Domani Pizzería

Pizzeria Domani may not be as trendy and hip as Brunapoli or Tiramisu, but of the three, it delivers the most authentic Neapolitan pizza. And it’s way less cookie-cutter in personality than chain-restaurants Vendetta and Vapiano. It’s the place for people that hate pretense. At Domani you’ll feel comfortable wearing your pink and aqua plaid Bermuda shorts. And the guy at the next table can feel comfortable wearing his favorite Pink Floyd concert t-shirt with an olive-oil stain on front that stubbornly defeats all laundry detergents.

The décor is quirky and nice. Not particularly Italian, save those pretty checkered tablecloths that are mandatory at all restaurants that serve pizza or pasta. The cooks, that incidentally, don’t have Italian surnames, bake those pizza pies in a real stone pizza oven.

The dough is high-on-yeast, stretchy, and all puffy, blistered and charred by the time the pizza reaches the table. It’s as close to the “vera pizza napoletana” that you can find in Santiago, even though they offer quite a few non-authentic ingredients for those Chileans that love their food hidden by stuff that’s piled on top. That includes hot dogs, breakfast cereal, and, yes, pizzas.

The service is pretty good at Domani, as best I remember, after three Kunstmann Torobayos and a couple of Goose Island Urban Wheats. Yes. That’s right. They have lots of good beer and some cheap wine too.

Don’t like pizza? Even though we don’t condone that type of attitude, you’ll be okay at Domani because they have a fairly diverse assortment of antipasto items, salads, a meat and cheese platter, and a handful of pasta dishes.

The rooftop terrace seems to be the most popular spot to dine when the weather’s pleasant, but downstairs has a good vibe during peak hours too. This place is sort of like California Cantina with an Italian accent. Sometimes they have live music … and it isn’t a guy named Giuseppe playing a concertina. It’s usually a guy named Nacho playing a vintage Les Paul electric guitar.

So, for one of only a handful of restaurants in Santiago serving up the pizzas that are the real deal in a non-pretentious and high-energy ambiance, you won’t find much better than Domani Pizzeria.