Soup’s On

Closed :(

My wife and I love to find a reason to be near Hampden just so we can eat at Soup’s On! Everything we’ve tried has been amazing.
The soups are incredible but I have to have either their chicken salad or tuna — I’ve never had a better tuna salad.
Luckily we’ve never been there when it’s too busy so we’ve always found a seat — but there sure aren’t many!

I loooove this place. On a chilly day, their inventive soups warm you from the inside out. It’s small inside so be prepared to wait for a seat if it’s busy, but it’s worth it.
Try any soup that catches your fancy; I’ve tried four kinds now, and I haven’t hated one yet. I mean, who knew that fried capers could make a potato soup taste like heaven? And I’ve never tasted such a delicious clam chowder!
Their salads are also awesome — last time I had one with arugula, asparagus, goat cheese, and pistachios — and their portions are healthy. I find that if I get a soup and a salad, I end up taking about half o my salad home after eating all of the soup and all of the bread.
Did I mention the yummy bread? And props to them for handing out Kerrygold Irish Butter for the bread. Nothing better than Irish butter on a roll. Absolutely nothing.

I can’t honestly understand all the great reviews here. I’ve tried Soup’s On twice to use the 2 Groupons I purchased, and both visits were discouraging. The first visit I got the potato, leek and fried caper soup with escarole and the «ultimate» tuna sandwich. The soup was the first soup I can recall in my lifetime I have ever dumped down the drain. Now I can cook a bit having cooked my way through college as a line and prep cook and we made soups as well and I continue today … there are basically 2 ways for potato and leek soup to turn out (based on the recipe of course) … either brothy with leeks and chunks of potato or as a think, creamy purée. This soup was a runny green broth and I couldn’t even detect the potato. I even called them to see if I got the right soup, and they indicated it was a «light» purée. Light? They must have used 3 potatoes and 50 gallons of water for the broth consistency I got. I also said there were no capers to be found anywhere. I was told they were served on the side, … I never received them. Side items for soup … weird. It basically tasted like seaweed and I promptly dumped it after a couple of spoonfuls.
The «ultimate» tina sandwich was your typical tuna salad and mayo with a few pimentos sprinkled in for color … about as plain as plain gets. It was served on what I believe many refer to as an «artisan roll» … I guess that was the «ultimate» part.
They also forgot to give me the diet coke I ordered and I walked out forgetting about it and had no drink back at the office. No fried capers, no coke, runny green seaweed soup. Not good.
So I went back a 2^nd time (only because I had the Groupon to use, and who knows? maybe I got them on a bad day). I orded the coconut chic pea and spinach soup. Their soups have such great names … I wish the taste matched the descriptions. Another brothy boring concoction. Taste was a little better and I actually ate most of this soup, but this recipe will never end up on the Cooking Channel, I can assure you. The chcken salad sandwich on multigrain bread was pretty good … definitely the one thing I liked, but not enough to get me back.
All in all, all, the soups at this place seem to be runny, brothy and devoid of richness, heartiness or chunks of anything. If you like «light» and really runny soups, this place may be it for you. It ain’t for me.

I had some of the best mushroom lentil soup here! It was so good I had to try to recreate it at home, since soups on is unfortunately not in my ‘hood.

This was the first trip in my «Which Soup’s On is Better» experiment.
Here’s the criteria:
Location: Right on the Ave, at the heart of Hampden. Great location for North Baltimorians, maybe not such much the ones downtown.
Staff: Two people working. Both nice. Maybe could have had one or two more people helping… it was really busy when we went in there and the wait was kind of long.
Soup: Good choices, all warm feeling winter soups. I got the fish chowder with prosciutto. Almost positive there was no prosciutto. It was only so-​so.
Sandwiches: Chicken salad with apricots on a grainy bread with arugula. Good. Wish there was more of a selection… it’s just that or tuna.
General Atmosphere: Cute! Soup is a cute food! Cute people eat soup! Bask in all its cuteness!
Price: Kinda pricey. Half a soup and sandwich is $ 10. Plus soda, $ 11. Not the best for daily lunches.
Was I Full: YES. Food coma status.

