Jerusalem's Inbal Hotel gets 'soupersized' for winter's Soup Festival - restaurant review

There is something comforting about tradition, and part of the tradition of winter in Jerusalem is the Soup Festival at the Inbal Hotel, which runs from November until Passover.

The idea is a rotating list of six soups – some dairy, some vegan – presented with condiments like cheese and rice, along with an array of breads and various dips. You serve yourself as many ladlefuls as you like from the large soup tureens.

The cost is NIS 105 per person (up from NIS 87 last year). Among my friends, there is a disagreement about whether this is a fair price. Some say that NIS 105 for a bowl (or two or three...) of soup is expensive. I look at it as a reasonable price for dinner in a hotel, and I’m happy to make a dinner of soup.

My one small issue is that although the soup nuts and croutons are next to the soup tureens, the rice and cheese are farther away near the dips, causing a lot of people to walk back and forth with their bowls of hot soup. The atmosphere is lively, with several large family groups and couples on date nights. When I was recently there, I heard as much Hebrew being spoken as English.

Each evening, one of the soups is served at a special “chef’s corner” with special garnishes. The night my husband and I visited, the chef was serving Indian curry and coconut milk soup. The special garnish was a spoon with coriander, ginger, bean sprouts, and green onion. The soup was flavorful, though I would have liked a little more curry flavor.

The next soup I tried was my favorite from last year – the smoked eggplant cream soup with Parmesan. It’s definitely something that we would never make at home, and the smokiness and creaminess were absolutely delicious.

I then tried a vegan soup that wasn’t offered last year – pumpkin soup with anise. The anise flavor was a little strong for me, but it was an interesting combination. By now I was getting pretty full, but I tried a small portion of another vegan soup – zucchini with dill, which I also enjoyed.

I skipped the onion soup and the minestrone, both of which I have enjoyed in the past, because I was just too full. Pro tip: The bowls are bigger than they look. If you want to try everything, take small portions unless you’re a teenage boy, in which case you can disregard my advice.

I was a little disappointed that the African peanut soup wasn’t being served the night I was there, but it’s a good reason to visit again. A few of my friends who went on other days said they found the soups a little salty, but I didn’t notice it.

The week’s menu is available on the Inbal Facebook page, so you can decide when you want to go depending on what’s on offer.

Be advised that the soup festival is very crowded, especially in the evenings. Reservations are required.