Good Soup in Salem Oregon
Anyone of my generation knows about the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld with his infamous soup and not so great customer service. While Salem doesn’t have a soup nazi, there are some great restaurants that consistently have good soup. It is that time of the year when a nice warm bowl of soup with bread sounds really good on our rainy, cold days. With another cold snap on its way, it seems like a good time to go pick up some soup to go. Stop in at Cascade Baking Company or Great Harvest for some warm bread to go with it.
I love soup and if you are one of those people like me that love soup, these are my favorite go to soup places in town that consistently have really good hearty soup.
Wild Pear is a very popular downtown restaurant that has their butternut squash coconut curry as one of their staple soups, but I knew I was in a good soup restaurant when I ordered apple turnip soup and it was amazing. Turnips with anything doesn’t sound appealing to me, but because I’ve never been disappointed I tried it. Soups have always been good to excellent here and it doesn’t matter how weird the ingredients sound to me, they always work in their soups.
Venti’s is known for their live music and excellent beer selection, but they also have killer soups. Their beer cheddar is standard on their menu, but their specials are where things are at. From cheeseburger french fry to chicken tortilla to chicken chili, their soup chef is a master. They will give you a sample of the soup to try before ordering a generous bowl if you ask. I’m the crazy soup lady that calls them all the time when I’m in the mood for a warm bowl of soup to see what they are making that day. I’ll go over there just to get a bowl of soup from them and if they make their roasted red pepper or chicken and dumpling soup it goes fast.
Yes, crepes are their specialty here, but they also make paninis and really good soup. If you haven’t found this little gem yet, it is where the old Alcyone restaurant used to be, next to Gamberetti’s on High St. Their tomato basil is perfectly creamy and served with really fresh bread. I’m not a fan of salmon, but their salmon chowder is good, and so are their chilis. Definitely, a good place to get a bowl of hearty soup.
So with the cold snap due in again, go get some soup, grab some bread, and stay nice and toasty at home.