Last Sunday I was invited to try out Rye & Soda’s new Brunch menu along with the other Aberdeen bloggers, the menu has been updated by Head Chef Chris Tonner who is a magician in the kitchen when it comes to creating dishes with things like Black Pudding Scotch Eggs, Macaroni Cheese Bites and Cheeseburger Spring Rolls. We were also going to be trying out wines from their bottle shop by pairing it with food from their delicious menu.

First up was a “Build Your Own” Bloody Mary Station, I will confess that a drink with tomato juice doesn’t sound very appealing to me so it’s never been something I’ve ever picked on a cocktail menu before but wow, I’m converted! There was an array of fresh local veg such as celery, chilli peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs to garnish your drink as well as bacon dust, salt, pepper and BBQ sauce. A choice of Tomato Juice or Carrot & Beetroot Juice to mix with your vodka and ice, some Tabasco sauce if you want a bit of heat or even some lemon juice or sherry too for an added depth to your drink.  I went for the Tomato Juice with a splash of Tabasco, sprinkle of bacon dust and a pinch of salt and pepper with a garnish of a celery stick and herbs, it tasted so good and will be having this again.  Plus with it containing tomato juice then surely this will count towards one of my 5 a day…..no?!

Now onto the food, there was a selection of mouth-watering dishes from the menu such as; Bruschetta with sweet red & yellow tomatoes and fresh herbs, potato skins topped with a tangy sauce, creamy smoked haddock risotto (this tasted divine and I may have got a takeaway box of this home with me), juicy mini burgers in a brioche bun, a really flavoursome salad with pomegranate, crispy onions and feta, gin & beetroot cured salmon and the most amazing macaroni cheese bites you will ever find. It all tasted really good and freshly made. Rye and Soda are all about sourcing as much of their ingredients as locally as possible which means the eggs, meat and veg that they use are as fresh as they come as well as supporting local businesses.