Peperoni Review

Ensanche La Julia, Plaza Universitaria

Santo Domingo

$40-$80 per person with wine

What’s in a name?

The first time I was told that I was going to “Peperoni” I was deceptively deflated. The name evoked bad New York Pizzerias with eggy crusts and fake cheese... but not so. I arrived to an absolutely breathtaking patio, completely bustling that Wednesday evening with a pack of extremely well dressed women, some of a certain age, others not so much, and distinguished men.


While the outside terrace is beautiful, airy, complete with a royal palm jutting out near the diners (a 20 ft palm), the tables it is to be said, are slightly rickety. But the service is impeccable. The maitre d’hôte proceeded to change my table immediately, and carry over all the drinks, appetizers, even cell phones, that were left on the table. The white wine was crisp and cold with a choice of two (a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc) by the glass, and one red (a cabernet sauvignon, decent but not stellar), as well as a well rounded wine menu by the bottle, with choices of French, Spanish, Chilean, Californian, and nicely enough, Italian wines.


The menu exhibits the classic fare of most upper class restaurants in Santo Domingo, with an interesting imaginative twist to each dish. They are a little heavy on the oil in my taste (in every dish I tried), but the flavours are well thought out, interesting and most importantly, delicious.


The stand outs are the calamari salad, a steal at 600 pesos, enough to feed a family of 3 quite generously, with an absolutely impeccable mix of salad leaves and red cabbage with bitter and crunchy chicory giving the dish character, enabling the chef to use a heavier dressing that perfectly complements the airily crisp fried calamari. The dressing is heavy on the sesame oil and has a distinctive “Asian” quality, while still keeping it Italian, almost like the Italian’s version of what Asian should be. It is rich yet light, generous and elegant, savoury and crunchy. Really, everything you could ever want from a salad. The calamari come fried or grilled upon request. The peperoni roll is their take on sushi, with quite frankly, impeccable flavours, the smoked salmon is distinctive yet not overpowering, the rice perfectly cooked and seasoned and the presentation classic and modern. The salmon dishes on the menu all come with a choice of doneness (not yet de rigueur in these parts of the world) and are fresh. As for dessert, not to be missed is the chocolate souffle. To be ordered 25 minutes in advance, and worth every single instant waiting. It’s rich, unctuous, with a liquid chocolate centre, served with a vanilla ice cream (in my opinion, if heaven doesn’t have chocolate and ice cream, I want to stay on earth).


All in all, service is excellent. The inside decor is a little stuffy and dark for my taste (dark wood and badly organised seating that make it often impossible to get to your seat without knocking into another old dear). The bar being incredibly small, make a reservation! Or you will have the unfortunate experience of being in the way of every server out of the kitchen and every guest on their way to the bathroom trying to get past you. The portions are unapologetically generous, most being enough for 2 or 3 people: this is definitely a place to being friends to share a few dishes. The ambiance reminds me of glamour and class, while still being fresh, very much like a Caribbean New York. The outside terrace is honestly the best spot to be seated (even with the lack of air conditioning), between the fairy lights in the bushes, the view of the street and the fashion display of your fellow diners, you are bound to be entertained, well fed, and best of all, feel like a little piece of a greatly directed movie.