Spotlight on DÒMA
Tradition, with finesse
What does “come home” make you think of?
In Bulgarian, the old-fashioned pronunciation “dòma” takes me straight back to childhood: comfort, peppers roasting in the garden, fresh air, crickets. So it makes sense that a new project from some of the country’s accomplished restaurateurs and chefs should draw on that shared memory, the roots that follow us wherever we go. DÒMA, food and drink, recently arrived in the city on the site of an older restaurant, rebuilt from the ground up in an entirely new guise.
DÒMA sets out to serve Balkan cooking and its familiar pleasures with the finesse and considerable experience of chef Nikolay Penev, whom we know from Cosmos.
At the centre is one simple rule: the food has to taste good.
Seasonal ingredients and thoughtful technique turn into dishes that feel close to home. Penev and his team explore the character and possibilities of Balkan flavours through favourites such as sirene po shopski, baked white cheese in the Shopski style, beans in a clay pot and charcoal-grilled dishes in fragrant variations. There’s seafood, too, followed by a handful of generous desserts built around flavours familiar across the region.
You might expect such a concept to come with a predictably rustic interior. DÒMA has created a world of its own instead. A playful pastel palette and details inspired by Wes Anderson films support the food through warmth rather than literal references.
The location, at the foot of Vitosha, is a considerable draw.
A large garden welcomes you, with a glazed section to enjoy throughout the year. There’s parking, convenient public transport and everything you need to leave the city noise behind and arrive at the table. Use the details below to look around and book. We suspect your appetite will accompany you all the way to Boyana.
27 Ivanitsa Danchev Street, Boyana
+359 876 332 999
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