If you’re anything like me, you’re pretty pathetic when it comes to the cold. As soon as it drops toward freezing, I’m under a blanket, dreading the next time I have to walk out the door. I’ve got a few tricks for getting through it, and the best one is a body-warming cup of soup or a tongue-burning bowl of chili. That hearty broth pours right into your bones and keeps you just warm enough to stop feeling sorry for yourself.
Soup makes a cold day cozier, sure. But no matter what time of year it is, it’s a great time to treat yourself to something creamy or brothy. So here are 12 spots in the city worth hitting up for a bowl of the warm stuff, from the German Village deli counters to a bowl of pho on Lane Avenue or thukpa up in Worthington. Every spot here was checked against its own menu in September 2026.
| Spot | Neighborhood | The soup to order |
| The Old Mohawk | German Village | French onion (or the 70-year-old turtle soup) |
| The Brown Bag Deli | German Village | Whatever’s on the daily rotating board |
| Katzinger’s Deli | German Village | Matzo ball |
| Carfagna’s | North Columbus (Polaris) | Italian wedding soup |
| Lindey’s | German Village | Lobster bisque |
| Lavash | Clintonville | Red lentil (vegan) |
| Everest Cuisine | Worthington | Chicken or vegetable thukpa |
| Basil Thai at VHS Social Club | Brewery District | Tom kha or tom yum |
| Fukuryu Ramen | Upper Arlington | Signature Tonkotsu ramen |
| Pho Asian Noodle House & Grill | West Lane Ave. | Pho dac biet, the house special |
| Chouette | Downtown | French onion with Gruyère |
| Ranchero Kitchen | Morse Road | Sopa de gallina |
The Old Mohawk
- Which soup to try:  French Onion, topped with croutons, provolone, and swiss cheeses, baked to a golden brown. But the Turtle Soup is a close second. It’s been around for 70+ years for a reason.
Where:Â 819 Mohawk St., Columbus
Website: The Old Mohawk
The Brown Bag Deli
- Which soup to try: Soups change daily, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the options at Brown Bag. They’re all warm and delicious, perfect for cozy days.
Where:Â 898 Mohawk St., Columbus
Website: The Brown Bag Deli
Katzinger’s Deli
- Which soup to try: Matzo Ball soup, all day, every day. Chicken broth, perfect matza balls, what’s not to love?
Where:Â 475 S. 3rd St., Columbus
Website: Katzinger’s Deli
Carfagna’s
- Which soup to try: I truly believe that the Wedding Soup at Carfagna’s is one of the best soups you could ever have the pleasure of eating. Maybe that’s dramatic, but there’s just something about the broth, the tiny meatballs, and the egg drops that hits differently.
Where:Â 1440 Gemini Place, Columbus
Website: Carfagna’s
Lindey’s
- Which soup to try: Lobster bisque. It’s creamy and high end, filling and delicious. Basically, what’s not to love?
Where:Â 169 E. Beck St., Columbus
Website: Lindey’s
Lavash
- Which soup to try: Lavash’s Lentil Soup is pure comfort in a bowl. Made with red lentils simmered to perfection with onions and olive oil, this hearty soup gets its signature warmth from Lavash’s unique spice blend. It’s rich, flavorful, and just what you need on a chilly day, or any day, really.
Where:Â 2985 N. High St., Columbus
Website: Lavash Cafe
Everest Cuisine
- Which soup to try: The thukpa. It’s the Himalayan noodle soup, a big bowl of noodles and vegetables in broth. Everest makes it with chicken or without. Almost nobody else in Columbus serves it. The menu covers Nepali, Tibetan and Indian food, so if half the table wants tikka masala, everyone still eats. Old Worthington’s High Street makes it an easy stop for the north side.
Where: 652 High St., Worthington
Website: Everest Cuisine
Basil Thai at VHS Social Club
- Which soup to try: Tom kha, the coconut soup with galangal and lime. If you want it sour and spicy instead, order the tom yum. Basil closed its old Front Street restaurant and came back in December 2025 as the kitchen inside VHS Social Club, the 80s bar in the old Handke’s Cuisine space. The menu is shorter than it used to be, and it’s dinner only, Tuesday through Sunday.
Where: 520 S. Front St., Columbus
Website: Basil Thai
Fukuryu Ramen
- Which soup to try: The Signature Tonkotsu, a pork bone broth cooked down until it turns milky and rich. Fukuryu calls it its most popular ramen, and Columbus Monthly readers have voted the shop the best ramen in town. The Lane Avenue shop is the one to know. There’s a second dining room at Bridge Park in Dublin, and the old Polaris location is closed, so don’t drive up there.
Where: 1600 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington
Website: Fukuryu Ramen
Pho Asian Noodle House & Grill
- Which soup to try: Pho dac biet, the house combination bowl, which is the pho to order when you want a bit of everything in one bowl of broth. The restaurant sits on West Lane Avenue a short drive from campus and Upper Arlington, and it’s been a neighborhood standby long enough that Columbus Underground gave it a full review. If you want to go deeper, there’s a whole ranking of the best pho in Columbus for that.
Where: 1288 W. Lane Ave., Columbus
Website: Pho Asian Noodle House & Grill
Chouette
- Which soup to try: French onion soup, made the bistro way: beef broth, onions cooked down slow, a slice of bread and a cap of Gruyère broiled on top. It’s on the everyday menu at Chouette, the French bistro at Gay and High downtown, so you don’t have to hope it’s the special that day. This is the dressed-up entry on the list, the one for soup before a show or on a long lunch.
Where: 66 N. High St., Columbus
Website: Chouette
Ranchero Kitchen
- Which soup to try: Sopa de gallina, the Salvadoran hen soup. It’s a hen and vegetable soup that comes with a piece of slow-baked hen on the side, and it’s the dish Columbus Monthly singled out when it went looking for under-the-radar soup in 2024. Ranchero Kitchen sits on Morse Road in a stretch of Central American restaurants, and the soup is the reason to pick this one.
Where: 984 Morse Rd., Columbus
Website: Ranchero Kitchen
Columbus Soup FAQ
What’s the best soup in Columbus?
Ask ten locals and you’ll get ten answers, but the names that keep coming up: Carfagna’s wedding soup, Katzinger’s matzo ball, and the lobster bisque at Lindey’s. Start there.
Where can I get matzo ball soup in Columbus?
Katzinger’s Deli in German Village (475 S 3rd St). Chicken broth, proper matzo balls, and it’s on the menu every day.
Who has the best wedding soup in Columbus?
Carfagna’s, at 1440 Gemini Place. Tiny meatballs, orzo, spinach, and egg drops in a Romano-rich broth. Get it at the restaurant or by the quart from the market deli case.
Where can I get vegan or vegetarian soup in Columbus?
Lavash in Clintonville does a red lentil soup that’s vegan and gluten-free, simmered with onions, olive oil, and their own spice blend.
