Best Soup in Calgary: 12 Bowls You Must Try Now!
- October 23, 2024
- By Cody Battershill
Where to Find the Best Soup in Calgary?
Winter is here, and there is no better remedy for chilly weather than a hot bowl of the best soup in Calgary. It’s no secret that during the colder months of the year, many Calgarians go on a months-long soup binge as they look to warm their souls up from the cold.
Thankfully, Calgary has many amazing restaurants with an excellent selection of dishes to try. Our city’s diverse population and variety of ethnic cuisines have helped make our list of the best soups in Calgary better than ever before! So, here is Calgaryism’s list of the best soups in Calgary—stay tuned for more additions in the near future!
Calgary’s Best Soups
- Chili Goma @ Shiki Menya
- Laska @ Mamak Dang
- Soup of the Day @ Lazy Loaf & Kettle
- French Onion Soup @ Yellow Door Bistro
- Pho Sate @ Pho Dau Bo
- Sausage Minestrone @ Spolumbos Deli
- Tortilla Soup @ Tres Marias
- Black Garlic Ramen @ Nan’s Noodle House
- Soup 8 @ Rau Bistro
- Clam Chowder @ Primal Soup Company
- Spicy Sausage Stew @ SSOME
- Beef Soup @ Calan Beef Noodle
#1 - Chilli Goma – Shiki Menya (Japanese)
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- Address – 824 1st Avenue NE
- Phone – 403-454-2722
- shikimenya.ca
The chilli goma bowl is all the hype at Shiki Menya in Bridgeland, one of the best ramen restaurants in the city, and most exclusive at that, serving a maximum of 200 to 250 bowls each day before closing (this usually means it's open to about 2-3 pm). Ingredients include Tokyo negi, spicy chopped pork with veggies, chilli oil, sesame, peanuts and dried chilis. This best soup in Calgary brings the heat with its rich flavoured broth, so make sure you’re prepared for it with a drink on hand.
#2 - Laksa – Mamak Dang (Malaysian)
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- Address: 4604 12 Street NE
- Phone: 403-261-1811
- Website: Mamak Dang
Mamak Dang is an unusually located Malaysian restaurant found in the northeast’s commercial area, serving up some of the tastiest and spiciest soup in the city. We highly recommend the Laksa; Mamak Dang offers a “built-your-own” style of noodle soups, catering to a wide range of taste buds.
#3 - Soup of the Day - Lazy Loaf & Kettle (Western)
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- Address - 8 Parkdale Crescent NW
- Phone - 403-270-7810
- lazyloafandkettle.com
Lazy Loaf and Kettle is one of the best cafes and bakeries in the city, and its delicious "soup of the day" is a testament to its reputation for good food and coffee all around. We absolutely love its homemade minestrone, although every soup of the day you'll order at this northwest cafe and bakery will warm your soul.
#4 - French Onion Soup - Yellow Door Bistro (French)
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- Address - 119 12th Avenue SW
- Phone - 403-206-9585
- yellowdoorbistro.ca/
Located in Hotel Arts, Yellow Door Bistro serves up perhaps what is the best French onion soup in Calgary! This sweet and rich bowl of soup is packed with tender chunks of smoked beef cheek with onion rings and gruyere, and the top is as you would expect -- baked over with delicious cheese. This is an absolute must try for soup lovers in Calgary!
#5 - Pho Sate – Pho Dau Bo
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- Address – 4909 17th Avenue SE
- Phone – 403-272-5160
- phodaubovietnamese.com
Who hasn’t heard of Pho Dau Bo?! If that’s you, then you must plan to visit one of the best Vietnamese pho restaurants in the city! We absolutely love the spicy beef peanut sate soup which has some serious kick to it but is mellowed out by a sweet, peanut taste. If you’re really in for the full spicy pho sate experience, try crushing up a few Thai chilis and mixing it into your bowl.
