Okay, let me just start with the punchline: Soda Club, which opened September 1 in the restaurant space at The Ramble Hotel in RiNo is very good. Now, some thoughts about my path to that conclusion.
First, there’s the name. When I first saw “Soda Club,” my mind immediately went to a 50’s-style soda fountain. Fun. And yum. But then I saw that it is a fresh pasta, natural wine and cocktail bar which is so NOT a soda fountain! Instead, I understand from the article in DiningOut that it references the moderation movement, with the original restaurant inspired by old-school Italian soda fountains. But with the move to a larger space, so came a broader beverage menu.
I was excited to go when invited to a pre-opening, introductory event, especially when I learned the original Soda Club is in New York City’s East Village and has received four, count-em, four Michelin Bib Gourmand awards, given for best value.
Then, after looking over the concise menu and seeing lots of words I was not familiar with alongside words I was familiar with, like “ragu” and “carbonara,” my husband and I began ordering from the menu divided into “Snacks,” “Salads,” “Classics,” “Specials,” “Pinsa” and “Sweets.” Not knowing how big portions would be, we were thankful our server said most people order three items each, not including dessert. She suggested ordering everything we wanted at once, if we’d made our decisions, and that the kitchen would course them out appropriately. We could not get our acts together well enough for that, but we did put in an order for Arancini and Watercress Salad, both of which we’d share. Meanwhile, we’d be perusing (and researching) the rest of the menu.
The Arancini ($12) came out first, somewhere between the size of a golf and tennis ball, placed on a lovely spoonful of saffron aioli, with a simple fennel salad on the side. Perfect for one person but totally shareable for two, it was delicious with a lightly fried crust and tender, plump rice inside with elegant flavors from harissa and golden raisins. We’ve never met an arancini we didn’t like and, with less cheesy goo and more complex flavors than usual, we may have met an arancini to love.
Other items under “Snacks” include Castelvetrano Olives, Roasted Cauliflower, Broccolini and Focaccia ($10-$12).
Next came the Watercress Salad ($16) from, appropriately, the Salads section which also had an Heirloom Salad and Kale Caesar (both $16). When I was growing up, my mom used to make a creamy potato soup and float delicate sprigs of watercress on it. So, when the watercress salad came at Soda Club, I was surprised to see much larger leaves and longer stems. It’s always my gripe when greens are plated up with long stems because, if you cut them off, you’re left with a bunch of stems to eat or push to the side. But if you eat them, they are a gagging hazard. Just sayin’. What caught my ear though was when our server said “coconut feta.” I said, “Wait, did you just say ‘coconut feta,’ as in feta cheese made with coconut milk?” “Yes,” she said.” “Why?” I asked. “Well, we’re a plant-based restaurant.” “Oh, okay,” I replied and started in on the salad.
The Watercress Salad was delicious with roasted grapes and a dressing that, if I’m reading the menu right, includes a pine nut cippolini vin which, I’m assuming meant the nuts and onion were pureed as part of the dressing because neither was visible in their “whole” state in the salad. And the feta? It was the smoothest, creamiest feta I’ve ever had. I loved it. Now that I knew Soda Club was plant-based, other things started to make sense.
Let me just say, I have absolutely nothing against plant-forward or plant-based foods or restaurants. More (plant) power to them. And, although I don’t know the reasoning behind not out-and-out stating that Soda Club is a plant-based restaurant, I can imagine it has something to do with not wanting to alienate the carnivores out there. But, especially since the restaurant serves Italian food, I can imagine people being very confused when they see words like “ragu” and “carbonara” on the menu expecting the meats but are served a plant-based dish.
To me, there should be a little more obvious nod to the wonderful and creative use of veggies and beans to provide satiety while also acknowledging that animal and seafood proteins will not be making an appearance on a diner’s plate. And believe me, those proteins will not be missed with the flavorful dishes Soda Club offers.
We skipped over the Classics section of the menu with a tempting Rigatoni ($22) with pistachio pesto, kale nero and sumac onion; and Gigli ($32) with shaved truffle, truffle crème, fried leeks and lemon zest among the options. We headed straight to Specials and ordered the Casarecce ($24) with borlotti ragu, smoked paprika, kale and extra virgin olive oil. This was one of the several times I had to clandestinely Google an ingredient name on my phone under the table. I’ll save you a look and tell you that Borlotti are also known as Cranberry Beans, adorable little white beans with purple speckles.
The casarecce (scroll-shaped pasta) were long, wiggly and fun to spear in the very light broth they came in, dotted with paprika. The borlotti beans were deliciously meaty, plumped up by the hot broth. The kale was crisped which I welcomed, instead of wilted and clinging to the noodles. The flavor of this dish was so good and was augmented by the slice of garlicky, charred bread perched on the edge, partially soaking up broth.
