Delivery review: Domenica’s ravioli
During this crazy corona period, restaurants are closed, so we’re happily eating out at home. Fortunately, many new and unusual delivery and takeaway restaurants have opened. And we’re going to test them for you. That way, we can keep eating well while supporting the hospitality industry. Today: Domenica in Amsterdam.
Italian hospitality
Once upon a time, this restaurant was home to the darling of many Amsterdammers: Bordewijk. An institution in the capital. A tough restaurant with lots of steel, a progressive interior and fantastic French cuisine. When it closed its doors, a trio moved in, carefully guided by the previous occupant, who had learned the trade at Italian restaurant Toscanini.
Working here under the motto ‘it’s always Sunday’, they found success. A menu of fresh Mediterranean dishes, in that same tough interior, with hip fluorescent tubes on the ceiling. Normally, you can always walk in here until late, because Italian hospitality means that a place is always made for you. Now they are temporarily making ravioli for takeaway, so they don’t leave all their fans out in the cold.
Sunday
For the second time this week, I take a sunny summer walk to Noordermarkt, because the first time the restaurant was closed. OPEN is printed in huge block capitals on the windows of the steel façade. That’s promising, although the door is closed and it looks suspiciously dark inside. To my surprise, the door opens, but the restaurant is dark and empty, just like the kitchen. ‘We are closed,’ someone shouts from the back.
‘But it’s Sunday,’ I shout back. ‘Domenica!’
‘I know, I am Italian,’ he shoots back. It’s Flavio, the chef. He walks towards the tables pushed together. ‘We didn’t have any orders today, so I didn’t prepare anything. Last week was very busy, but today: nothing.’ He sees my crestfallen face and hungry expression. ‘I have some ravioli from the freezer, if you want.’ Unfortunately, he has no bread or meringue tartlet, but I decide I can live with that.
Frozen ravioli
The ravioli are filled with roasted aubergine, ricotta and colatura di alici, a sauce made from anchovies. This gives the ravioli a pleasantly lightly briny flavour. It tastes wonderful with the light sauce containing delicious pieces of veal shank. It may even taste better than the ravioli I tried from Toscanini earlier that week. Perhaps the secret is freezing the fresh pasta for a day. After eating this dish, I realise: actually, a multi-course menu is overrated. One flavoursome dish is enough for a moment of happiness.
Can Domenica join us at the table more often?
Yes! Domenica is a lovely restaurant that should definitely remain open after this crisis period. But with these temporary top-quality ravioli, they’ll keep their regular guests coming back for a while yet. They cost just €12.50—at that price, you can’t cook them yourself (and certainly not this deliciously). They’re open from Thursday through Sunday between 3 and 7 p.m. For the other days, I’d buy a little extra to put in the freezer.
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