Foodie Find: Doya
Authentic yet elevated Mediterranean food served in a modern space.
Doya in Wynwood offers authentic yet elevated Mediterranean food in a warm modern atmosphere with rustic accents. A gathering place for large parties and intimate tables of two – though still with surfaces still large enough to accommodate the numerous sharing plates that arrive upon completion – a large outdoor patio leads to the spacious dining room made intimate with chandeliers of rope, warm woods and plush velvet chairs. Commanding the scene is an oversized bar surrounded by riveted leather chairs and headed by towering glass and mirror shelves, each lined with liquor bottles and greenery.
The prompt is to begin with a cocktail; consider the “Mykonos” ordered especially with Bacardi rum. Served in a tall glass and garnished with mint and fruit, the rum is mixed with Amaro Montenegro – made with over 40 botanicals — passion fruit, lemon and Falernum. It’s a masterpiece of mixology as yes, there’s a sweetness but the fusion of flavors creates a deep and complex libation.
The food at Doya is recognized, recently earning a mention in a Miami Herald article about Michelin star winners. To start, cold mezze menu is complete with thick and chunky spreads. The Muhamara has roasted red pepper, pomegranate, walnuts, garlic and breadcrumbs and the Roasted Egg Plant has peppers, garlic, labneh and parsley. The Spicy Tomato is chunky with onion, walnuts, parsley, sumac, isot, mint and pomegranate. Already, after being seated, there will be warm bread having arrived in brown paper but consider requesting the Lavash, which is so fresh that flour powders on to your fingers. There’s also Octopus Salad with olive oil and green pepper, Cretan Feta with kalamata olive oil and feta pistachios, and a Zucchini & Spinach Pancake by Sabuli, which is a dish the chef recreated from his childhood.
For Hot Meze, don’t miss the Koftel which are grilled Turkish meatballs. The Pide with Truffle is baked with kasseri cheese and topped with the shaved delicacy. The Octopus is tender from the charcoal grill and the Roasted Cauliflower is served with tahini, pomegranate and paprika sauce. Don’t miss the House Cut Fries with garlic yogurt. There’s also Adana Kebab with the homemade Lavish bread and Wood Fired Chicken with onion and sumac. Shrimp Ouzo is prepared with tomato, raki, feta and parsley and the Sucuk is grilled Turkish beef sausage and cherry tomatoes.
Do not leave without dessert. The Baklava is traditional but at the top of the pastry’s game, served in three pieces that will each be savored. The Chocolate is a slice with pistachio praline, chocolate cremeux and sumac ice crem. There’s also Mastic Pudding wth balsamic honey caviar and fresh berries and Caramelized Pumpkin with tahini and walnuts.
The Mykonos *
• 2 ounces Bacardi rum
• ½ ounce Amaro Montenegro
• ¾ ounce passion fruit
• ½ ounce Falernum
• ¾ ounce lemon juice
• 1 black cherry
• 1 slice of grapefruit
• Sprig of mint
* recipe adapted by SocialMiami
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.
