Between the plethora of pasta joints, the new wave of natural wine bars, and the surge in plant-based spots that have made a mark on the Mile High City in recent months, it was only a matter of time before the three trends converged. Enter the triple threat we’ve all been waiting for: Soda Club.
Opening on September 1 in RiNo’s Ramble Hotel, this MICHELIN Bib Gourmand–winning New York transplant is the brainchild of Overthrow Hospitality CEO/founder Ravi Derossi and partner/wine director Drew Brady, who note the name is a wink and a nod to yet another trend—namely the moderation movement. After all, the East Village flagship opened in 2021 with a robust nonalcoholic beverage selection inspired by “an old-school Italian soda fountain,” according to Brady.
But when its smashing success necessitated a move to a larger space nearby, the bar program at Soda Club grew with it. A full liquor license was the icing on an already scrumptious cake for New Yorkers who knew that Derossi was also a co-owner of world-class watering holes Death & Co. and Amor y Amargo: Finally, they could kick off a meal with a killer cocktail before digging into bowls of tagliatelle and bottles of Txakoli.
And now, so can Denverites.
Taste the Rainbow
To what do we owe this honor? Chalk it up to luck. Derossi grew up in Boulder, and his family still lives here. So in 2018, he took the risk of opening Death & Co.’s very first location outside of Manhattan in The Ramble Hotel’s lobby, which has paid off handsomely. Now he and Brady are betting that a Soda Club satellite will prove an equal hit.
That confidence goes hand in hand with their faith in executive chef Amira Gharib, who made a temporary move to Denver a few months ago to develop the menu. To call it Italian-inspired is no spoiler alert, centered as it is on handmade pastas and pinsas, a Roman variant of pizza. So what are ingredients like harissa, saffron, sumac, and Urfa pepper, all associated with the Arab world, doing here?
Being awesome, that’s what. But besides that, they’re a reminder that the cuisine of Sicily evolved under centuries of Islamic rule—a historical tidbit that dovetails not only with Gharib’s Egyptian heritage but with the expertise of chef de cuisine Jon Robbins, who incorporated North African influences into his French repertoire at the much-missed Bistro Barbès.
“We want you to set us apart from your standard Italian restaurant,” Derossi recalled telling the duo. “We just let them go crazy, and then we would taste and taste and give them feedback, and then they would work on it.” As a result, he added, “a good chunk of the menu in Denver is very different from the menu in New York.”
A Menu Meant For Discovery
And every section of that menu warrants exploration. Take the pinsa, whose dough “has a little bit of rice flour in it, [and its] fermentation goes as long as four days, which creates this cloud-like, really bouncy [crust],” explained Brady. “We treat pinsa as almost a composed dish on an amazing dough rather than a red sauce-and-cheese-type situation.” Two are currently on offer: one with fried artichokes, smoked mushrooms, and sliced apples, the other with cumin-roasted carrots, feta, and herb salad.
Whichever you choose, the pro move is to build your meal around it, along with at least two handmade pastas—one signature, like the vibrant rigatoni in pistachio pesto topped with fried black kale leaves and sumac-pickled onions, and one seasonal special such as luscious mafaldine in cashew-pepper butter reminiscent of cacio e pepe. To supplement them, an array of snacks, salads, and sweets awaits.
That could mean charred broccolini set atop preserved lemon aioli and sprinkled with chili crisp or harissa-spiced arancini with golden raisins and saffron aioli. It could mean heirloom tomato salad with toasted buckwheat, basil espuma, and Sherry vinaigrette, or watercress with feta, roasted grapes, pine nuts, and cipollini. It could mean date cake with toffee sauce and saffron ice cream or panna cotta with pistachio crumble and granita.
It certainly does mean that you’re going to want a glass (or bottle) of wine with enough character to shine as brightly as the rainbow of flavors on your plate.
From Aperitifs to Nightcaps
While it goes without saying that the list of roughly 100 wines—about a quarter of which are available by the glass—includes selections from Italy and Sicily in particular, Brady determined from the get-go that the “playful and carefree” ethos of Soda Club would inform its design. Discovery, rather than geography, would be his lodestar: After all, exploration is the gateway to enrichment, both vinous and cultural.
“Sometimes people are like, ‘Oh, wow, we love your list because you have these oddball regions,” he acknowledged. “I know it comes from a good place; I understand what they’re saying, because we’re all very oriented toward France and Italy.” But countries like Lebanon and Slovenia and Croatia, he pointed out, “have deep winemaking history and lineage. It’s not just [about] experimental wines from unknown places.”
That said, grape geeks are going to have a field day here. Pét-nat Debit from the Dalmatian Coast? Yes please. A blend of Picpoul and Petit Manseng from the little-known appellation of North Yuba in California’s Sierra Foothills? Bring it on. An orange version of the obscure Italian variety Bianco d’Alessano—from Australia, of all places? Sold.
As for cocktails, Brady called them “the third pillar of the experience. They’re really meant to support the food, so they’re listed in the order [that they’re] appropriate for different moments of the meal.” Start with an appetite-stimulating spritz like the Here Today, a house blend of vermouths topped with orange foam; end with the Gone Tomorrow, a concoction of vodka, Amontillado Sherry, Braulio, cold brew, and coffee liqueur that’s tailor-made for tiramisu.
Designed for Fun
Of course, Derossi and Brady hope you won’t be here today, gone tomorrow—they hope you’ll be returning pronto to soak up the good vibes all over again.
“Being an artist first and foremost, I’m a very visual person,” explained Derossi, who has a background in painting and theater. “When I get an idea in my head for a new restaurant or bar, I can just see it immediately.”
Take his ingenious idea for the high ceilings in the old Super Mega Bien space: “I’ve always been a big fan of lighting, and I thought it’d be really fun to put 50 different, smaller stained-glass chandeliers in here.” They instantly cast the dining room in a much more intimate glow than its predecessor had—one enhanced by the wraparound banquette upholstered in dusty-rose velvet, the whimsical moon mural above it, hand-painted tiles, and pretty much every other element of the interior design.
“I love the tension between highbrow and lowbrow,” noted Brady of the resulting atmosphere. “It’s fancy without the fuss,” signaling the team’s intention to “play on your expectations a bit.”
Added Derossi, “The whole place is designed to be fun.”
Soda Club is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight. 1260 25th St., Denver, wearesodaclub.com
