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Domali - CLOSED

Restaurants, Vegetarian Crystal Palace
4 out of 5 stars
(31user reviews)
Domali, cafe, Crystal Palace

Time Out says

Please note, Domali has now closed. A new cafe called Reunion has opened on the same site. Time Out Food editors, SEPTEMBER 2019. 

Having stood firmly on the Crystal Palace triangle since 1996, it was only a matter of time before Domali owners Dom and Alison (geddit?) did a refurb. Twenty years to be precise, as atowards the end of last year they closed their doors as a modest veggie restaurant, and re-opened them in the New Year as a slick Scandi eatery con carne. The walls have gone from plain white to tree-lined, set against natural wood pannelling and low-hung lighting.

Locally sourced meat (from Bermondsey) has been added to the menu, as has a surprisingly large range of gin (Jensens, Sipsmith, Beefeater and Warner Edwards among those on offer). They still have a good range of veggie options, and vegan to boot. Plus they host regular live music.

Posted:

Details
Static map showing venue location
Address: 38 Westow St
London
SE19 3AH
Transport: Crystal Palace Overground/Gypsy Hill rail
Price: Main courses £1.80-£4.50
Contact:
www.domalicafe.co.uk Call Venue 020 8768 0096
Opening hours: 9.30am-10.30pm Mon-Sun
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Users say (31)

4 out of 5 stars

Average User Rating

4.2 / 5

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star:18
  • 4 star:6
  • 3 star:3
  • 2 star:0
  • 1 star:3
LiveReviews|31
1 person listening
Tastemaker

I grabbed takeaway from here last night: the caponata and mushroom pate. The service is friendly and I appreciated a staff member hunting for an extra plastic bag for me to carry my takeaway items as they had run out of brown bags. The caponata is delicious: a really great mix of stewed veg in olive oil and other seasonings. My one gripe is the toasted bread that came with it was bland and should have been the same as that came with the pate: a thickly and tasty brown sourdough. The pate is just odd: it’s an INCREDIBLY powerful taste of mushroom and granted, this is coming from someone who loved mushrooms. I can only have it in small doses and I don’t see how someone can finish the whole serving.

tastemaker

A nice place to go for a coffee or sir down meal. It offers a bar and kitchen at the end. It's quite industrial in style with wooden tops and scaffolding style legs. I'm not sure if the space is used in the best way possible but none the less, it's a great place to come with friends. Come early on the weekend to miss the mother and babies brigade!


Having been a regular for years (once or twice a week), the changes since the refurb are hugely disappointing. No longer the warm and welcoming vegetarian/pescatarian cafe with a relaxed friendly vibe, they have become a dark, soulless, trendy, generic, baby banning, gastro burger bar. Yes they still have a veggie selection, but how many vegetarians want their food prepared on the same grill as a slab of meat?! And why only sourdough bread now? There are plenty of other restaurants on the triangle offering their fare, and the addition of meat on Domali's menu as well as their considerable hike in the prices has killed off the very essence of what made this a great place to go. For all of the many staff milling about rather confusedly, service was patchy and only one meal was delivered at a time, resulting in the first needing reheating by the time the second meal arrived. The table next to us was having similar complaints. Sadly we won't be returning.


Easily the best choice in the Crystal Palace triangle, great cakes magic dinners and the staff is like a family


Healthy, hearty and delicious food and drink.
Also sofas for hanging out.
The garden area is relaxing and magnificently urban/tranquil.


Excellent restaurant, great food and atmosphere and you get a friendly and warm welcome from staff.


Wonderful cafe serving delicious, good value food in comfortable surroundings! Have spent many afternoons in the beautiful garden working and eating their humongous vegan BLTs!


This place has it all. Great and very friendly staff, amazing food and homely and beautiful location!


Great coffee, delicious veggie and pescetarian food and lovely friendly staff. The tuna mayo sandwich is epic!


Just a fabulous place, friendly, whole fresh food, cosy and inviting and a bit of a haven..


Great place, relaxed in the right way and with it's own style and character, recommended!


Great prices and friendly staff - perfect for the vegetarian in your life. And there's a lovely hidden away garden out back


Myself & my other half popped in here just last week for dinner. Having toured the usual beer gardens to find them all full we thought we'd sneak to the back of Domali to their luscious, green, leafy garden.


We were seated immediately & then made our way through G&T, kir royale, a lager, a sauvignon blanc, some fantastic green olives, a 'special' Laksa & fish cakes...despite being a vegetarian restaurant (we are big meat eaters) it was really lovely and we had an absolutely lovely evening & at a great price too.


pros- the garden was empty when we got there, have the specials, don't be put off just because it doesn't serve meat...



One of my favourite vegetarian restaurants. Have been here numerous times and can't recommend it enough.

Tastemaker

I came here for brunch over the summer with the family and I loved it! We sat in the courtyard outside and enjoyed hearty portions of vegetarian breakfasts, fresh juices and iced lattes. Service was a tad slow, but no real complaints as it was a busy day. They have an amazing selection bloomer sandwiches too and the option to create your own meal essentially. They display artwork inside from local artists which is admirable. I wondered why they named the place 'Domali' and after looking on their website, found out it's simply the owners Dom and Alison put together! Perfect spot for a lazy brunch, conveniently located in Crystal Palace near the boutique shops and independent cafe's!


Lovely big helpings of fresh tasty food. Happy and friendly atmosphere with nice waiting staff too.


Child friendly, girlie catch up friendly, fresh food, great cakes and didn't even realise it was meat free for 6 months. Secret garden at the back rocks in summer for hangover brunch.


The breakfast here is so good that we come every week even though we are not Vegetarian! An absolutely fantastic restaurant.


Delicious food and lovely setting especially the outdoor courtyard that feels cosy and relaxing.


I don't think if this is just me !!!!!??  but I didn't know if was vegetarian.... and ordered a full English, my partner was annoyed that tea was not included.. but even more annoyed when the bacon was actually .. not bacon. Its all pretty cool and its not about speedy service but relaxing. I did not see any notice which stated it was vegetarian which was a shame really. Lunch would be obvious but breakfast full English was not. Great to have a vegetarian in the area however.


Great cafe/restaurant. Food is lovely and staff are friendly.


Great place to eat, lots of choice, from British classics to Asian style dishes, and all very tasty. Generous portions too..... fab fresh juices and great coffee if you're not eating. Highly recommended.

0 of 1 found helpful

This place is simply expensive for the quality of food. 

We came for lunch this week and ended up for a bill over £50 for 3 dishes and 3 drinks (1 wine and 2 beers). Each meal was around £11, which is difficult to understand when you know it is unfrozen food and it is also vegetarian. Although it says on the menu fresh tuna or fresh something, everything came on our table 5 minutes after we ordered. No need to say our 3 different dishes were not tasty at all. 

On top of that, our waiter seems to know almost nothing on the drink list and especially on the wine. 

The decoration in the restaurant in poor, with some damp stain on the ceiling and cracks on the walls.


I will not recommend this place as there are other restaurants/cafes on the triangle much better with better value for money.

0 of 1 found helpful

Poor food, painfully slow service and an over abundance of yummy mummy types who do no active parenting puts this way down the choice of venues in the palace.

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