The first stop on our search was Terra, a cosy but well recommended restaurant near Goodge Street.

The décor is fairly Mediterranean-standard and the service is pretty good (although we were the first there that evening for the dinner shift so for an hour or so we pretty much had the place to ourselves).

But, you ask, what of the salad? It comes in a wide, capacious bowl, which is a good start, and the blend of Romaine lettuce, croutons and grilled chicken (yes, it’s a Chicken Caesar) looks appetising. Given that I’m not a fan of anchovies (which may upset some Caesar purists, but in truth they’re as much an addendum to the original recipe as chicken) I’m glad that their removal was not an issue.

Unfortunately, that’s where things started to go downhill. The croutons were tiny, which made for an amusing visual but also made them fiddly to eat – especially as the bowls were attractive to look at but actually rather awkward to eat from.

On top of which, the lettuce was crisp enough but the Caesar dressing, by which any salad lives or dies, was rather thin and bland. It doesn’t have to be as thick as mayonnaise but the best dressings have some body to them. Sadly this one did not.

So my overall impression? 4/10. Not the greatest start to our Grand Caesar Salad Search but here’s hoping for better to come.