Rice and Shine Asian Fusion Cafe

Saw on Instagram that Rice and Shine just had their soft opening, so we decided to try it. It’s in the building in front of Enson, right next to Zen Noodles (pretty sure they’re related). The concept is really cool with Asian-inspired breakfast with Vietnamese, Filipino, Japanese, and Korean flavors. The menu honestly looked really good. It’s a smaller space with about 10 tables. We went on a weekday morning, so it wasn’t busy and we got seated right away. Service was quick and friendly. I ordered the Filipino silog with pork longanisa since I’ve never had it before. It came with two eggs, garlic fried rice, cucumber, tomato, and two sausage patties. The sausage was sweeter than I expected. The fried rice looked good but didn’t have that strong garlic flavor and was a little dry. My brother got the Vietnamese steak and eggs because we haven’t seen that on a menu in a while. It came with tenderloin, onions, eggs, tomatoes, pâté, and hoagie bread. The eggs were a bit burnt on the bottom, and the whole dish needed some kind of sauce. The bread was too soft. It would’ve been way better with a crusty baguette. He rated it a 3/5. I did like the idea and the menu a lot. I think they just need to fine-tune a few things since it’s still soft opening. I’d probably go back and try something else.

I was really excited to try this place with my partner. We got the Sunrise Sizzler and the Chicken & Ube Waffles. We left feeling really underwhelmed but understanding that it is a new business that is just starting out. Cons: The price for the food versus the quality and wait time was what really dragged this place down for us. The chicken and ube waffles were the most expensive thing we ordered but the lowest quality. It came with a prepackaged syrup, spray-can whipped cream, tyson/sysco frozen chicken tenders, and the waffle itself was unique but really dry and a bit small for the price($19). I think when MetroDiner, Germaines, and Florida Room all serve freshly fried chicken for much less money, it is hard to compete. The price for just the waffle is only $11 as well, so adding a hash brown and some tenders for $8 more just seems like a bit much for what it is. The wait time was extremely long, but granted it was a full house on a holiday at a new establishment so that could definitely be overlooked/forgiven. We waited over an hour for our plates to arrive and even when they did, there was a 20 minute gap between our dishes. Pros: Ample seating, great decor, and a really friendly and kind staff with some really unique and authentic menu options. Despite long wait times and order mixups, our server was great at checking in on us and frequently apologized for the issues. The Vietnamese coffee was also a treat and a great price. The Sunrise Sizzler was also enjoyable and had some nice variety of flavor. I almost never give lower than 4 stars for places but this just missed the mark a bit. Even with the holiday traffic causing delays, the ingredients of the dishes wouldn't change and dont justify the listed price. I am more than willing to update this review at a later time if these issues get resolved.

I came across this restaurant on an Instagram ad, and I’ve been wanting to try new places in Gainesville, so I decided to try it out today! The space was lovely, the staff were wonderful, and the food was delicious. I got the spam masubi benny and ube iced latte, and enjoyed both. I’ll definitely be coming back again.

The place looks nice, servers and employees were good. The food was disappointing for me. The egg benedict were overcooked, there was almost no sauce and the hash browns definitely looked like the ones from the supermarket in the corner. The combination in the spam benedict was not what I expected, it tasted too salty because there was so much spam. Everything was so dry. I'm sorry to be so blunt. Maybe some people out there love this, but it was just not for me. I probably won't be eating here again. Two stars because servers were good, the place was spotless and the plate presentation was nice.

What a gem of a new breakfast spot! Delicious food and great atmosphere. Had an Ube waffle & a sunrise sizzler. It was all amazing; sweet, savory, and spiced! New favorite Gainesville brunch place!

Gainesville has a great new Place for breakfast and lunch. The Asian fusion dishes take ordinary stuff and make it extra special. Service was super friendly and the food was delicious. if you haven’t tried it yet I really encourage you to check it out.

Rice and Shine is amazing! The mix of all the different cuisines reminds me of growing up in Hawaii, and everything was delicious. Our server Melissa was super friendly. We’ll definitely be back regularly.