Domo – handmade Sardinian food in the heart of Leeds

My daughter chose Domo for us to go for a meal after her recent graduation from Leeds University. I am so glad she did…

Situated in Tower Works on Holbeck in Leeds South Bank, the restaurant only opened a month ago but I am sure if they continue with the quality of food we experienced it will be a hugely successful addition to Leeds’ dining scene.

For those who are unfamiliar with Leeds, The Tower Works is where 3 Itallianate towers could be seen close to the train station. They were built in Victorian times to hide the chimneys of TR Harding’s pin factory, the pins being used in carding machines during the industrial revolution.

Two of the towers (based on the Verona Tower and Giotti Tower in Florence) are Grade 1 listed. I do have a slight bug bear that Leeds City Council allowed developers build way to close to the towers so they are now pretty much blocked from view unless you are in the Tower Works complex itself, but hey ho.

Enough of the local heritage and onto the meal.

We arrived on a busy Friday lunchtime and found my daughter had booked for the wrong day. But the staff were great and whilst we had a drink outside they managed to prepare us a table inside.

The atmosphere and décor were welcoming, friendly and had a real Mediterranean feel with wall murals, artworks and hand painted plates decorating the walls.

Chatting to the waiters about this new venture, they were keen to explain how their vision was “to serve traditional Sardinian dishes rarely seen off the island, made freshly and properly from scratch everyday”. Domo was founded in Sheffield by husband and wife team Rafaele and Sarah who were passionate about authentic Sardinian food. I spoke to Rafaele who was very excited about their new venture in Leeds.

He explained how the interior had been created using traditional Sardinian pottery, masks and furniture and how the hand woven baskets had even been woven by his aunt! There was a warmth around the place, a lovely buzz and happy friendly vibe which sat well with the hearty big flavours of the food.

My daughter had invited some old friends and her boyfriend, so it was a great opportunity to see (and have a quick taste!) of a number of dishes from the menu.

The wine list was pretty Sardinian, with other options particularly  a few Italian bottles thrown in to the mix. We ordered a Sardinian white – a Costamolina, Vermentino di Sardegna. It was lovely, very zesty and you could taste the citrus. It was also very lemony yellow in colour and full of flavour.

The menu did have some pizza and pasta options, but these were all dishes with a Sardinian twist.

Not everyone wanted starters but I wasn’t going to miss out. I tried something call Su casu in biccu a sa razza. This was delicately cooked skate wing with a rich pecorino cheese drizzled with clarified parsley butter and lemon. Absolutely unbelievable, so light and fresh and serves with a thin paper thin pane bread – think Sardinian popadom.

A couple of my daughter's friends went for Truff’arancinu. Arancini has always been one of my favourites but Domo’s variation was stuffed with mushrooms, truffle and creamy buffalo mozzarella. I was given a nibble, it was really tasty – crispy on the outside and melting inside. You could really taste the truffle.

My wife went for the Burgos, a smoky aubergine cream topped with caramelised onions and juicy fig. This dish looked great and I can vouch that it tasted great too. There were almond flakes to give it a slight nutty taste. It was also very light and creamy with the texture of the figs complementing the smooth, sweetness of the onion and aubergine.

My daughter Holly went for the Truffendi a sa pecora. This was quite an unusual charcuterie option originating from the Sardinian hills. It was a lamb prosciutto served with truffled pecorino, wild honey and zesty lime. Really tender and full of flavour.

For the main courses, my wife and one of the girls went for the 8oz Fillet steak, this was a big chunk of meat and I was able to help my wife avoid the embarrassment of not being able to finish it! This was really tender and cooked to perfection, finished with Sardinian olive oil and served with fries. They ordered a green salad side to share.

A simple steak and chips but done well – no complaints whatsoever.

Holly’s boyfriend went for the Su ravioli de conillu – this was large cappellacci (big ravioli!) stuffed with slow braised rabbit served with sage butter and pecorino fondue. It got a big thumbs up and the rich rabbit meat was full of flavour.

The other two pasta dishes served were a Pacch’ pistoccu – a half tube pasta served with a rich pistachio and pecorino cream sauce. The nutty, cheesy combination was a hit.

The other was an Is malloreddus de su re – little pasta shells traditionally from Sardegna served  in a slow cooked sausage ragu with sweet ciliegino  tomato confit. As is a bit of a Sardinian theme, there was also a bit of rich pecorino cheese added to add flavour. Both these pasta dishes looked and tasted great.

My daughter Holly and I both went down the fish route for our mains.

Holly went for the Ippoglosso San Teodoro. A crispy halibut with spicy Sardinian sausage, king prawns with olives served in a rich lobster sauce. As it said on the menu – the perfect mix of sea and spice. I nearly went for this myself!

My choice was the Su re e sa redina de su mare and can honestly say this was one of the best dishes I have tasted all year. It was a gratin of jumbo king prawns and hand dived scallops. The two jumbo king prawns were the size of a lobster and served with a thermidor sauce with Dijon mustard and brandy. The scallops were served in their shell, topped with a light panko and pecorino crust gratin.

I shared some truffle fries and this was a truly memorable meal full of flavour and the scallops cooked perfectly. 

Everyone (apart from me!) was so stuffed that nobody could face a dessert. I had a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a sweet treat and we all had espresso coffee.

It really was a great meal and way better than I was expecting. Big bold, colourful robust flavours in a great setting with super service. I really loved all the dishes presentation, the brightly coloured hand painted plates helped really make the dishes come alive.

There were lots of other dishes on the menu I would love to have sampled – I watched Sardinian pizzas, tomahawk steaks and racks of lamb leaving the kitchen which all looked fantastic.

I guess I will just have to come back again!

To find out more or to look at the full menu visit: https://www.domoleeds.co.uk