domenica

i tried domenica for happy hour which meant half pricedpizzasand select cocktails. i split the pizza with a friend (white clam for me and smoked pork for him). both were delicious. the crust is thin enough that the pizza doesn't feel heavy. i also ordered a bellini which was good. for entrees we split the maltagliati (braised beef) and squid ink tagliolini. both had great flavors. the maltagliati was hearty and rich. the squid ink was a bit lighter with a great mint twist that truly made the dish. the atmosphere is great and we had good service.

if you are staying at the roosevelt it is a good late night spot.pizzasare a 7/10. not sure i would walk around on the exterior at night but interior has a good feel to it but truthfully only worth a visit if staying in the hotel. been a few times and tried to like it beyond a 3 but cant. no worries plenty of great spots in no.

a reasonably priced john besh restaurant. i really like the squid ink pasta (with crabmeat). not a huge portion, but taste is excellent. real fan of thepizzastoo though they all sort of seem to taste the same to me. nice decor. clean, updated, hip. a winner of a restaurant.

i was told they do a half price pizza during happy hour which would be a good choice.pizzasi was coming up looked rustic and tasty.

had a nice high end bourbon with proper ice cube, octopus carpaccio and a three selection meat and cheese board wth the most delectable bread pillows you could imagine.

also had a nice brewfist italian beer and ended with a relaxing shot of sambuca.

the highlight was the pate and the bread but it was all come back tomorrow good. i will and the wife will be with me.

service was also very good in the har area. have my eye on the squid ink pasta with blue crab next time in. pricey but worth every penny.

only the foolish could walk by this casual and informal restaurant and assume it’s just another pizza joint. while his name doesn’t appear on the menu, domenica in the roosevelt hotel is a part of john besh‘s restaurant empire (in partnership with alon shaya who is also executive chef). our shared besh dining experiences at august and la provence and paul’s visit to lüke raised expectations. we saw tastypizzasdelivered to tables around us, but paul and i were drawn to other offerings on the menu. see http://placeatthetable.net/2016/03/12/domenica

i must confess something...i'm a bit of a novice when it comes to fine dining. my family is middle-class and therefore i've never really been exposed to restaurant menus devoid of prices, multi-page wine lists, etc. so when i made reservations for domenica this past sunday, i didn't know what to expect. and for those of you who don't consider this true "fine dining", then excuse me while you resume polishing your monocle and adjusting your top hat.

domenica is located next door to the roosevelt hotel, just around the corner from the hustle and bustle of canal street. as soon as you walk through the glass doors you know you're in for a treat. the high ceilings and wide-open space is conducive for individuals who don't particularly prefer to be crammed together like sardines while dining out. the lengthy bar on the left-hand side of the restaurant is quite impressive and remained busy throughout our meal.

i made sure to capitalize on the 2-5 happy hour deal which domenica offers (half-off on allpizzasand half-off on all alcoholic beverages) so we arrived shortly after 4 o'clock. we were immediately seated and realized that we were one of the few tables dining at that particular hour. this made for a particularly intimate and enjoyable meal, though i can't speak for how the restaurant compares during its peak hours.

we were immediately provided with an order of bread and a bottle of olive oil for dipping. the olive oil contained traces of what tasted like red pepper, but it might have had a touch more of an additional spice. the bread was fresh, fluffy, and the perfect way to start an italian meal. speaking of italian, my girlfriend, who studied in italy and minored in italian in college, could not stop complimenting the authenticity of the menu's arrangement (i.e. classification of dishes, separating wines based on region of origin, etc.). 

our server quickly attended to us and we put in a request for the roasted cauliflower which so many people seem to rave about. the cauliflower arrived shortly after and was quite a surprise for the both of us. we were served an entire head of cauliflower, rather than what i assumed would be a few pieces. if you are dining out with a large party then this dish is a perfect appetizer to rev up the metabolism. the cauliflower was adorned with sea salt and was accompanied by a plate of whipped feta. the feta was one of the richest-tasting things i have ever tasted. while i might not agree that this is an "essential new orleans dish" like some publications and websites have asserted, i will admit that john besh and his team managed to do more with the relatively unheralded cauliflower than just about anyone around.

the next dish was the squid tagliolini topped with blue crab and herbs. it was absolutely fantastic. the rich butter sauce can be a bit overpowering, especially if you have spent the entire day eating (guilty), but its richness is well-suited for any pasta lover.

finally, we ordered a half smoked pork and a half prosciutto pizza. the smoked pork half came with a white sauce while the prosciutto half was covered in a red sauce. both halves were very tasty and i can only imagine what my impression would have been if a) i had not eaten so much prior to the pizza's arrival and b) i had not already indulged in the rich whipped feta and tagliolini. the thin crust is as italian as it gets and the toppings are just subtle enough not to overpower your taste buds. my girlfriend was enamored with the prosciutto and i found the smoked pork to be quite tasty. 

throw in a glass of penot grigio and our bill came out to $56. considering how much food we had remaining and how full we were, i'd say the bill wasn't very steep at all.

the service throughout the entire meal was top notch. domenica really knows how to assemble a good crew. if you are in the cbd or on the edge of the french quarter, stop in if you have the time. there are plenty of drinks to choose from, affordable and delicious pizza options, and an upscale environment that is perfect for a special occasion. 

