We tried Sheffield's new Sardinian restaurant in Kelham Island and this is what we thought

Tucked away in Kelham Island lies one of Sheffield’s most exciting housing developments.
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Little Kelham has been transformed from the former Eagle Works and Green Lane Works into a brand-new neighbourhood of low-carbon homes.

A raft of new restaurants and food destinations are opening in the booming Kelham Island in an attempt to back up developers Citu’s bold claim.

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“In Kelham Island you’ll find yourself surrounded by a fabulous array of independent restaurants, cafes, bars and galleries. The island life is so enviable, you’ll find you never want to leave,” Citu bravely stated.

Food review at DomoFood review at Domo
Food review at Domo

Residents already have the choice of Kelham Island Tavern, The Fat Car and Craft & Dough all on their doorstep but now they’ve got another venue to try.

Just down the road from The Gatehouse cafe and bistro, which opened in April last year, lies a new authentic Sardinian restaurant.

Forget Little Italy, Little Kelham now boasts Domo; a restaurant, bar and deli offering dishes you’d find in the small town of Castelsardo.

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Sarah and Raffaele celebrated Domo’s official launch party on Friday, July 5, with their family, friends and new neighbours.

Food review at DomoFood review at Domo
Food review at Domo

Raffaele moved to the UK 10 years ago and, since then, the pair have spent their summers travelling around Sardinia and, with that, their love of the cuisine and culture blossomed.

Their goal has been to bring a little bit of Sardinia to Sheffield.

When first stepping inside Domo, meaning ‘home’ in Sardinian dialect, it really did feel just like that.

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It felt like you were walking into a peaceful and authentic, rustic restaurant that, on return from holiday, you’d remark to your friends that you ‘just don’t find in England’.

Food review at DomoFood review at Domo
Food review at Domo

Everything from the sprawling courtyard, the quiet bar tucked away in the corner and the artwork adorning the walls made you feel like you were stepping into another country.

My partner and I had our pick of a few seats around the restaurant and, being so taken with every nook and cranny, we asked to move into the middle to feel truly immersed in the experience.

Domo offers breakfast, lunch and authentic Italian coffee to either eat in or take away as well as offering a free Aperitovo buffet for two hours during the week.

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In the evenings they serve their full Sardinian menu which we chose from and it’s safe to say, the chefs will be kept busy.

Food review at DomoFood review at Domo
Food review at Domo

From nibbles, sharing platters, fried food, bruschette, fish, meat, veg and that was just the starters.

After much deliberation, we settled on the arrancine (£6.95), grilled octopus (£9.75) and warm homemade bread (£4.25) to start before my partner tried the spaghetti with clams (£15.75) and I opted for an authentic Sardinian dish; the Culurgiones (£14.25)

The service was prompt and with a smile as we enjoyed our crisp Pinot Grigio (£21) and before long we were tucking into our starters.

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Both dishes were delicious, with a particularly generous helping of mozzarella in the arancine, and this was swiftly followed by the main.

The Culurgiones is a traditional hand made Sardinian potato dumpling filled with pecorino, served with a cheese fondue and truffle sauce.

While the dish looked the part, beautifully served on a stone slate, the overall experience left a little to be desired.

Food review at DomoFood review at Domo
Food review at Domo

The cheese fondue and truffle sauce was slightly too overpowering and took away from the texture and taste of the dumpling itself.

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My partner’s spaghetti was ‘tasty but not spectacular’ with not enough spice or flavour to make it particularly memorable.

The service had been attentive and friendly and we readied ourselves to leave a generous tip only to find that the restaurant had already taken care of that by adding a 10 per cent service charge.

Domo is perfectly positioned and set-out to be the centre-piece of Little Kelham and, I believe, with a bit of fine-tuning they can easily achieve that.