The atmosphere is warm and inviting, in a hometown coffee-place sort of way. The ambient noise ranges from murmured conversations to a more intense bustle around dinner time. Even after the recent remodeling of the interior to open up more table space, the restaurant barely seats 30. It always manages to seem full during meal times, drawing in townies and students alike. The background music is usually mainstream soft music that is charmingly disarming. It's one of those rare places where you can feel equally comfortable by yourself or in a group of friends.
The decor is homey and comforting. Nouveau art photographs decorate the white walls, plants are scattered around the store and there's a mini fish tapestry above the door to the kitchen. Hanging lights create a warm effect of intimacy by bringing light to the tables with a touch of darkness around them. It's a cozy place to do some reading on a rainy day.
The counter service is friendly and quick for the most part. Most orders are brought out to you in five minutes, and definitely no more than 10, except for a few of the more elaborate dishes. The service can bog down slightly on the weekends at dinner, when it gets really crowded for such a small space, but even then it's rarely long enough to make you check your watch.
The food is the best quick meal in walking distance of the College. Fresh Side's specialty is their famed tea rolls, soft wrappers around assorted Asian food staples. Noodles, chicken, coriander, green onion and peanut sauce all comprise my personal favorite: pad thai rolls. Another standout is the teriyaki chicken roll (chicken, slivers of carrot, bell pepper and rice with the perfect amount of teriyaki sauce, topped with sesame seeds).
Fresh Side's rice dishes are large and filling variations of fried rice. It's my favorite place for fried rice in town-just make sure to ask for no onions if you're not a huge fan. The noodle dishes are solid and tasty, especially the five spice beef noodles. In addition to the multiple vegetarian options, you can substitute tofu for chicken in most other dishes. Pricing is very reasonable for a student budget. Four tea rolls set you back about six bucks and the bigger rice or noodle dishes come in at about eight. For a solo dinner, grab some pad thai rolls, a miso soup and a pot of one of their many varieties of tea and you'll end up with a bill under 10 bucks.
If you need some chill time or are just hanging out with you best friend, Fresh Side provides tasty food and a cozy atmosphere-it's a great and affordable place to spend an evening.