A video tour of the new small-plates restaurant Doma, which opens Tuesday in Wichita
Owner Max Cole hadn’t wanted the public to see inside his new restaurant, Doma, until he was ready for the grand reveal, just before opening day.
But now, that day has almost arrived. After pushing back their original opening plans by 10 days after front-of-house staff came down with COVID, Cole and his partners are preparing to open the doors on Tuesday.
This week, they were ready to give a tour of the interior, share the full menu and talk about their hopes for the restaurant, which has completely transformed the former Carlos O’ Kelly’s building at 7703 E. Douglas, on the perimeter of Towne East Square.
When diners walk in, they won’t recognize the place. The 13,000 square-foot building has been gutted since its Carlos O’Kelly’s days and is now wide open with modern finishes and three separate dining areas.
The formal dining room at the entrance features a horseshoe-shaped bar and tables and chairs offering seating for about 100. It’s painted in shades of red and black, and the walls feature provocative murals of women painted by local artist Mark Pendergrass. At the back of the dining room is the entrance to the kitchen, and executive chef Joseph Castillo has positioned a table where diners can watch him finishing plates as they head out.
To the east of the main dining room is a massive lounge space that has several four- and two-top tables but also is filled with lounge seating: comfy outdoor couches, chairs and coffee tables.
Its ceiling, with exposed wooden beams, is covered in string lights, and garage doors can be opened in warmer weather to let the outdoors in. People who choose to dine on the lounge side of the restaurant can get the full menu there, too.
The owners aren’t quite finished furnishing the outdoor patio, which is just outside the lounge area. It will have fire pits, yard games, lots of plant life and its own seating, and it will be dog friendly.
Previously, the owners had released a “preview” menu that offered a feel for what they would serve, but now they’re ready to share the full menu, which you can find below.
It includes things like charred shishito peppers, smoked carrots, crispy Brussels sprouts, salads, a burger, grilled flank steak and crispy skin Scottish salmon. A menu favorite of Castillo’s, he said, is the hamachi avocado tartar, which is served on a bed of smashed avocado.
The approach at Doma is different than at other restaurants. The menu is full of “small plates,” meaning diners won’t, for example, be served the traditional meat dish with salad and choice of side. Instead, the menu is filled with dishes intended to be shared by a table. Ideally, Castillo said, a party of two would order four to six different items and share them.
The approach is popular in markets like Scottsdale, Arizona, and Los Angeles, where Cole’s three partners come from. In addition to Castillo, the management team is made up of operating partner Stephen Dean and general manager Tom Williamson.
Diners in those areas love the small plates approach, Castillo said, and he’s confident Wichita will, too.
“We just want everyone to be open minded with the whole small plate concept,” Castillo said. “It’s something that’s a little bit different. Now we’re starting to see restaurants in Wichita pop up with that kind of theme, and we just want people to embrace it and learn that it’s not about the meat and potatoes and veg. There’s something more to it. Food should be a celebration, and that’s what we ultimately want to do. We want to celebrate friendships.”
Doma will be open just for dinner at first, and its hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. In March or April, it will add Sunday hours and a brunch service.
People can make reservations starting on Saturday at domaict.com.
Doma menu
This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 11:24 AM.
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