Da Domenico is probably one of the most expensive Italian restaurants in Hong Kong, tucked away on a quiet street in Causeway Bay. While the food is really good, it's known for bad service and a chef/owner with a temper not to be messed with. There is something though that keeps the high profile clientele coming back for more - I can't really tell if it's the price tag and therefore some snob factor, or if it's because of proclaimed use of jet fresh ingredients from Italy.
To start off, we had an order of Bruschetta ($150). I know, $150 for three pieces of bread with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar is a bit steep. Just get used to the fact that pricing is exorbitant here. The tomatoes were nice and sweet, which went well with the balsamic. I love garlic so the spiciness didn't bother me, but I do wish there was some green, like basil.
The second appetizer we had was their Burrata Cheese ($320). I had my first burrata cheese here and it was delicious! The cream + mozzarella just oozes out of the mozzarella shell. They use the same tomatoes and balsamic here as they do in the bruschetta, but there was the peppery arugula to cut through the heaviness of the burrata.
Soup of the day ($120) was a clear seafood consomme. It might look like not a lot of anything but it was packed with flavor, from all the shrimp shells and whatnot they go through here at the restaurant
The Vongole (clams, $480) and the Cozze (mussels, $420). Succulent seafood, not the type where you have the huge shell and the skimpy shellfish. These dishes truly showcase the quality of the ingredients and their natural flavors. The broth at the bottom was a tad salty, but it was supposedly all the natural seawater from the shellfish.
The Grilled Scampi ($680) and the Grilled Calamari ($480). Again, the ingredients shone through. It was simple, delicious, and well-executed. No tough rubbery-ness from either dish.
The Salt Baked Seabass ($790) was the most expensive dish on the menu. It came to the table whole, covered in a salt crust. We had to hack away at the salt crust to get to the fish, which was nicely cooked and moist inside. The skin was, of course, way too salty to eat. The mild flavor of the seabass didn't come through as well as the flavors did in the other seafood dishes.
The Linguine Calamari (baby squid, $480) and the Spaghetti with Sausage Sauce ($280). The linguine was good! I loved the texture of the sheets of pasta and it was great in absorbing all the sauce and squidy goodness. The sausage pasta was totally disappointing. It was just a simple spaghetti marinara and the sausage was dry and flavorless, like cardboard shreddings.
Da Domenico's famous Linguine con Gamberi (red shrimps, $480). The sauce is just so rich and concentrated it's almost like the essence of a shrimp bisque tied in with tomatoes, saffron, anise, parsley - there was just enough to lightly coat each strand of pasta, as pasta should be (not drenched in sauce). Some of the shrimp meat was slightly overcooked though.
Just for a bit of meat, we ordered the Ox Tongue (I forgot, it was probably in the upper $2xx). The ox tongue was seasoned with just salt and pepper, the texture was nice and bouncy, and came with some spicy cabbage and tomato on the side. Not spectacular, but decently done.
Finally, Tiramisu ($70) for dessert. The senior server was promoting this all around the dining room, and said that it was freshly made and that even the eggs came from Italy. The tiramisu was decent, but not wow. I question if the yellow hue actually came from the egg yolks, because I didn't taste a deep egg flavor, but the mascarpone was there. The base was made of a chocolate sponge cake and not with the traditional savoiardi. Nice coffee flavor in the sponge cake though.
It was a lot of food, and the price tag was jaw dropping - it was around $1600 per head. That's almost the equivalent of the dinner tasting menu at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon.
I'm not one to focus on service and decor when I'm blogging about a restaurant, but when the dishes are priced in the same bracket as those in 5-star hotel restaurants or 2-to-3 Michelin-starred restaurants, you'd expect a certain level of service, especially to make their high-profile clients happy. Aside from the one senior server who runs the show and takes all the orders, the other servers are basically clueless. It wouldn't be far off to say that they are elevated busboys and busgirls because all they do is clear the dishes and refill your water. When you want to add something to your order (not full out order), they would hesitate and then try to get the senior server's attention so that he can take care of you.
A dear friend once asked me why this place isn't listed in the Michelin guide (I would agree with some critics that Michelin doesn't get it right all the time), but there are reasons. The dishes, although good, are not consistent across the board. The seafood dishes are king, but the others need a bit more attention. While execution of the dishes is very well done, the dishes lack the complexity or demonstration of technical skill that Michelin inspectors are looking for. Service and decor don't match up to the price bracket this restaurant puts itself into, and wine selection is minimal. My pet peeve came up in this place as well - "still or sparkling?" but when I asked for tap, they said they didn't have a proper filtering system (excuses excuses to try to get you to pay $70 for a bottle of Acqua Panna).
The main attraction for me is the seafood, but the price tag is hefty. I'd probably visit Da Domenico probably once or twice a year, since their menu barely changes, and it'd put too big a dent in anyone's wallet to go frequently. It's worth trying; just brace yourself for the bad service.
Da Domenico is located at
G/F, 10-12 Hoi Ping Road in Causeway Bay