So I live within walking distance of Soup’s On, and on a chilly winter day all I crave is a hot bowl of soup and a small salad (for about $ 10). Their menu offerings change daily and can be found by checking their website before visiting, but I’ve never gone wrong with their soups, salads and their quiche of the day.
They will gladly pack up a to-​go order quickly if you’re on a lunch break too. You can purchase soup by the quart container as well if you find that you have a favorite you’d like to take home. This place really reminds me of some hole –in-​the-​wall, quaint NYC lunch spot and it’s even better that it’s built in to the first floor of one of the original rowhomes on The Avenue, with a front porch to sit in on a summer day, even.

Really tasty food and affordable but not for daily lunch.
Gave 4 stars since it is cramped (we sat in the clothes-​n-​accessories shop next door and ate) and has weird hours… open till 4 pm and closed on sundays!
update: I went to ask if I could redeem the balance on my living social deal and they flatly told me that the deal expired the day before. Given that the money was anyway paid to them the first time I used it, I thought it was unfair and a little mean to do that. Anyway!

Who doesn’t love good soup and a salad or sandwich? I’ve never stopped for table service there — it looks very «cozy» with tables just squeezed into what is also the entry and the line for ordering. But, it’s a soup and sandwich place and that’s okay. Guess you could get lucky and grab a table outside on the porch. I generally just get soup — always quite good and often inventive. On a couple of occasions I’ve gone online to find a recipe for a soup after trying it there (I now make an incredible Chipotle Sweet Potato soup thanks to ordering it at Soup’s On first). My only complaint would have to be the service — I may just hit it at a bad time, but have always felt I was imposing on the staff by ordering food from them. They’ve always been helpful (answering questions about food and letting me taste items), but several times I had to ask for help after waiting a number of minutes while they were having personal conversations with another employee or customer.

Found this place via a LivingSocial deal and so glad I did!
Delicious soups, hot bread and irish butter on the side, and a good variety of fresh salads. The staff are super welcoming and friendly as well, making a great lunch spot for indoor and outdoor seating. Must try the berry zinger lemonade! They give free refills on their drinks (which are only $ 2 anyhow)!
I only wish it were open later…

If I could carry one restaurant around in my pocket and have it with me at all times this would be the place. I didn’t like Baltimore until I found this place. Service is great (low maintenance, friendly, and fast), prices are great, food is amazing and fresh. I’ve only been there in the summer and never had the problems with seating that someone else mentioned. They even have outdoor seating. They change the menu so often that I could go there everyday and never get bored. Shhh… This place is a gem.

Awesome lunch place in Hampden!
You can check out their weekly menu on their website. They’ve got 3 or more soups every day, 3 or more sandwiches, and usually 4 or more salads, plus a Quiche of the Day.
Everything is fresh, seasonal, and super delicious. I’m the type who can’t feel satisfied with «just» soup, so I get a combo with a half sandwich or quiche.
I also recommend their homemade iced tea or lemonade. In the colder months, they have spiced cider and hot chocolate.
It’s quick, delicious, and nutritious. Who could ask for more? Well… I did knock off one star because of the cramped space. I’ve never ever had an issue getting a seat, but it’s always more comfortable to feel like you’re not crowded.

Their soups are so delicious. Initially I was thinking that the store was kind of BS because who really wants to go out to eat only soup but then I sat down for lunch on their funny little porch one day and it totally changed my mind. They’ve got 3 – 4 soups available every day (one is always vegetarian) as well as sandwiches and salads. All the soups I’ve had are so good in flavor and texture (black bean soup was excellent). I haven’t had the sandwiches or salads because their soups are so good I don’t want to eat anything else. Their hours are fairly limited (11 – 4 M-​F 11 – 5 Sat. closed Sun.) so I don’t get to go as often as I would like. There’s not a whole lot of space inside the shop to eat. Though they have a lot of chairs at a bar and a couple tables I find that I’m usually shifting around to accommodate people walking in to order. Going with a large group would be near impossible. Snag a seat outside if you can and watch the folks go by on the avenue. It’s a very pleasant spot with some tasty, healthy options for lunch.