Don’t let the name fool you: Soda Club is all about pasta and wine. The East Village favorite and Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient recently opened its second location inside the Ramble Hotel, bringing another concept from Boulder-raised co-owner Ravi DeRossi under the same roof as Death & Co. The menu is entirely plant-based, though you’d hardly know it. “We just want the first thing a guest notices to be how good dinner was,” says partner and wine director Drew Brady.
That philosophy carries into executive chef Amira Gharib’s handmade pastas, which draw on the Arab and North African flavors that have traveled through Sicily for centuries, with Urfa pepper, sumac, and saffron appearing throughout the menu. “We’re following a real culinary conversation rather than introducing spices for novelty,” Ravi says. A few New York classics made the trip, including the focaccia, gigli, and tiramisu, but the rest of the lineup is distinctly Denver’s.
Kick things off with the here today, a house vermouth blend crowned with orange foam that opens bright and citrusy before deepening with every sip. “A cocktail can open your appetite without demanding the whole evening’s attention,” Drew says. Pair it with the flaky, crackly focaccia and bagna cauda butter, then save a piece for mopping up the preserved lemon aioli beneath the charred broccolini, a dish Drew says “snuck up on all of us.”
Then come the pastas: pistachio pesto rigatoni and peppery mafaldine di pepe, delivering plenty of richness without relying on cream. By the time the sticky date cake with saffron ice cream arrives, the plant-based label feels almost beside the point.
Wine is the other half of the equation. Drew’s natural-leaning list is designed for exploration rather than intimidation, whether that means sticking with a familiar bottle or asking the team to pour something more adventurous.
Against purple walls and the glow of stained-glass lamps, it all adds up to the kind of dinner that makes lingering over one more glass seem like a very good idea.
Happy Hour
With nearly 50 wines available by the glass, Trellis Wine Bar already rewards a little experimentation. Happy hour makes it even easier: More than 40 are half-price, giving curious drinkers room to roam without committing to a bottle. Pair a new pour with charcuterie, cheese, and pickled accompaniments from the Park Hill bar’s small-plates menu, or let the staff steer you toward an unexpected match. On Wednesdays, seLect bottles are also half-price, making a midweek detour doubly worthwhile.
News Bites
Denver’s first dedicated itameshi restaurant has landed on Larimer Square. Rōmyō folds Japanese and Italian traditions together in playful dishes such as ’nduja dumplings, udon carbonara, cacio e pepe ramen, and chicken katsu alla piccata.
Carrie Baird is back at Bar Dough full time. The Top Chef finalist is bringing more Colorado produce to the LoHi Italian restaurant, including ingredients from its on-site garden, with a spicy Caesar, heirloom-tomato panzanella, and seasonal fettuccine.
Colorado’s Michelin Guide is officially statewide for the first time this year. Milpero earned Denver’s newest star, while Pig and Tiger and Rougarou received new Bib Gourmands. Annette brought another Bib to Aurora as the guide expanded to additional culinary destinations across the state.
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