Published on January 4, 2018

Cedarhurst newest restaurant has been labeled by Newsday as one of three “over-the-top” eateries on Long Island.

The newest high-end restaurant, DOMA Land + Sea, which opened in September, seeks to bring to life a modern American cuisine that celebrates all things land & sea. With only a few months in business they have made quite a name for themselves here in Cedarhurst.  See why Doma has been labeled one of Long Island over-the-top restaurants.

Newsday article by Erica Marcus

“Before I was kosher, I used to eat at the best restaurants in New York. Just because it’s kosher, that doesn’t mean it can’t be great.” — Boris Safaniev

Boris and Eddie Safaniev, the brothers who own DOMA Land + Sea in Cedarhurst, did not grow up kosher, and the restaurants that inspired them were such vaunted Manhattan ventures as Quality Meats and Estiatorio Milos.  When they took over the old Mother Kelly’s location (that was, briefly thereafter, Amsterdam Burger Co.), “we wanted to challenge people’s idea of kosher,” Boris said. And he’s gotten a great response. “The kosher community has always had the income and desire to support a place like this,” he said. “Now they have the venue.” His other major demographic is the non-kosher diner who has a kosher family member. “ ‘Finally,’ they tell me, ‘we have a place to eat with our brother that we like, too.’ ”

STARTING LINEUP

DOMA is the second Cedarhurst restaurant from the brothers; their first venture, Cork & Slice, serves a dairy menu three doors down.  For their grill-centric menu, they hired executive chef Oscar Martinez who led the kitchen at such steakhouses as The BBG in Williston Park and, before that, Old Homestead in Manhattan.  Another fine-dining vet, Peter Corea (whose résumé includes Manhattan’s Smith & Wollensky and David Burke’s American Kitchen), is general manager.

VITAL STATISTICS

The restaurant measures 6,000 square feet, has 180 seats and employs about 35 people.  The cost to build it?  “A lot,” said Boris, whose father, Gregory, was the contractor.  The brothers collaborated on the design.

THE MENU

With its dry-aged meat, grilled fresh fish, sushi bar and array of global starters, from barbacoa beef tacos to rockfish tempura, DOMA’s menu is the very model of a modern steakhouse.  The supervision by the Vaad of the Five Towns is the only clue it’s kosher.  Because the restaurant serves meat, dairy is verboten, so instead of finishing his steaks with butter, chef Martinez brushes on a rich melted beef fat he renders from rib-eye caps.  Dairy-free desserts are more challenging, but the guests are loving the towering cloud of cotton candy, the apple crostata and doughnuts with chocolate ganache.  Starters range from $18 to $22; mains from $32 to $59.

LAY OF THE LAND

“Doma” suggests the root of the word for house in both Latin (domum) and Russian (dom), and Boris likens his restaurant to a home.  The bar just off the entryway looks straight into the open kitchen at an enormous Grillworks Infierno wood grill, which cost a cool $50,000. “It’s the Maserati of grills,” said Boris. Beyond the bar, you’ll pass a glassed-in walk-in cooler that displays both the aging meat and the day’s selection of whole fish.  The first of the restaurant’s three dining rooms is the most casual, hung with Edison light bulbs and photos of distinctly non-kosher pop-culture icons Marilyn Monroe, Biggie Smalls and John Lennon.  This “living room” gives way to two more dining rooms, opulently appointed with heavier furniture, sconces and rich brocade.

To see the full article https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/one-north-jericho-matteo-s-huntington-station-doma-land-and-sea-cedarhurst