19 Satisfying Soups to Keep You Cozy in Los Angeles

At Pasadena’s Bone Kettle, beef bones are boiled with onions, ginger, garlic, and spices for 36 hours. Diners can add on brisket, sirloin, or even oxtails to the broth, but the soup is satisfying in and of itself.

Portuguese food doesn’t have much of a foothold in Los Angeles, but fans of the cuisine can find a slew of signature dishes at Natas Pastries in Sherman Oaks. One particular speciality is caldo verde, the classic green Portuguese soup stuffed with potatoes, kale, and chorizo that’s perfect for a chilly Southern California evening.

Dai Ho’s spicy beef noodle soup is a thing of beauty. The Taiwanese staple dish is imbued with a deep red hue and lots of rich, stewed beef. The noodles give chew and the braised greens are earthy enough to stand up to the heat. This is one of LA’s best soups, period. Cash only.

With a pristine broth and plump wontons, this basic noodle soup doesn’t taste so simple upon first sip. Served piping hot and within minutes of ordering, this Hong Kong cafe continues to draw a bustling lunch crowd eager for this bowl and other Cantonese favorites.

The simple side order of wonton soup shows the whole Taiwanese ethos of owner Vivian Ku’s enduring Silver Lake restaurant, with a second location sprouted conveniently in Downtown Los Angeles. Topped with fresh bok choy and sporting a clear pork broth, the juicy shrimp wontons and chewy noodles fill out the affordable bowls. In Downtown, it can be ordered without noodles.

Long before bone broth was all the rage, Koreans were eating sul lung tang. Made of boiled ox bones, the cloudy white broth is livened with salt and plenty of green onions.

Linh Phuong Nguyen makes the best bowl of southern style pho at this worn-in restaurant straddling the border between Rosemead and South El Monte. While the filet mignon that comes standard with every bowl is a cut above the rest, it’s Ms. Nguyen’s unparalleled broth that distinguishes her product from the dozens of hawkers in town.

Enter through the small and tidy market and make your way to the front counter where owner Charles Forrester is at your service. There are over half-a-dozen soups available on the menu, but hone in on the cow foot soup for a rich and spicy bowlful of goodness.

Yangban Society’s chefs put their own spin on matzoh ball soup by taking their multi-cultural backgrounds using a Korean sujebi-inspired dumpling, schmaltz, and roasted chicken, with the flavors coming together to create the ultimate LA comfort soup.

Gloria’s Cafe is famous for its seafood soup with fish, shrimp, squid, scallops, octopus, and crab legs. Every portion of the rich stew is generous enough to share.

Before zeroing in on one item at Ackee Bamboo, ask for the specials. They might include a fish tea soup on it, but one constant is the incredibly delicious and simple curry vegetable soup. The kitchen switches up the vegetables according to the seasons, but the flavors are always on point.

This Bellflower strip mall newcomer is no slouch when it comes to the very-competitive menudo game in greater Los Angeles. Stop in early (beware the Sunday crowds) for steaming to-go orders of rich menudo made with love.

Open since 1985, the family-owned Phnom Penh Noodle Shack boasts plenty of options that include noodles and soup. But the house special places sliced and ground pork, stomach, liver, shrimp, and noodles into a massive steaming bowl that’s sure to satisfy.