By Katie Rapone
Soda Club, a Michelin-Recognized Fresh Pasta and Natural Wine Bar, opened in September inside The Ramble Hotel in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood.
Located at 1260 25th St., the restaurant is led by James Beard Award-nominated restaurateur Ravi DeRossi, a co-founder and current owner of Death & Co., and wine director Drew Brady. The Denver location builds on the success of the original Soda Club, which the pair opened in New York City’s East Village in 2021 and which earned Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition.
“Soda Club Denver is a love letter to my home state of Colorado,” Derossi says. “Drew and I stayed true to our vision of a relaxed, convivial neighborhood gathering space where guests can enjoy shared bottles and an approachable but adventurous menu, while creating something that feels specific to Denver and the RiNo neighborhood.”
Comfort Food With a Sicilian Twist
Executive Chef Amira Gharib brings a fresh perspective to Sicilian cuisine, drawing on Mediterranean and North African influences, including her Egyptian heritage. The kosher-certified menu features handmade pasta, Roman-style pinsa, seasonal dishes, shareable snacks, salads and desserts.
Highlights include house-baked focaccia with urfa pepper and bagna cauda butter; arancini with saffron aioli, fennel, harissa and golden raisins; and lumache with vodka sauce, harissa, charred cipollini and lemon tomatoes. Other dishes include rigatoni with pistachio pesto and kale nero, as well as gigli with freshly shaved truffle, truffle crema, fried leeks and lemon zest.
The Roman-style pinsa features an airy, long-fermented dough. One variation pairs carbonara-inspired flavors with fresh apple, smoked mushrooms and fried artichokes, while another combines roasted cumin carrots, feta and herbs.
“Sicilian food has an Arab influence that is very distinct from mainland Italy, as Sicily has been a thoroughfare for other ethnicities for centuries,” Gharib says. “What we showcase at Soda Club is Italian but inclusive to the many cultures that have passed through the region.”
A $75-per-person pasta tasting offers focaccia, a choice of salad, three classic pastas and tiramisu, accompanied by a bottle of wine for the table. The experience reflects the restaurant’s emphasis on shared dining.
The menu was developed with input from Jon Robbins, former chef-owner of Bistro Barbès, who serves as Soda Club’s chef de cuisine.
“We kept many of the Soda Club classics that our guests love in New York City while tailoring the menu entirely to Denver’s energy, seasons and landscape,” Gharib said. “Soda Club has a sense of comfort and neighborhood hospitality with an undercurrent of culinary thought and fine-dining technique backing up every single plate and a twist on classics that keeps every bite exciting.”
For its beverage program, Brady oversees a list of more than 200 bottles of natural wine sourced from small, independent producers across established and emerging wine regions. The selection emphasizes discovery and food-friendly pairings, with bottles from regions that may be less familiar to Denver diners. Colorado wines include the 2023 Desert Flowers blend of Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris from Aquila Cellars in the North Fork Valley. Another selection, the 2024 Ayunta Nerello Mascalese Bianco from Sicily’s Mount Etna region, is a mineral-driven white made from the area’s signature red grape.
The cocktail program complements the wine list with spritzes, a house vermouth blend served with orange foam and interpretations of classics such as the Negroni and Manhattan.
Soda Club also offers monthly pasta-making classes and a pasta omakase experience at the chef’s counter.
Inside Soda Club’s Jewel-Toned Interior
Soda Club adds to the hospitality offerings at The Ramble Hotel, which opened in May 2018 as the first hotel in RiNo. The 50-room boutique property draws inspiration from the 17th-century French salons associated with Madame de Rambouillet, where conversation, culture and social exchange brought people together — a concept that aligns with Soda Club’s neighborhood-focused approach.
Designed by Derossi, Soda Club’s interior combines rich colors, expressive artwork and tactile materials. The restaurant seats 70 guests indoors, with additional seating for 30 on an enclosed sidewalk patio.
One of the interior’s defining features is a textured mural depicting a moon, raven and rose that extends from the bar into the main dining room. New York City-based European artists Sasha Vulakh and Anastasia Pronyayeva painted the mural, along with the emerald-hued tiles framing the open kitchen and the purple columns finished with metallic marbling.
The artwork and architectural details establish a cohesive visual identity. Tiffany-style stained-glass lamps cast colored light across marble tables, while live trees and custom-fabricated velvet banquettes soften the room’s more dramatic elements. Pink velvet seating anchors the dining room, contrasting with deep green seating in the bar area.
The layered palette, varied textures and intimate lighting give the restaurant a distinctive moody character after dark without sacrificing the relaxed atmosphere central to its neighborhood-focused concept.
Soda Club serves dinner nightly from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 5 to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For more information, visit Soda Club Denver or follow @sodaclubdenver on Instagram.