taste: 9.5/10

cost: 5/10; 9/10 (if you partake in the happy hour and order a pizza)

dining area/decor: 10/10

customer service: 10/10

location: 7/10

we had domenica on our radar but were on the fence about coming here because we had so many other places to try.  our friend recommended only coming here for happy hour (2pm-5pm) since all theirpizzasare 50% off! we’re in! we ordered: margherita pizza – tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella tutto carne pizza – bacon, fennel sausage, salumi, prosciutto cutto all wines by the glass, beers and certain cocktails are also half-priced.pizzasare pretty big and with 50% off, they run about $6-8! we ordered two for the four of us and it was plenty!  awesome deal, right? thepizzasare tasty!  the crust could be a little crispier but still good.  we liked the marg but liked the fennel sausage even more! atmosphere:  beautiful, modern space.  high ceilings, dark accents with great light fixtures. service:  our waitress was great! extremely friendly and helpful! overall:   come here for happy hour and eat a ton of pizza and drink a lot of bellinis!

awesome experience. i went there with a group of 18 people and we were seated in a back room that was accessed by walking through the kitchen. it was like a scene in "goodfellas." walking through the kitchen, the entire staff stopped what they were doing to greet us. the back room has tastefully rustic furnishings and refined art with one wall being full plate glass storage that holds custom grain alcohols on one side and wine on the other. our server was annie, and she has been working in besh restaurants for a while, so she was well versed with his other restaurants as well as domenica. the best waitress i have had in several years. the person who arranged our meal had ordered ten different pizzas; tagliatelle with rabbit and porcini; pappardelle with moroccan spices, lamb, raisins and pine nuts; rigatoni with spicy tomato sauce, basil, and parmigiano; fried tuscan kale with lemon and parmigiano; and brussel sprouts with guanciale. my favoritepizzaswere the wild mushroom with tomato, fontina, sweet onions, bacon, and yard egg; and the tutto carne with fennel sausage, bacon, salami, and cotechino. prior to going to the restaurant, a friend of mine had recommended the clam pizza, but it was not one of the ten on our menu for the evening. the taglietelle with rabbit and porcini was exceptional. freshly made pasta with a great mixture of spices, and the rabbit was very tasty. the rigatoni was out of this world, bursting with freshness. all of the pastas had a great variance of texture which was great. this was my first time having fried kale, and i am now a huge fan. frying the kale gave it a completely different flavor. it was like potato chips, but way better and good for you. the brussel sprouts were cooked to perfection, nice and soft. as we left our dining area, the staff once again stopped what they were doing to thank us for visiting. this now completes 4 of the 7 besh restaurants in nola that i will visit on my current quest. domenica was a homerun in every respect.

one reason why this restaurant succeeds is their happy hour special. they offer 1/2 pricespizzasand drinks for 2 hours each day, including weekends

after the saints season opener this past sunday, we went to domenica, john besh’s casual, contemporary restaurant in the roosevelt hotel.  this was my second visit to domenica and it surely won’t be my last.  on my first visit, my birthday dinner, we ordered the roasted cauliflower with whipped goat feta appetizer, and i got the squid ink tagliolini with blue crab as an entrée.  the cauliflower was amazing, so much so that i’ve tried recreating it at home a couple of times.  (that’s a post for another day.)   the squid ink pasta with crab was beautiful, an ethereal looking black pasta with contrasting chunks of white crab meat.  and it was every bit as yummy as it was pretty.  on sunday, we arrived during domenica’s happy hour, whenpizzasand drinks are half price.  (a pizza costs $6.50 during happy hour, an incredible bargain.)  we ordered two pizzas, clam and garlic and pizza enzo, with anchovies, garlic, tomatoes and mortadella.   (we like garlic. a lot.)   i tried the enzo first. 

beautiful space, great service. even though these things are subjective, i'll throw in my two cents worth with regards to the review titled "confused". the chandeliers are a modern raindrop style that work with the other hollywood regency mirrors and elements in the space. there is some juxtaposition of styles that create a very elegant contemporary atmosphere.

as for the service, domenica's staff is exemplary, knowledgable, and totally welcoming. perhaps it is confusing to some, but i love to be able to walk into such a fantastic space dressed casually and be made to feel so welcome.

i have had the duck pizza recently, and the meat was a very tender confit. as someone who frequently eats their pizzas, i have never had an issue with any dish that i've ordered.

happy hourpizzasfor $6.50 is the best deal around.


-----24 apr, 2013-----

night and day. i was a bit skeptical about all of the press that they have been getting about their pizza lately. while i loved everything else that i tried there in 2010, thepizzasmore than fell flat. just seeing photos of recent pies let me know that something had changed.

the newpizzasare delightful, soft and pillowy, and do not even slightly resemble what they were making in the early days. really good!

so good went back the next day. in a city of amazing food domenica stands out - red fish with celery root purée and capper and red pepper vinaigrette one of the best fish dishes i've ever had,pizzasare outstanding roasted cauliflower with whipped feta so good they gave me the recipe, shrimp cous cous yum, goat dish fantastic, banana pudding and pistachio pie stunning. what was really amazing the prices were great too. try the happy hour menu if you want really good value. i'm a fan and will be back when i'm next traveling to nola!!!

cute hostesses, goodpizzaswhich are all $13 regardless of toppings, and good bloody mary's. my friend also like the cocktain he got.

what the hey-hey is in that bread?!. i could just eat the bread and olive oil they give you gratis and be happy with that.
of course, thepizzasare superb as well. i'm looking at you, lamb meatballs!

good pizza. domenica was located in our hotel and we stopped in for a quick dinner. it was super crowded and since we did not have reservations we had to sit at the bar. usually this would be fine but the little table was so small for a party of 4, especially since we each ordered drinks and pizzas. despite being very crowded and having to balance everything just so, we enjoyed our meal. thepizzaswere great. this seemed to be a very popular restaurant and it was packed with young, professional types. i would try this place again if i revisit new orleans.