When things get cold here in Cleveland, soup is the first thing many of us want. A nice hearty chili, a soul-warming chicken noodle soup, or even a slurp-worthy ramen all come to mind for lunch or dinner when the temperatures drop below freezing.
Luckily for the Cleveland diner, there is no shortage of creamy, steamy, and delightful soups to be had around the city!
To cope with “chili” weather, let’s talk about the best soups in Cleveland and where to find them!
Best Soup in Cleveland
1. Souper Market
Multiple Locations including Lakewood, Midtown, Ohio City, Kamm’s Corners, and East 6th Street
I mean with “soup” in its name, you can only guess what they serve, right?
Souper Market is easily one of the best places to get soup in Cleveland. They have many locations throughout the city, each serving up warm, delicious, brothy concoctions.
Some favorites include the chicken paprikash, a souped up version of the traditional Eastern European dish, and the potato, spinach, and swiss soup, which is a creamy, vegetarian-friendly soup that’ll warm you up on the coldest winter day.
They also have two soup specials each week so you can find something different every time you go!
Add on a salad or the most amazingly comforting grilled cheese for an incredible winter meal.
2. Susy’s Soup & Deli
230 W Huron Rd & 1701 E 12th St, Cleveland (Downtown)
With two locations downtown, this is a go-to soup place for those on their lunch break.
Bundle up and walk over to Susy’s Soup & Deli for delicious soups like classic chicken noodle, delicious chicken tortilla soup, comforting chicken and dumplings, and even a creamy tikka masala chicken soup.
For vegetarians, a must-try has to be the Impossible spicy veggie chili!
They also have daily soup specials throughout the week, and you can pair a cup of soup with a wrap, sandwich, or salad.
3. Pura Vida
170 Euclid Ave, Cleveland (Downtown)
Another great downtown lunchtime spot is Pura Vida! While they have a killer veggie burger, they also have a phenomenal soup that’ll brighten up any business lunch: peanut stew.
This sweet potato, peanut, and curry concoction is perfectly spiced and delicious! With chunks of sweet potato and topped with peanuts, it has a delightful sweet and savory combo.
4. Cleveland Chop
824 St. Clair Ave, Cleveland (Downtown)
While this place is definitely well-known for its steaks, don’t overlook the crab bisque!
Cleveland Chop is a more up-scale restaurant, so if you’re searching for a great appetizer to that steak or seafood plate, the crab bisque with tarragon cream will not disappoint.
5. Taza
1400 W 6th St, Cleveland (Downtown) & 28601 Chagrin Blvd, Woodmere
This Lebanese restaurant has some incredible dishes including their shawarma, hummus, and many salads. However, you can’t overlook their soups!
They offer three soups including a lentil soup, nine vegetable soup, and a tomato couscous soup. Of course the lentil soup is a Lebanese staple, so you’ve got to try that, and the tomato couscous soup is full of tasty stuff including onions, garbanzo beans, and black eyed peas!
6. Otani Noodle
11472 Euclid Ave, Cleveland (Uptown) & 234 Euclid Ave, Cleveland (Downtown)
Nothing beats springy noodles, a spicy and delicious broth, and a jammy, boiled egg that you find in a good ramen.
Otani Noodle serves up all kinds of different ramens ranging from pork, veggie, and even seafood. Their best sellers are their Char Siu ramen with roast pork and tonkatsu and, their pork belly ramen with tonkatsu.
7. Boaz Fresh Lebanese
2549 Lorain Ave, Cleveland (Ohio City) & 20630 John Carroll Blvd, University Heights
Another great Lebanese restaurant, this place serves up make-your-own bowls and wraps. What is even better, however, is their lentil soup.
They have it year-round, and it is amazing every time. With red lentils, onions, herbs, lemon, and topped with crunchy pita, it is so good, especially paired with a fresh salad.
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8. Le Petit Triangle Cafe
1881 Fulton Rd, Cleveland (Ohio City)
This little French bistro offers amazing French cuisine, which, of course, includes the gooey, cheesy, delicious French onion soup.
Le Petit Triangle Cafe’s French onion soup is actually made with a vegan broth instead of the traditional beef broth and then topped with a nice, gooey comte, so it is great for vegetarians!
For a delicious fall soup, definitely try their butternut squash bisque with cream and a pepita garnish.
9. Banana Blossom Thai Cuisine
2800 Clinton Ave, Cleveland (Ohio City)
Banana Blossom is a fantastic Thai restaurant tucked away in Ohio City. With several traditional Thai food items on the menu, you better believe that you’ll have to try some Tom Yum soup!
This hot and sour soup is a delight to the senses, and you can add in shrimp, chicken, or tofu for added heartiness.
They also have a great coconut soup as well as shrimp and pork wonton soup.
10. Herb & Twine Sandwich Co.
4309 Lorain Rd, Cleveland
A sandwich place like Herb & Twine also has to make fantastic soup, right? Of course!
