Doma Kitchen has recently moved into the Villa Marina Shopping Center next to the U.S. Post Office. Doma appears to have been in a couple of South Bay locations up to now. We only had lunch here meaning I’ve only tried a few dishes. But Doma’s philosophy and unique dishes show potential.
I never realized how far back the history of humans goes back in Ukraine - 32,000 B.C. according to wiki. Yes, 32 followed by three zeros plus another 2,016 years, of cultural evolution.
Many invaders have forced their way through this region. Ukraine also has many neighbors - mostly Slavic, with Turkey and Georgia across the Black Sea.
Doma Kitchen (Doma is “Home” in Slavic) “offers a globally inspired cuisine with an emphasis on New American and East European techniques.” The owner is from Ukraine and most of the staff is from the Slavic region.
Many of the menu items will be familiar or at least conceivable in your mind. Salads, sandwiches and Belgian waffles and Brussels sprouts represent a fair amount of the menu. But borscht (with lamb stock), pelmeni (intricately handmade chicken dumplings),vareniki (handmade pierogi!), plov (Uzbek braised vegetable rice), braised kasha (buckwheat in broth) and of course - Chicken Kiev.
The kasha, adding a portion of lamb was delicious - comforting and homey like a warm hug from a Babushka. The chicken meatballs are are made in-house from freshly ground organic chicken and taste it. The kale salad may seem obligatory on the Westside menu, but it was well composed, fresh, generous and the added chicken was moist, with a touch of curry seasoning, adding more flavor and dimension. My son had the waffles with the same curried chicken topped with two Sunnyside-up eggs - a miscommunication as he wanted lamb instead. He said the waffles were pretty good - not the best - but large in portion and all in all a nice dish.
Most of the East European menu items are only on the dinner menu. Watching one of the chefs preciously making the pelmeni in preparation for dinner is calling me back for supper.
Doma is still in soft opening stage. The service was very good but slow, as was the kitchen. For those familiar with Metro Cafe, Doma may seem somewhat similar in style, sensibility and feel, except with a much larger dining area, and unfortunately no beer/wine.
