Fine dining beside the forbidden city

Went for dinner at Domus over the weekend. We were inspired to try out one of City Weekend's Gourmet month menus ( City weekend is like a Timeout. Provides clueless expats information on where to eat, party and shop) The promotional menu was going for 250RMB each. Though its a lot to spend for a meal, Dan and I figured the set was a better deal than trying a la carte dishes. So off we went with some friends.

Apparently Domus means 'home' in Latin. I can't exactly say this looked like any home I've been to! Located beside the forbidden city, in an old courtyard house ( siheyuan), this restaurant is awash with Italian furniture in deep dark hues, interesting grey brick walls and beautiful chandelier lamps.  I give the place 2 thumbs up for its gorgeous decor! 

I had the 250rmb gourmet month menu with consisted 

• Amuse bouche (a very quaint serving of asparagus soup in a tiny cup and a cracker topped with slivers of red and yellow peppers)
• Beef Tartar French style, Frites and Salad ( essentially marinated raw beef with 1 raw egg on top. Yummy! )
• Butternut Cream Soup Roasted Chestnuts in Salted Butter and Black Truffle Emulsion  (The soup was creamy and smooth. Chestnuts added a bit of texture to the dish) 
  
• Pigeon Roasted in Tobacco Leave, Green Pea Infused with Bacon, Carrot Puree, Pigeon Jus ( The pigeon was a tad bit raw for my liking )
• Chocolate mousse journey, violet flower white, nougat milk and orange blossom ( This was one impressive looking dessert and there was so much of it to eat! The orange blossom added a delicate bouquet to the chocolate mousse) 

I enjoyed the beef tartar immensely but didn't quite enjoy my main course. The other person having the same menu ordered Salmon as her main course. I wonder how that was...The dessert was yummy and I think I may have enjoyed it more if there was 1 less course in my meal, mainly because the mousse was very heavy.  

Dan and our other dinner friends had another set menu for 288RMB consisting:

• Amuse bouche
• French onion soup  ( this looked yummy and didn't have too much cheese on top)
• Pear, walnut and goats cheese salad ( Dan liked the salad. Said the cheese was good) 
• Duck confit ( Everyone at the table agreed this was far too salty. So I guess they didn't enjoy it that much)
• lemon tart deconstructed ( Essentially ll the elements of lemon tart made into un-tart-like serving. This was a very refreshing dessert with lemon cream, lemon sorbet and lemon meringue - a perfect end note to a heavy dinner) 

We also ordered 2 bottles of Penfolds' red wine to be shared between 5 people. Our tab came up to approximately 500rmb per person which is quite a kingly sum for a regular dinner outing. So what's my final verdict? Worth a look see if you're feeling flush. The starters and desserts were fabulous. But the main dishes could do with a little improvement. I would go back if there's a promo. Otherwise, it's simply too expensive.

Address

115 Nan Chi Zi Street, Tian'anmen located across from Tiandi Yijia 北京东城区南池子大街115 号 天地一家正对面

Tel: 8511-8015