Portland Kettle

This is one of my favorite places in town. All the soups are filling at an excellent price and I have yet to find a menu item I’m disappointed with. The staff is friendly and helpful and well let you taste any of the soups before ordering. Just make sure you beat the lunch rush because some of the more popular items could run out. Highly recommended all the same.

Incredible soups and stews with including all the traditional favorites and rotating specials. Great value, I like to get a large and made it last two or three lunches. And the staff are always cheery and welcoming! Can’t say enough good things about this place!

Great place incredible soup. If you looking for the best go there.

Great comfort food, enjoyed a warm beef stew and chili, one bowl was plenty enough for a large hunger. Cornbread was awesome!

Today was the first time my husband and I tried the Portland Kettle. In the past we’ve walked by and commented how good it smelled. Today we were walked no by at lunch time so we decided to try the soup. The staff was very friendly, and offered samples before we made a decision. My husband chose the beef barley and I had the chicken noodle. Both were delicious and hearty soups. We had the large bowl and with the cornbread it was plenty to eat. It was the perfect lunch for the cool day, we will be back.

What a perfect time of year to discover Portland Kettle! I’m always craving something warm when it is cold outside and this place is perfect. They have several kinds of soup, two different kinds of chili and a beef stew to choose from and all served with cornbread. Chili was my choice for my first time and it was delicious, having plenty of meat and veggies in it, but the cornbread was even better. They also have a few different salads on the menu and do a soup/​salad combo, which is one thing I really like at restaurants. Plus, a place that has grape and pineapple Fanta as a drink choice gets five stars!
I have to applaud the customer service too. The employees were super friendly, when you are ordering you get to try any of the soups before deciding and when I was done with my meal someone came by to pick up my tray. I will definitely be coming back here for lunch!

The chicken noodle soup needed seasoning. A salad is not a bowl of greens, two thin radish slices and a carrot bit. The cornbread was the best I have ever had. The cornbread made up for the weak soup and salad.

I have been waiting for a soup place to come to Portland for a while. I miss the «no fish, go fish,» soup cart that used to be downtown. This place is the answer. They have their staple favorites on the menu everyday and several rotating specials each day, so it never gets old. I have tasted five of the soups and they have all been very good. Very homemade tasting. I would agree with the other reviews that they could use salt. I would not call them bland. They have a lot of flavor, but they do need salt. This comes from a salt lover! But not everyone likes (or for health reasons can have) salt, so it’s better to under-​salt than over-​salt. For those of you who have complained — you now what the solution is? Put salt on it! As soon as I did, the flavors jumped out and the soup was awesome. I am having the chicken noodle now and it is very unique but keeps with the traditional style. The parsnips give it a little something extra that i don’t do at home. I will go back — often.
Thank you Portland Kettle.

Soup looked like it sat out all day it looked like paste. It was also really bland. Would have liked to have the option to have crackers instead of corn bread. We got the soup and salad and the salad was just iceberg lettuce with dressing on top. Maybe add some tomatoes, cucumbers, croutons, cheese. Etc.

Soup is fine, but they don’t have crackers to go with it, the worker said «we serve with cornbread». To me this is like a coffee shop not having crème to go with their coffee. Cornbread is nice to go with it, but I consider crackers a must have to go in soup, especially chili.

Highly recommended! Staff is very friendly and will let you taste all of the soups (well, I was in before the lunch rush so I could take my time, not sure I would have asked for 3 samples if there was a line behind me). I haven’t been feeling super great, so I went with chicken noodle. As a recuperating vegetarian, when my system is weakened I usually find meat to be utterly unappetizing, so this choice had some risk to it. I am pleased to report that this is some of the best chicken noodle soup I have had in a long time! It tastes like exactly what I need.
Overall, an excellent addition to a downtown lunch scene that is nearly overcrowded with great options. Bonus: although I drink soda maybe twice a year, I was intrigued to see that they stock Fanta in grape, pineapple, and strawberry. And it’s the version imported from Mexico, so it has real sugar instead of high fructose corn sh*t. :)

I haven’t eaten here yet, but I want to let the owners know that there are vast crowds of people in this area that need to eat on weekends! Staff and guests at the Keller, students nearby, etc. It’s disappointing that so many places shut down.

Yesterday was a rainy day when I had a stuffy nose and was feeling run down. My sister and I bumped into this spot looking for a lunchtime bite when the nearby ramen house was entirely too packed. There are some staple soups available every day, as well as rotating daily specials. I tried the squash bacon Swiss soup, which was hearty, flavorful, and just what I needed. Gluten free selections were a big plus. Shared community seating was no big deal, and the dining area is kept very clean.

It’s late September… one day it’s sunny, then it’s cool, then it’s raining and then pouring. Well, what’s great on a gray, wet day? Some warm soup and cornbread! Yummm… I waffled in my mind between the gumbo and the special squash soup. But, when you come in after the lunch rush beware that the specials will probably be sold out. So, gumbo it was. And man, was I happy with that choice! Nice and hearty; creamy with chunks of veggies and meat. Added a bit of salt and pepper, mixed up the rice… after a few minutes to cool it was perfect!
And the cornbread… I took one bite and thought I might need five more pieces b/​c it was so delicious, but actually the one little piece was just right. I left feeling pretty satisfied! Just in time for some afternoon sun.

I work in the KOIN Tower and am really tired of the lunch choices in the area. I tried the chicken cacciatore and salad combo which tasted like something I would make at home and bring as leftovers. That’s not a bad thing, as sometimes restaurant meals are too salty. I was happy with the quick service time. This seems like a great place for a winter lunch.

I’ve been here three times in two days, as I work on the area and really wanted to give this place a chance. The corn bread is amazing, but the casserole and chicken noodle soup are flavorless. I have never had to add salt to chicken soup in my life. The oatmeal is just basic quaker oatmeal you can make in the microwave. Nothing special there. I threw all three meals out before finishing them. The service is really nice. I think it’s one lady and her kids. Unfortunately, the food just isn’t worth returning for.

This place is AWESOME! As soon as you walk through the door you feel warm and welcomed and the staff is super friendly and helpful. They make everything from scratch daily and it is evident that they use quality ingredients. Also, everything comes with complimentary cornbread! What more could you ask for? This is a great place to go if you’re looking for a delicious warm meal. I will definitely be coming back and bringing all of my family and friends.

They are brand new so I give them a 2 instead of a one. Hoping they get better. The inside is nice. The cornbread was cold and mushy and tasted like dirty feet smell. The chicken noodle soup was pretty tasteless. I don’t think the is any herbs in it. My hand smells weird from picking up the cornbread :(will not be returning. The service was good.

Yo I’ve never liked a cornbread in my life until I tried theirs!!! It’s moist and sweet, a dish in itself! Will definitely be returning daily to check out their inventive specials.
Service was ultra-​friendly, with a mom-​and-​pop feel.
It tasted like restaurant-​quality lunch with the convenience of a deli.
Such a relief to find a place in PDX for warm, comforting soups!