Winter of Soups: The Inbal Hotel's annual Jerusalem winter tradition - review

Remember the soup Nazi from Seinfeld? Well, you can get all the soup you want at the Winter of Soups at the Inbal Hotel, which has become a traditional part of Jerusalem’s winter food scene. The name has been changed from Soup Festival because of the war, since it seemed inappropriate to have a “festival.”

The Winter of Soups costs NIS 87 for all the soup, bread, and dips you can eat (the soups change daily). Some may think that NIS 87 for soup might not be worth it. Like many things in life, it’s all how you look at it. While NIS 87 for a bowl of soup is expensive, NIS 87 for a dinner in a fancy hotel is a steal.

My husband recently started the habit of taking himself out to breakfast every Friday (and not inviting his amazing wife, but that’s a subject for another column and perhaps a marriage counselor) and watching the football game. He says most breakfasts these days are at least NIS 70 for an omelet, breads, spreads, and coffee. Given those prices, the Winter of Soups seems an even better deal.

Enjoying the soup festivities at Jerusalem's Inbal Hotel

We came on a Thursday night when the dining room was full. There were quite a few large families celebrating birthdays and other events. The hostess at first tried to seat us in the second dining room that goes past the one just off the lobby. But I preferred to wait a few minutes for our table to be cleaned and to sit in the same room where the soups are served.

Now here’s an important tip. If there’s no line, go right to the separate serving station, where Yusuf dishes out the smoked eggplant soup and tops homemade bruschetta with eggplant cream and basil oil. For me, this soup was the clear winner of the night, although I would have preferred the bread on a plate rather than carrying the bruschetta precariously balanced on top of the bowl of soup.

The one strange thing I thought about the evening was that the table was set with only a spoon and knife, but no fork. This meal is all about the soup, as well as some very good dips, including artichoke and olive.

There is both homemade bread and bread from the Teller Bakery, but I suggest going easy on the bread so you can taste more of the soups – unless of course you have a teenager with you and then they can go to town.

THERE ARE six soups each night. Besides the eggplant, we had a choice of green vegetable soup, onion, minestrone, potato and almond soup, and smoked freekeh soup. There are all kinds of toppings for the soup, including soup nuts, croutons, noodles, and pumpkin seeds. The grated Parmesan cheese was next to the dips rather than the soups.

You take a white soup bowl and serve yourself from the large tureens of soup, customize the soup with your toppings, and take it to your table. It’s also the kind of atmosphere where you talk to your fellow diners as you serve yourself soup.

The soup did not taste like it had been made from soup powder and was not salty. My favorites were the smoked eggplant and the green vegetable soup, followed closely by the onion. I admit that I was just too full to taste the minestrone and the smoked freekeh.

But there is always room for dessert, right? And if you know my trainer Nurit, don’t show her this article. Desserts are not included in the NIS 87, but they are excellent. My husband had a chocolate fudge cake that was very chocolaty, and I had a delicious NY cheesecake.

Our waiter, Fadi, who is just 19 years old, added to the experience. First, he gets extra points for suffering through my broken Arabic and understanding it. He also speaks fluent Hebrew and English, which he and his sister spoke to each other when they didn’t want their parents to understand. He seemed to really enjoy his job, and we certainly enjoyed the service and the soup. Reservations are required.

• Inbal Hotel
• 3 Jabotinsky St.
• Phone: (02) 675-6666
• Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 12 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Kashrut: Rabbanut Jerusalem
• The writer was a guest of the restaurant.