Domenico's

Domenico's has been around for a couple of years now, and settled into an easy casual dining experience. Their focus is on their authentic Italian pizzas, using imported ingredients and recipes. We walked to their little premises on Thimbirigasyaya from Independence Square, ravenous and ready for some fresh pizza. 

Ambience & Service

The ambience is reminiscent of your average inexpensive pizzeria in Italy, with an open oven and a couple of chequered clothed tables set out. They also have some monochrome pictures of people eating which is definitely more of a Lankan touch. They do thankfully have A/C in case you do feel like dining in. The location is superbly easy to find, just opposite the wow.lk office on Thimbirigasyaya Road. In case you find Thimbirigasyaya a difficult word, you should try Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Himi Mawatha. Much simpler. 

The service is attentive and fast, and there also appear to be a lot of staff around apart from Domenico himself. Originally from the Puglia region of Italy, Domenico is dedicated to serving up authentic Italian fare in Colombo, and spends a lot of time training his local staff to get them up to scratch too. We were impressed by the level of attention. The restaurant was pretty empty too (it was about 7:30 PM on a Tuesday so it's understandable), so our pizzas made it from order to table within a paltry 10 minutes. 

Pizza

Their pizza options are pretty varied, with a bunch of seafood, meat, vegetarian and premium options. The premium options all use imported Italian ingredients and are named after the 7 deadly sins. The large pizzas are about 13 inches. I did find the base a little bit thick for an Italian thin-crust pizza, but some people prefer the substantiality this affords. 

We tried a Gola, a.k.a a Pizza Gluttony, which came topped with a tomato passata base, mozzarella, Italian sausage, bacon, hot pepperoni, parma ham, garlic and black olives. I don't feel like the name needs much explanation anymore. It was very decadent, and each slice was laden with a ridiculous amount of topping, all imported produce. I still thought it was a bit on the steep side for Rs. 2300, but it could easily feed 3, and if high-quality meat is your heart's desire, it's worth it. 

Next was a straightforward Chicken BBQ at Rs. 1500. This, despite not being an actual Italian-style pizza, was one of our favourites and well worth the price. The juxtaposition of the spice and semi-sweet barbeque sauce played well, and the chicken pieces were soft and succulent. We also tried a Marinara, which at Rs. 1600 featured a delicious array of seafood like prawns, tuna, cuttlefish along with mozarella, pasatta and parsley. It was fresh and well done, but tasted slightly bland and cheesy after my palate got used to the flavour burst of the Chicken BBQ. 

Dessert

While the pizza was great, the piece de resistance was the little cups of dessert. We tried both Nonna's Tiramisu (nonna = granny in Italian), and the special Chocolate Biscuit Pudding. The Biscuit Pudding was fine, using actual chocolate biscuits inside as opposed to the usual Gold Marie. It was also topped with a fine layer of crumb and nuts which added textural variety.

Our favourite, however, was the tiramisu. It was light yet compelling, and well worth the Rs. 350 price tag. We actually ended up getting another one. 

Conclusion

The pizza and dessert were good. You're looking at about Rs. 1000 plus per head for a full meal including dessert, which isn't too extravagant. Domenico's is more popular for take away but I think their dine in experience isn't abysmal. It's worth it for a quick or casual meal if you're in the area.