They have an incredible tomato bisque topped with herbed blue cheese croutons that pair amazingly well with their grilled cheese. (Though let’s be real, this is a more grown-up version of grilled cheese with aged cheddar, gruyere, maple smoked bacon, and fig jam.)
It is seriously *chef’s kiss* when paired with the tomato bisque.
11. Johnny Mango
3120 Bridge Ave, Cleveland (Ohio City)
While Johnny Mango doesn’t really have one particular big soup item available year-round, they know when to put out their best soups during the fall and winter!
Each month, Johnny Mango has a special, and each October is chili month, December is laska month, and January is just hot soup month. So you know if you want good soup, those are the perfect months to visit Johnny Mango.
We literally make a plan to visit Johnny Mango every December for their laska soup. This spicy, Southeast Asian soup is served either with seafood or as a vegan option at Johnny Mango and is seriously delicious.
However, January is when they have a variety of soups to enjoy, which makes it very enticing to leave your cold home.
As a bonus, this place always has veggie options for their monthly specials, including vegan chili during chili month!
12. Tartine Bistro
19110 Old Detroit Rd, Cleveland (Rocky River)
Tartine Bistro is another lovely French restaurant in Cleveland. This wine bar and restaurant definitely serves up some of the best French onion soup around!
Made in the traditional way, this soup is created with beef broth, caramelized onions, and topped with a crouton and melty gruyere. The mushroom bisque is another must-try with balsamic and roasted garlic.
For those avoiding meat, they also have a whole vegan menu with vegan versions of French onion soup and mushroom bisque that are equally as delicious!
13. Nate’s Deli
22098 Lorain Rd, Fairview Park
Nate’s Deli in Fairview Park is a breakfast and lunch spot serving several deli classics like pastrami, Ruebens, and corned beef. But if you want a soup that’ll cure it all, opt for either the chicken noodle soup or matzo ball soup.
These homemade soups are made with freshly made chicken broth, and the matzo balls in the matzo ball soup are delicious and big!
14. Lehman’s Deli & Bakery
24961 Detroit Rd. Westlake
Another deli with a huge menu, they also have some delicious and made-from-scratch soups.
For a creamy soup, opt for the baked potato soup with potatoes, cheese, and bacon. They also have a unique take on the classic French onion soup with a white wine chicken broth instead and then topped with crusty croutons.
Plus, they have rotating soups so definitely check out whatever they have on offer each day!
15. Superior Pho
3030 Superior Ave, #105, Cleveland (AsiaTown)
Easily the best Vietnamese restaurant around, Superior Pho always has delicious bowls of steaming hot pho. Get it topped with brisket, meatballs, or even vegetarian-style and slurp the noodle soup until you’re all toasty inside.
This place also has one of my favorite soups: tamarind soup. This hot and sour soup is tangy and delicious with tomatoes, tofu, and springy rice noodles.
16. LJ Shanghai
3142 Superior Ave, Cleveland (AsiaTown)
LJ Shanghai is a Shanghainese restaurant with the most delicious soup dumplings. These dumplings are bursting with flavor and (very) hot soup – so beware and definitely let it cool before biting into them!
Aside from the soup dumplings, be sure to order the Chongqing spicy noodle soup. This comes out bright red and is definitely hot! The noodles are perfect though, and if you love a good, spicy soup full of chilis, this is amazing.
17. Map of Thailand
3710 #106 Payne Avenue, Cleveland (Asia Town)
There are several great Thai restaurants in Cleveland, but not many have Khao Soi on their menu. This northern Thai dish is idyllic with spongy noodles in a red curry broth combined with chicken and sprouts and topped with crunchy egg noodles.
Map of Thailand has this on their menu and it is positively delicious! It takes me back to my days eating all the Khao Soi I possibly could during a trip to Chiang Mai!
18. Jack’s Deli & Restaurant
14490 Cedar Rd, University Heights
Jack’s Deli & Restaurant has quite the breakfast and lunch menu, but the soups are a perfect addition to any wrap or sandwich.
The chicken soup with matzo ball or kreplach is so good, as are the cabbage borscht and mushroom barley soups.
Seriously, you can’t go wrong with any of the soup choices here!
While the blustery Cleveland winters may not make you feel “souper” these hearty and scrumptious broths, bisques, and stews will certainly warm up your soul.
Which is your favorite Cleveland soup?
Kat is a Cleveland transplant and has lived here for over 5 years. She loves to eat, drink, and explore all across the city, and has made it her personal mission to find the best breweries and pizza in Northeast Ohio. She also runs a couples travel blog and podcast called World Wide Honeymoon.
Thank you Amanda, you have given us several more good reason to branch out to new food venues. We always look forward to your posts.
There’s so much good food to enjoy in Cleveland! (Though Kat gets all the credit for doing all the very difficult soup-eating “research” for this post haha.)
My fave is the tomato shorba from Tandul in Tremont. So cozy, so flavorful – especially with their naan for dipping!
That sounds yummy!