Drop it like it’s hot (and fried) – discover Palm Beach’s hidden wine and arancini bar Rice N Rhymes
From the outside, it looks like a tiny takeaway window dishing out arancini in palm-sized brown boxes. But slide through the hidden door at Rice N Rhymes in Palm Beach, and you’ll find something entirely unexpected – a wine and arancini bar that’s doing dinner, a little differently. Let’s take a peek …
Rice N Rhymes isn’t the kind of place you stumble across. You find it by following the faint sound of muffled hip-hop beats and maybe a whisper from a friend who really didn’t want to share their secret. Tucked behind an unassuming takeaway nook (next door to Costa Taco), this hidden Palm Beach bar is rewriting the rules of dinner and drinks – one deep-fried ball at a time.
The venue is the creation of chef Joel Bryant, who has spent most of his cheffing career helming large-scale hotel kitchens as well as MĀRE by La Luna Beach Club at Marina Mirage and, most recently, Cucina Vivo at The Star Gold Coast. Joel stepped out of big corporate gigs to create something that felt entirely his – a space where food, music and personality could collide without rules or reservations. And that’s precisely what you can expect from Rice N Rhymes.
Step inside and you’re greeted with shelves filled to the brim with CDs, vinyl glued to the concrete (mostly country records, Joel tells us) alongside audio relics from the 80s and 90s. Overhead, a steady rotation of curated hip-hop playlists covering everything from 90s underground to crowd-pleasers fills the air, giving the whole place a kind of house-party vibe.
While arancini is often viewed as a starter or precursor to the main affair, here, it’s the hero. You’ll find the menu slipped inside a scratched CD jewel case on the table and offers a tight line-up of arancini, each named after a rapper and flavoured with their favourite feed. There’s Travis Scott (all cheeseburger vibes), Ice Cube (reminiscent of a barbecue sauce and bacon cheeseburger) and dessert hero Nicki Minaj loaded with butter-pecan-pie filling. But make no mistake, these are not your average balls. Each arancini clocks in at a generous 180-g, which is basically a bowl of risotto disguised as a crispy, golden globe of happy. Each one is full of layered flavours and textures, and boasts a little bit of fancy garnish. “I needed that little bit of sexiness in there,” Joel adds. “Some mayo, some mushroom dust, some truffle oil in a syringe – it’s those little wow factors that take it over the edge.”
The concept was born at home, with help from his teenage daughter. “We just started Googling rappers and their favourite foods,” he says. “I’ve got about 50-something flavours I could do.” What started as a backyard party idea has turned into a menu that’s equal parts inventive and indulgent.
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But it’s not just the food that’s curated – the drinks menu deserves a headline of its own. There are no cocktails here, just a clutch of wines that Joel has selected with a little help from his sommelier partner. Wines are grouped under headings like Chilled AF, White as Rice and The Reds, with nothing more than grape, country and price listed. Want to know more? You’ll have to ask. And that’s entirely by design.
“It’s all about education,” Joel explains. “I want guests to ask questions. I want them to learn something new, to walk away going, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that.’” You won’t find your usual cab savs or chardonnays dominating the list. Instead, he’s handpicked Italian varietals you might not have heard of, and some lesser-known organic and vegan drops from local producers like Tamburlaine Organic Wines in Orange. “People aren’t aware Orange is a wine-producing area,” he says. “But it is – and they’re doing great things.”
He’s equally selective with beer – serving just one, Balter. “I wanted to keep it short and sharp,” he says.
The whole venue is created with intention and a hint of rebellion. There’s no elaborate signage out front, just good food, killer beats and a chef doing things his own way.
“I’m here for a short time and a good time,” Joel says, referencing a looming demolition clause on the building. Whether Rice N Rhymes lives on in this spot or in a new home, one thing’s for sure – it’s unlike anything else on the Gold Coast. If you love big beats, big flavour and big balls, head to The Directory for opening times.