Campus Food Review: Room At The Top

It is 12:50 a.m., you’re running on three hours of sleep, a reheated breakfast burrito, and a double espresso that you slammed down on your way into class. Your head is swimming with nebulous ideas from the last three hours of lecture material. It feels like you are at the rock bottom part of your day, but hey, there’s always Room At The Top (RATT).

RATT is U of A’s best study destination, located on the seventh floor of the Student’s Union Building (SUB). Previously, only open on Fridays as a bar, RATT has expanded to a cafe service during the week. RATT is a place where the location and scenery are just as important as the wares they serve. The elevator door opens and you look out into a narrow hallway that leads to the main dining room. It is a dark grey space with string lights adorning the ceiling. You find a seat, drop your bag and coat, and as you settle down, you begin to look out the window and you start to see the whole city unfold around you.

The menu is a simple three-section yellow page shown on two television screens on either side of the room. They offer: Dirty sodas (a deluxe soda pop with added flavours, sweeteners, and a creamer or dairy element), drip and decaf coffee, donuts, sandwiches, and the “Adult Lunchable.” The latter, a charcuterie board, stripped of its name and pretension, this is probably the most filling item available. 

Few things can cut through the drudgery of the school day grind like a cold pint of locally brewed, Sea Change beer. Unfortunately, despite the taps being openly visible, they only provide beer on Fridays.

The two items of note on the menu at RATT are the dirty sodas and the house made donuts. The dirty sodas are perfect for when one is looking for a comforting taste of Utah. The Raspberry Lemon Fizz is a creamy take on a raspberry lemonade that sits at an easy-drinking $6.

The house made donuts are light, fluffy, and ever so slightly crisp. Just sweet enough to be satisfying without feeling overindulgent. The cinnamon sugar flavour is a delicious option when paired with the black cherry dirty soda, and the chocolate dipped flavour is fantastic when paired with the coffee, an absolute classic combination.

SUB’s classic RATT is, above all things, an impeccable venue. The quiet music, comfortable chairs, low light, and open floor plan all contribute to a sense of ease that lets you slip easily into a focused rhythm, perfect for grinding out those long assignments.

The wide open view of the city is a welcome sight when resting your eyes from a screen and is definitely the most accessible way to get a view like this without trying to sneak onto a rooftop patio downtown.

While the weekday menu is rather limited, it focuses on what it does well and does so with gusto. In terms of places I can recommend dining, there’s not much to say about this place. However with views and vibes like these, RATT is an impeccable spot to kill some time or get ahead of things.