Downtown Takoma Park and Takoma, D.C., are exploding with fresh dining options. Beloved Mexican standard-bearer Cielo Rojo recently moved to larger digs; vibrant Vietnamese concept Muối Tiêu recently opened; and Sticky Fingers debuted a location across from the Metro. But if you head through downtown, eastward on Carroll Avenue, and take a left on Flower Avenue into a quiet back neighborhood, there’s another new addition worth seeking out: Koma Café.
The cozy, all-day, seven-days-a-week cafe-bar-Italian eatery, which opened last October, is the latest effort from chef-owner Brad Feickert, who co-owns nearby Soko butchery, helped open Zinnia, and worked for Bryan Voltaggio and Arlington’s now-closed Australian concept Oz. “It was kind of a no-brainer,” he explains. “There’s tons and tons of housing around here, and everybody wants their own personal bar within walking distance, where they can also get pizza and pasta.”
Koma resides in a 1,100-square-foot space previously home to two separate pizzerias and, most recently, an insurance office. The cozy one-room restaurant, designed by Natalie Tokić, has 40 seats, including the bar, and they are hoping to add a 30-seat patio in the coming months. Its facade features a feathery latte art mural painted by Feickert’s longtime friend Christopher Lynch.
During the day, Koma (as in short for Takoma) offers breakfast and lunch until 4 p.m. On the former side of the equation, there are smoothies, grain bowls, eggy options, and a series of toasts, including those topped with honey lemon ricotta and seasonal fruit, and avocado with hummus, feta, and everything bagel spices. Plus, there are pastries from Pluma by Bluebird Bakery, bagels by Bullfrog Bagels, and a full coffee menu powered by beans from Philadelphia’s Elixir Coffee Roasters.
Lunchtime choices include half a dozen straightforward but satisfying sandwiches—including prosciutto, egg salad, and tuna—all served on baguettes from Lyon Bakery and accompanied by chips or a side salad. There are a trio of salads, which are also available at dinner, including one topped with ribbons of prosciutto, pear, and whatever berries are available.
Starting at 4 p.m., when breakfast and lunch end for the day, a selection of happy hour friendly “shareables” rolls out. Think marinated olives, Marcona almonds, burrata glistening with extra virgin olive oil, caramelized onion fig spread, and charcuterie. These pair well with drinks handled by Dylan Greer, who presides over a well-composed selection of classic-minded cocktails, wine, and beer.
Pizzas and pastas—the real stars of the show—become available at 5 p.m. Since he was never a pizzaiolo, Feickert tried to visit every pizzeria of note within a 50-mile radius for research, walking away especially impressed by Baltimore’s Little Donna’s and the recently shuttered JBGB’s. His dough is made with Caputo 00 flour and fermented for 96 hours, yielding a puffy golden crust with pleasant chew and subtle tang. On top of straight-up cheese or pepperoni, there are four specialty pizzas, including those starring fennel, bresaola, and prosciutto.
Pastas are handmade as well. Think fusilli greened up with pesto made using brown butter croutons instead of pine nuts (a Massimo Bottura trick) and dotted with dollops of ricotta, along with rigatoni with prosciutto bolognese glimmering with a little three-pepper chili oil. The latter sauce is made by Soko, a cross-pollination Feickert hopes to increase since recently buying a pair of dry aging cases for the butchery, where he hopes to make bresaola and salami for Koma.
Koma is a real win for the far side of Takoma Park. Really, every neighborhood deserves a Koma—a friendly, all-purpose, well-executed cafe where you can work, catch up with a friend, take a meeting, relax with a drink, or have a family dinner. Its warmth and welcoming vibe make me want to move in nearby so I can make it a regular hangout.
Koma Café,8006 Flower Ave., Takoma Park (240) 268-0630. koma-cafe.com.
