If you want soup but you also need a peaceful setting, Kamonegi is your place. The soba here is so pure and comforting that it feels like taking a bath, except for the fact that Lush doesn’t make mushroom broth and buckwheat noodle glitter bombs (yet). Don’t forget the tempura and duck meatballs.

This Guamanian spot on Beacon Hill only has one soup on the menu. And yet, we wouldn’t mind if it were the only soup on the planet. It all starts with a coconutty corn broth accented by spiced oil droplets, and that liquid velvet alone is beyond slurpable. But the beauty here is the crunch on top. Raw scallion gives it an edge, crisp kernels of corn remind you what kind of soup this is, chicken thigh chunks add meatiness, and fried garlic crumbs act as toasty sprinkles.

Miss Pho is a seemingly ordinary strip mall Vietnamese restaurant in Greenwood, but nothing about their soup is ordinary at all. Phở hà nội overflows with broth, topped with a raw yolk that works just as well dissolved into the soup as it does dolloped onto each bite of rice noodle and beef shank. Mushroom-steeped phở takes on oxtail flavors sans oxtail. And their phở sa tế is the platonic ideal of spicy soup, complete with thin beef, snipped herbs, and peanuts in a chili oil-slicked broth.

Sure, we're really in Lotus Pond's BBQ pork soup for the shrimp and pork dumplings submerged inside, which are some of the best in town. The filling is generously seasoned, and when the wrapper edges get plump with schmaltzy broth, it's a beautiful thing. But wontons aside, this thing is still an exemplary (and massive) bowl of broth, chewy egg noodles, and tender hunks of delicious meat.

Pho Bac Sup Shop should be your go-to for pho when you want a fun dinner without having to change out of your sweatpants. It’s easy to get in, appetizers (like fries with lemongrass mayo) will go nicely with your soup, and we could eat the slow-poached chicken pho all day. In case you also like to party while wearing an elastic waistband, there are blue cocktails and a photo booth.

Ba Bar is somehow always packed, so eating pho here is always a bit of a to-do. But their pho is delicious. You’re in good hands with the phở tái nạm, complete with rare shaved eye of round, buttery slices of brisket, and a comforting, cinnamon-forward broth. And when your bowl is empty, the fun is certainly not over—grab a wafer cone piped with pandan soft serve for your burnt tongue.

Sometimes, you just need to eat a half-gallon of clam chowder out of a hollowed-out boule of sourdough, and that’s OK. That’s why Pike Place Chowder exists (in addition to being a tourist holding area). There are a couple different kinds of chowder here, but always pick the creamy clam over the smoked salmon chowder that tastes a little too much like cream cheese and looks a little too much like Pepto Bismol.

In the case of the hot pot, the broth is usually a cooking vessel rather than the main event. But at Morfire, a little Thai hot pot place on Capitol Hill, you’ll want to drink the broth. You can split the pot in two separate flavors (we like the miso and the chicken), and then you’ll pick various vegetables and proteins to cook in the boiling broth. This is not a “less is more” situation, and we recommend starting with tofu, chicken, wontons, the ground pork and prawn mixture.

Noodle/Bar is a beacon of light on a crummy weather day no matter what you order, be it fantastic dumplings stained orange with chili sauce, or braised tofu and mushrooms over rice. But if you're still shivering through your Patagonia puffer, you want this soupy bowl of wanza mian with ground pork, tender Chinese broccoli, and chickpeas. It has nutrients, it has a slow-burning spice, and it has your name written all over it. Especially if your name is Noodle.

It’s debatable whether khao soi is soup, stew, or noodles, but we’re not interested in the semantics of things—we just want hot liquid in a bowl. The combination of coconut milk, curry, egg noodles, and a slight zing from lime makes Bangrak Market’s khao soi the perfect thing when you're craving both soup and something that has creaminess and spice.