The Soup Place

If you can make it though the bafflingly tight doorway without bumping into a cauldron of soup, there’s some good stuff to be found here. Their soup selection is always impressive. You’d have to be a pretty fussy eater not to find something you’d like. They’ve got a smaller range of salads, including some fancier varieties. If you’re on a tight budget, check out the baguettes which start at just $ 3. The chicken schnitzel baguettes are great toasted.

Service was quick & friendly but the Pumpkin soup lacked taste. I feel like my $ 10 for the largest serving would have been better spent elsewhere. On the plus side though there were 4 vegan options & you can pay on card w/​o a minimum. Might try a salad next time

Excellent thick tomato meatball soup with a couple of pieces of sourdough on a cold afternoon. Service was quick and efficient. I went takeaway as there weren’t any seats available.

Great juices and nice salads.
Had the cleanser juice, it was really good.
A bit small and cramped sitting area but adds to the charm.

I don’t know what to think of this place.
It is paying it forward to feed the homeless which I completely understand but the people are just rude here. The soup is on the salty side but its good for me cause I was feeling sick.
Soup prices are also different from taking out or dinning in. Dinning in is one serving size of AU $ 9.50 which is a medium size price for taking out.
Anyways, they also provide coffee and fresh squeeze juices. AU $ 6 for little jar that’s probably 400cc. Coffee is from next door which is pretty good but I won’t come here especially for the coffee.
P.S They have the best dry chilly… very spicy! Yum!

I used to come here all the time in my final year of high school. It was right near where I worked, and I’m pretty sure the prices used to be more accommodating to my budget.
I came back here the other day, and that desire to return almost weekly no longer exists.
Even though I love soup and this is one of the few places that really does soup — the soup just isn’t good enough to warrant a return, at least not for that asking price unfortunately.
Also, styrofoam sucks.

I want to like this place more. Everyone seems to rave about it and the cauldrons are kind of cute. But two out of the three soups I’ve tried here have left me… somehow unsatisfied? The portions are certainly big enough but there was something about the taste and/​or consistency that was just off.
The worst was a weird lemony rice mixture that had a bizarre consistency … reminds me of something unpleasant that I just can’t put my finger on, and makes me feel a little ill to think about it even now. The only one that I really liked was the leek/​potato. one
Cash only. It’s also worth mentioning that the little tortillas they make are pretty good.

«Meh» really sums it up for me. Or maybe «Hmmph!»
The service unfriendly, there’s nowhere to sit and the soup was, well, I’ve had better.
That was an awkward 10 minutes slurping my hot soup on the curb in a busy thoroughfare. I cheered myself up with a cupcake shortly afterward.

I messed up breakfast today, for me apples are high powered coffee and without one this morning I had soon devoured all the food brought with me in the first 90 minutes of class and still had 2 hours to go and was still tired and hungry.
Vaguely remembering there was supposed to be a soup place around, during the break I hunted through Degrave St-​Flinders Ln-​Centre Pl till I found it.
Went with the Roast Tomato and Basil soup not wanting to try anything too radical my first time.
Well it really picked me up and set me right for the rest of the day!
I’ll be back and bringing friends.
Perhaps the one downside would be the lack of eftpos, you have to be escorted to a café next door to do it: S

The Soup Place = ACE. This place keeps me sustained at lunchtime during those cold winter months. They have six or seven soups available daily, with two cauldrons saved for ‘Soups of the Day” — these rotate between a Greek Chicken and Rice, Mushroom, Beef Burgundy, and the occasionally available (but delicious) Chili Beef and Bean.
Vegetable-​only lovers are also well looked after — for warmer days, there are salads and za’atars. And they’ve just started doing mini soft tacos for lunch during summer.
Table space is limited, so works best for dining alone or in a pair. Undoubtedly takeaway is the most popular option for most punters.

Im not a big soup person. Its a rare occasion that you will hear the words «I would love some soup right now» come out of my mouth, and its for that reason that it took me so long to notice this place, or want to sample their offerings.
However, a cold day in Melbourne brought out my inner reptile, and rather than retreat inside to avoid the cold I headed to the Soup place seeking warmth. I have to say, they did a lot for soups cause in my books (Ok, I dont know why soup has a cause. But just go with me. I needed convincing).
I discovered that when a soup is thick, flavoursome, substantial and filling, I quite enjoy it. Their potato leek and bacon soup was delicious with fresh bread, and it was so hearty that I couldnt possibly feel anything but toasty warm and full once I was finished. Same goes for the chilli bean and beef, which I have found is not always on their menu. So far these are the only two I have dared to try, but I really enjoy them in the cold.
They also offer freshly squeezed juices, so I always grab an OJ for a bost of Vitamin C — also a great help in keeping away the sniffles in the winter!

It has always been a dream of mine to open a soup kitchen, until I found that the gap that I thought was in the market had already been filled.
The thing that grinds my gears about the soup place is the lack of consistency with the bread. Sometimes you get the end of a stale baguette and sometimes you get two or even three pieces of amazing sourdough. I can’t help make the similarity between The Soup Place and the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld in that respect. Maybe that it one of the keys to success of a good busy soup place. That and of course a good broth. I recommend the Moroccan Chicken as I love the spices and popping the mustard seeds in between my teeth.

Pumpkin, minestrone, Moroccan chicken, veg and lentil, potato with leek and bacon… If you like your soup and you like it thick and hearty, head to The Soup Place, tucked away amongst the tiny cafes and eateries in Centre Place. You’ll know it by the black cauldrons out the front advertising those delicious flavours on their fronts. Of course, then you have to stand there and try to get the attention of someone who works there, which can be difficult. Then again, that can be difficult everywhere on this strip and fortune favours the patient: for $ 10 you can get a soup with bread and a small salad (there’s a selection in the glass cabinet, many veg). They also sell boreks, zatars and fresh OJ.
There’s barely any seating so take-​away is the best option. I usually take mine up to City Square and sit with it on the grass.

The simplicity of this little takeaway place isn’t only in the name. With nine soups warming and cooking — both meat and vegetarian with gluten free options — while spoilt for choice you simply know it will be good. The salads are also quite a winner, two kinds in a takeaway tub is a fond deal to get. Expect a wait during lunch, the queues are a sure sign that everyone knows it’s good.

Nestled between stores on a busy strip this soup bar still manages to stand out.
Big cauldrons of hot soup stand sit out the front, out the front are some tables and chairs, and behind is a little cozy section for seating.
The Soup Place is one of the best places to stop off at on a cold Melbourne day.
There are at least eight different varieties on any day and each pot is labeled with the tantalizing flavours like chilli bean and beef. Favourites include vegetable and lentil, and Portuguese chicken.
They also make delicious and healthy salads and smoothies to compliment the hot soup or have on a hot day.
You can either get your soup in a take away container or take your chance with the small tables and chairs — if the weather is nice its actually quite pleasant to sit down and take in the atmospheric alleyway.
The soups, salads and smoothies are sold at bargain prices with great offers for value. A small soup (though still pretty sizeable) and salad will set you back only $ 10.
The colourful little store is bursting with activity and friendliness, and with the variety of hot and cold meals it’s a worthy stop on your way through the alleyway.