In April 2009, I decided to lose weight, having been gradually getting heavier for the preceding 10 years or so. A big part of my motivation was to be healthy for my marriage (not just look good for the wedding, although that was a pleasant side-effect). Between diet-tracking site dailyburn.com and a diet based around low-cal, high-fibre, high-protein food and a lot of soup – which makes you feel full for longer than other foods — I managed to lose 3 stone in six months. I’ve about another stone to lose, but its working…
A side effect of all this is an enduring passion for soup for lunch, something I eat daily from whichever soup vendor has the most interesting menu that day. Generaly I vacillate between Eat and Pret, by virtue of their proximity to my office and the tastiness of their soups, and have been reviewing their soups as I go along (more or less).
This page captures my reviews for easy access for other soupficionados. 42 reviews counted to date.
NEW: review data now available as Google Doc.
NB I pay for all my soup myself. Eat has provided me with £10 worth of vouchers as a goodwill gesture after I whinged about being short-souped (a soup pot that wasn’t properly filled) and have also reimbursed me for a further £5.60 worth of ‘mystery shopping’ quality control scheme I helped them with. I’d like to think I’d be just as impartial if I’d been given all the soup for free…
NNB You’ll note many of the reviews are pretty positive. I tend not to buy soups I don’t think I’ll like…
Eat
Chorizo & chickpea soup – big bold – 4.5/5
Vegetable gyoza soup pot – 4/5
Chicken and garden vegetable broth review – Very Big Bold – 2.5/5
Chicken laksa – big bold -3.5/5
Beef, chilli & ginger soup pot – 3.5/5
Texan chilli con carne – Big Bold – 4.5/5
Chicken pot pie – big bold – 5/5
Italian ragu & pasta – very big bold – 5/5
Hungarian goulash – big bold – 3/5
Chicken, bacon & leek risotto – big bold – 3/5
Mexican bean – very big bold – 3/5
Duck gyoza dumpling soup pot – 3.5/5
Summer bolognaise soup – 4/5
Pret
Malaysian chicken soup – 2/5
Chorizo & butterbean soup – 4/5
Chilli beef and rice – 5/5
Sausage hot pot – 3.5/5
Moroccan chicken – 4/5
Italian meatballs – 2/5
Lentil and bacon soup – 4/5
Sag Aloo soup – 3.5/5
Waitrose
Tomato, lentil & chorizo soup – 4/5
Keralan spiced chicken soup – 4.5/5
Moroccan chicken soup – 4.5/5
Chunky vegetable soup – 2/5
Beef goulash soup – 4/5
Pea and ham soup – 4/5
Marks & Spencer
Moroccan style spiced chicken soup – 3/5
Meatball minestrone review – 4/5
Chicken, barley & root vegetable soup – 2/5
Green Thai spiced chicken soup – 1/5
Tomato and meatball soup – 4/5
Marco Pierre White
Glorious Soup Reviews – Sausage hotpot and chicken curry – 3.5/5 and 4/5 respectively
Glorious Indian chicken soup review – 3.5/5 (downgraded from first impression above)
Glorious Moroccan tomato and chickpea soup – 2.5/5
Glorious Toulouse sausage & bean cassoulet review – 4/5
Other
Crussh chicken chilli stew – medium – 4/5
Sainsbury’s Spiced Chicken and Chickpea soup – 3.5/5
Sainbury’s ‘Taste the Difference’ green split pea and ham soup review – 3.5/5
Planet Organic lentil and spinach soup – 4/5
Homemade / Anthony Worral Thompson roast butternut squash soup – unrated
The Yorkshire Provender – ham, savoy cabbage and lentil soup review – 4.5/5