Meeting an old friend for a, slightly boozy, lunch catch up usually involves going to the same places every time for the usual burger and cocktail. However, to spice up predictable university life my friend and I decided to venture into Rye and Soda (just outside the Academy Shopping Centre) for the first time to try out a wine and dine lunch after hearing good reviews and knowing about its partnership with Her Campus!
So, knowing that I was writing a review on this restaurant, a perk of the magazine industry (!) I went in open-minded and rather hungry! On welcoming us, the gentleman behind the bar was there to help us straight away by finding us a table for two, and even asking if we had a preference on where we would like to sit. With a smile on his face we were seated next to the window at quite a small sized table with not much leg room. Retrospectively, he may have assumed we were on a date and the intimacy may have helped ‘seal the deal’ after a bottle of wine! The décor of the restaurant was bright and airy with comfortable seating and beautiful wooden tables with flowers neatly placed upon each one. Our legs slightly entangled, the same staff member came over 5 minutes later to take our drinks order which was a bottle of chilled white wine – obviously! The wine was served (to my delight almost instantaneously), and despite being house white it was absolutely scrumptious – one of the nicest house whites I’ve had in the city. During a nice chat with the delightful waiter he was telling me about a first date he had organised that night so a shout out to the lovely chap – We at here at Her Campus hope it went well for you!
Due to a change in kitchen menu, the customer menu didn’t quite match what we were able to order, however, it did mean we were allowed to order whatever we would like from the breakfast, brunch and lunch menu making our ordering opportunities a lot greater. A big thumbs up from me! The food on offer all sounded fabulous and varied for breakfast and brunch. The lunch menu only offered sandwiches and quinoa but these could both be served with a side of soup or ‘frites’. There was also the option of ordering from the daily menu which included a soup and plate of the day which I assume was their tapas specialities. After some deliberation and catching-up done, I ordered the smoked salmon sandwich with avocado, tomato and dill on brown bread with a side order of the soup of the day. This was ginger and carrot soup. I was quite surprised you didn’t have the choice of bread type but trusting their judgement I didn’t question and went for it. Furthermore, unfortunately the waitress serving us at the time hadn’t tried the soup so couldn’t really give us the low down on what it was like but being brave we delved into the depths of exotic soups. When it arrived it was beautifully presented with a garnish of crispy salad leaves, a large sandwich portion and a small ‘mug’ of soup. This was superb.
I honestly have nothing bad to say about my whole meal. Although the soup was small this was also appropriately priced and was more than enough for me after the full sandwich. The food was tasty, with lots of flavours zinging around my sandwich, very filling and appropriately priced for a lunch out. My friend swears on his own life that his chicken breast with fried green pepper and cheddar gratin on ciabatta was just as good as it was too yummy to let me try a bite!