At Riverbank Social, students can enjoy their breakfast or lunch while basking in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Rideau River.
The sit-down restaurant opened in Richcraft Hall last week, with sweet and savoury dishes on their breakfast and lunch menu ranging from breakfast pastries to proper meals.
Overlooking Carleton University’s scenic landscapes and providing consciously-priced options, the food’s presentation left us with high hopes — but was painfully average on the flavour front.
Upon entering the restaurant on Tuesday, my friend and I were instantly greeted with friendly staff welcoming their first customers of the morning. Riverbank Social took a modern approach, opting for QR codes to scan for an online menu instead of a physical one.
Looking to try something new off of the wide ranging menu, I ordered the Breakfast Bowl for $14.99, which entitled me to Montreal smoked meat, homefries, sauteed peppers, onions, cheese curds, a sunny side up egg and hollandaise sauce.
I had high expectations for the Montreal smoked meat, hoping the combination of spices and sauteed vegetables would give the dish different layers of flavour.
When the dish arrived, it looked promising, with bursts of color and artfully-arranged garnish encompassing hints of summer as it comes to a close.
But the presentation was deceptively way better than most of the food itself.
The leafy garnishing greens provided the dish with an earthy element, and the crisp sauteed peppers and caramelized onions balanced out the earthy undertones for a perfect sweet to salty ratio. The over-medium egg was cooked flawlessly, with golden crispy edges and a perfectly-set yolk.
Though at first hesitant to try the make-or-break-a-breakfast-dish hollandaise sauce, I was pleasantly surprised. The sauce was light and airy; the perfect addition to the rich vegetable seasoning throughout. The whisked eggs melted in my mouth and emulated a tangy and creamy consistency that pulled the dish together.
However, the Montreal smoked meat was the biggest disappointment of the meal. It lacked seasoning and was rubbery and stringy, contributing to a lack of overall flavour.
It was hard to tell if the meat had been smoked at all.
I hoped the latte I ordered would offset the disappointment of the flavourless meat.
The drink, priced at $4.50, had a good balance of flavours — not too bitter — with a thick top layer of foamed milk and a subtle sweetness of espresso, complementing the restaurant’s warm ambience.
Wanting to get a feel for Riverbank Social’s range, we also ordered the Breakfast Express Deluxe for $12.75 — a platter with toast, homefries, fresh fruit and a choice of breakfast meats and two eggs. We opted for sunny side up eggs and sausages.
Again, the presentation of the meal was bright and appealing, but most of the flavours were nothing special.
The sunny side up eggs had a golden vibrant yolk, but lacked seasoning which would have brought the vibrantly-garnished dish to life.
The breakfast sausages were unappealing, lightly-coloured and almost looked undercooked.
The detail of the colourful fruit had us excited for a sweet and refreshing burst, but unfortunately, we were left unsatisfied as the fruit’s texture and flavour was comparable to a pre-prepared fruit tray.
The star of both dishes turned out to be the accompanying homefries, cooked to a beautiful golden-brown and perfectly seasoned with hints of pepper. The crispiness on the outside contrasted the soft and fluffy centre of the potato, offering an amazing balance of sweet to savory, plus strong herby flavours.
Overall, Riverbank Social is a good place to go with friends for a convenient place to eat on campus. Many of the meals have sizeable portions, with prices that don’t break the bank, which is ideal for students already shouldering tuition and textbook fees.
But it was ultimately what we expected from a campus joint — nothing more than ordinary and uninspiring.
Featured image by Jessica Jagodics/the Charlatan