From the Pinsa (Roman-style pizza) part of the menu, I ordered the Carbonara ($26) wondering what was going to substitute for bacon or pancetta. The menu description listed fresh apple, smoked mushroom and fried artichokes. Nothing about the toppings addressed my bacon needs but the flavors were so good, pork went “blip” right out of my head.
Looking perfectly recognizable as pizza, the airy dough of Soda Club’s Pinsas are made of a blend of wheat and rice flours. The dough is long-fermented and results in a crisp bottom and wonderful flavor. This was the highlight of our meal. Not glopped in cheese, the pinsa was light and full of yumminess with a nice variety of textures.
A $75/person Pasta Tasting is available “for the table” with a minimum of two guests. It includes all five of their classic pastas plus a bottle of wine.
I could just hug the team behind Soda Club for putting the desserts on the main menu. I think all restaurants should do that. How many times have we gotten to the end of a meal, taken a look at the separate dessert menu and immediately regretted having not put half our entrée in a to-go box to save some belly room? I want to plan ahead and take into account being able to order dessert, especially when Soda Club’s sounded so good. I have a relative who orders dessert FIRST and then works backwards because, well, she has her priorities straight! Soda Club lets us look at the whole picture of our upcoming menu and make our choices appropriately.
Those choices for dessert were Panna Cotta ($14), Tiramisu ($16) and Date Cake ($14). We shared the latter two. The Tiramisu had the requisite espresso liqueur with ladyfinger cake and marsala sabayon but it was lighter than typical and everything you want a tiramisu to be. I complained a bit to my husband about the denseness of the date cake though, served in a rectangular wedge. This is the problem when a restaurant serves date cake in a shape – it always leans toward being kind of dry and crusty. When I make it at home, it’s like bread pudding, spoonable and bready but tender. But they didn’t ask me. The texture didn’t bother my husband one iota who, like me, reveled in the divine saffron ice cream accompanying it. Oh, the color! Oh, the flavor! Oh, the texture! I could have been happy with a few scoops of that on its own (just an idea, Soda Club folks!).
One of Soda Club’s big claims to fame is its Natural Wine menu, rightfully so. Wine Director and Soda Club partner Drew Brady came around with a sample of wine from the “Huh?!” section of the wine menu. I loved the cheeky humor of this concept of surprising, unique wines which will change out periodically. For now, it was Vincent Couche’s “Voulez Vous Couche Avec Moi?” from Burgundy, France (see the label below) a chardonnay and pinot blend that appealed to this champagne lover (minus the bubbles). Brady has curated a 200+ bottle list of natural wines from small, independent producers from the “New World” and “Old World.” We loved seeing wines from Aquila Cellars in Colorado as well as some from Lebanon, Sicily, Slovenia, Croatia, South Africa and Chile (plus less surprising Oregon, France and Italy).
The cocktail menu was a highlight of our sipping experience at Soda Club. I ordered the Here Today (all cocktails are $16) with their house vermouth blend topped with a creamy orange foam. This was one of the most delicious cocktails I’ve had in ages. I was literally sad to see it go as our server carried it away with only a drop or two lingering in the bottom of the glass. I wanted to wave goodbye and blow it a kiss. My husband ordered one of the spritzes, the Bubble Bath with, among other things, elderflower and cava. In contrast to the sultry warmth of my drink, his was bright and light. While mine whispered in my ear, “Come here, baby,” his grabbed him by the hand and said, “Tra-la-la, let’s go outside and play.”
So, yes, Soda Club is plant based. If that’s your thang, this is your new favorite place. And for us carnivores, don’t even think about staying way! You won’t miss the meat. Well, maybe a little. But the flavors make up for it plus you won’t leave feeling like you have a gut bomb, a huge plus.
A few words about the décor. Before you even take a look at the menu, the décor of Soda Club presents itself with shades of purple, pink, green and gold. It’s lovely and fun. It reminded us of Alice-in-Wonderland-meets-Cabaret-meets-Tiffany (the lamps, not the singer). It gave us flashbacks to a lot of Denver places from our youth like City Spirit café and Tiffany Plaza. I was around in the 1990’s and painting decorative “veins” on walls, as Soda Club does in gold, or, alternatively, sponge painting, was all the rage. Soda Club felt sumptuous, cheeky, elegant, sexy, posh and international all at once, which is saying a lot. And for some, it feels quite retro.
Soda Club is located at 1260 25th Street in The Ramble Hotel. Visit them on their website, here.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, InGoodTasteDenver.com. Photos by InGoodTasteDenver.com.
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