#6 - Sausage Minestrone - Spolumbo's Deli (Italian)
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- Address – 1308 9th Avenue SE
- Phone – 403-264-6452
- spolumbos.com
You won’t find a better bowl of minestrone soup for a better price anywhere in the city. You also won’t find many delis with as good of sandwiches or such a huge selection of take-home goodies like potato salads and meats either. As one of the most reputed homegrown brands around, Spolumbos is always a fair bet for some of the best soup and sandwiches in Calgary.
#7 - Tortilla Soup – Tres Marias (Mexican)
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- Address – 3514 19th Street SW
- Phone – 403-243-5335
- tresmarias.ca
Tres Marias is a hidden gem in the Marda Loop District that serves up one of the best tortilla soups in Calgary. For under seven bucks you get a decent-sized bowl with a sweet but spicy tomato broth topped with goat cheese, sliced avocado and nacho chips for added crispiness. This place also has a variety of other homemade Mexican cuisines to try as well, including take home dishes that are perfect to indulge in and make meals convenient to say the least.
#8 - Tantanmen - Nan’s Noodle House (Vegetarian)
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- Address – Multiple Locations
- Nansnoodlehouse.com
Nan’s is a local noodle house expanding its locations across the city, a true testament to how it makes some of the best soup in Calgary. The plant-based Asian kitchen and market offers take-home vegetarian foods and meals, including a handful of soups. We absolutely love the Tantanmen Ramen, made with wheat noodles, minced shoyu soy protein, mushrooms, sesame and peanut paste, miso-mushroom broth, Menma, shiitake, bok choy, organic corn, togarashi, and scallions.
#9 - Soup 8 – Rau Bistro (Vietnamese)
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- Address – 806 Centre Street North
- Phone – 587-352-2506
- raubistroyyc
Rau Bistro is a hidden gem restaurant located in an unsuspecting strip mall just north of the Centre Street Bridge (northeast side). Here, you’ll find top-notch Vietnamese cuisine, including one of the tastiest Calgary soups we’ve ever tried. Soup 8 is basically a seafood pineapple vegetable pho soup, with a sweet pineapple-flavoured broth that is addicting to say the least. The bowl is loaded with quality meat and veggies, and thick noodles, another reason to try the amazing Soup 8 at Rau Bistro!
#10 - Clam Chowder – Primal Soup Company (Western)
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- Address – Multiple Locations
- primalsoupcompany
Primal Soup Company is one of the best local soup cafés in the city, crafting several different soups with fresh locally sourced ingredients from scratch. We especially love the New England Clam Chowder, as it is rich and creamy and loaded with ingredients. But truth be told, we absolutely love several other soups concocted by the company --- an absolute must try for best soups in Calgary!
#11 – Spicy Sausage Stew – SSOME (Korean)
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- Address – #114 – 1111 6th Avenue SW
- Phone – 587-353-6060
- SSOME
The spicy sausage stew (it’s more like a soup) at Ssome is meant for sharing, so make sure to take someone for the ride. This best soup/stew in Calgary comes loaded with ham, sliced sausage, vegetables (onions, mushrooms, lettuce, etc.), kimchi and ramen noodles in a special spicy house-made broth that’s so yummy, you’ll be addicted from the first slurp.
#12 – Beef Soup – Calan Beef Noodle
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- Address – Multiple Locations
- calanbeefnoodle.ca
Another best-in-class restaurant dawning our list of best soups in Calgary is no other than Calan Beef Noodle. Known for its hand-pulled (sometimes, right in front of you as you wait for your soup) fresh noodles, the restaurant offers one of the most authentic Chinese soup experiences in the city. It has two locations, one in downtown’s west end, and another on Centre Street and 20th Avenue NW.
What's Your Favourite Soup in Calgary?
Let us know, and we'll do our best to add it to our list of best soup in Calgary! Also check out the rest of our Best in Calgary lists, and be sure to join us at Calgaryism on Facebook today. We are looking forward to seeing you there!