings and flowing curtains draped across the ceiling bringing together french styling with a smattering of furniture.
We tried the Salted Caramel Banana cake, the Red Velvet Cake, the Key Lime Tart and the German Chocolate Cake with Cappuccino and Americana coffee. All were outstanding!
The staff and owner were a joy to speak with and clean, comfortably sized bathrooms make it a must stop for a city in need of gourmet. 5 Stars for Chesapeake and 4 in comparison to Manhattan

I’m going to try and be as objective as I can be about this so keep in mind I was not here for lunch or for a meal really but just to have a sweet and come coffee. So now that I set the groundwork… lets talk about what was good first.
My Peanut butter banana cupcake or «Elvis» was really good, moist, tasted just like I imagined it should before the first bite and was something I would order again.
… And unfortunately that’s all that was really good about this place. It was not busy at all around lunch time on a Sat, we were the only two people in the location, I had come in here to have one of these macaroons i hear so much about in the other reviews but they had none and the selection that was in place was not many choices and a lot of the stuff in the jars on the shelf was empty or out of stock.
The coffee we got (just normal coffee) which had been made on a machine in front of us was pretty much room temperature when it arrived at the table, Luke warm at best.
The room had unclean and cleared tables and cups and dirty plates at various tables, I started to wonder if we just missed a large group of people but the server said it had been pretty slow the whole day so that just told me «we are just slow and lazy today» even the table we sat at was Dirty and not clean, although it seemed no one had sat down at it at all. Pretty disappointing.
Most of the choices are more of an illusion of choice because almost everything being served has bananas in it, so if you don’t like them… go somewhere else. The other dessert my girl had was a chocolate whoopee pie, it was the last one they had, and we could tell why after one bite. it was dry and not moist, like it had been sitting outside of the cabinet, thing is, it was offered to my date because she was not really into banana and it was kind of sitting in the back but since it was pretty much the only thing that didn’t have banana in it, we took it and since it was offered as an option, which it really should not have been because anyone that works in a place like this should be aware of the freshness of their items.
So all that said. And keeping in mind that we did not have a full meal or lunch, I can say for what we did have it was not the kind of experience that we would come back for anything else.
The real kicker however was when I went to pay for the coffee and desserts, I told the cashier that the whoopee pie kind of tasted like something that had been sitting out and was not fresh or moist, more like a Wal-​Mart whoopee pie. Her response was something like «yeah sometimes they sit in the cabinet to long and dry out» gee. Thanks for offering it in the first place even though you knew it was something you would not feed to a homeless person, and thanks for not offering something else that you knew would be better so I would not feel the need to blast you in a review on Unilocal

My coworker pretty much had a foodgasm eating one of their macarons today.
I bought half a dozen for $ 7.50 in all the flavors available that day: dulce de leche, strawberry, coconut, and Nutella/​expresso. The were generously sized and beautifully made. I only had the strawberry one and it was soft and delicious. I’ve had macarons in Paris and from some fancy store in New Orleans that was on Oprah… these were just as good. My coworkers eagerly help me eat the rest and all loved them. They came packaged in a box with ribbon and printed tissue paper inside — great for gifts.
The place is very clean and modern looking (think white leather reclines) and service is super friendly.
If you’re coming just to buy macarons, recommend calling ahead… my previous 2 trips came out empty-​handed and they don’t really seem to have a set schedule for making them.