The calendar may say spring is nearly here, but apparently it hasn’t told the meteorologists. Sunny skies one day, torrential rain and hail the next. But soup is ideal for all kinds of weather — and chowder most of all.
Here’s a look at nine fantastic Bay Area eateries who take slurping to the next level, from Walnut Creek Yacht Club and its creamy clam chowder to San Jose’s King’s Fish House and its spicy seafood stew.
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Walnut Creek Yacht Club, Walnut Creek
In the winter months, Walnut Creek Yacht Club can’t make enough of its signature New England Clam Chowder. They’ll make 15, sometimes 20 gallons of chowder a week for diners enjoying it at the restaurant and people who take home quarts at a time.
Chef and co-owner Kevin Weinberg says the recipe has gone unchanged for 28 years, and he’s willing to share his secret for what makes it so tasty.
“People will say, ‘Is there wine in this?’” Weinberg says.
You bet!
“That’s not a traditional ingredient in clam chowder,” he says. “But we use white wine as part of the method to steam the meat to get it out of the shells. It adds a particular acidity to it. And we use 100% cream. We don’t use clam base or clam juice that some people use. Other than that, it’s simple: bacon, onion, celery, potato, cream, clams and clam stock, salt and pepper and parsley. It’s a traditional New England style.”
Inside the cozy, nautical-themed restaurant, you’ll feel like you’ve spent a day on the water, and the freshness of the clams makes it the star of the dish. The potato adds just the right heft and creaminess, and the subtlety of the white wine cuts the thickness of the cream ever so gently.
Order it by the cup ($9) or bowl ($12), served with oyster crackers, or get a little crazy and order it the secret, off-menu way: half chowder, half Pepper Pot, the restaurant’s red, Caribbean-style, seafood stew.
Details: Open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, at 1555 Bonanza St. in Walnut Creek; wcyc.net.
King’s Fish House, San Jose
The King’s Fish House restaurants are widely known in coastal California for pristine specialty seafood — think spiny lobster and spot prawns in season — so it’s no surprise that two terrific chowders come out of their Valley Fair kitchen.
Clams. Cream. Bacon. Those are the primary components of the New England Clam Chowder ($9 cup, $13 bowl), one of the most decadent versions we’ve ever tasted. Savor this marjoram-accented one slowly and dip deep into the bowl to get chunks of bacon with every spoonful.
“It’s just heaven,” sous chef Chris Nardiello says, noting that the creamy chowder is so popular that the restaurant sells 32 gallons’ worth every few days.
King’s Spicy Seafood Chowder is the red version filled with fin fish, and it offers a zip from a touch of cayenne. Chunks of both flaky fish (typically salmon) and meaty fish (like swordfish) swim in the tomato broth along with carrots, celery, onions and potatoes.
Who says you have to pick one or the other? A cup of one and a bowl of the other, plus warm sourdough bread, makes for a lovely lunch.
Details: Open daily at 11 a.m., serves until 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose; www.kingsfishhouse.com.
Small Change Oyster Bar, Oakland
Branden Nichols is a seasoned shuckerman who has run a buzzy oyster pop-up at farmers markets across the East Bay. The chef opened his first brick and mortar in Oakland’s Temescal District last year, and it definitely has that special raw-bar feeling that you’re getting the freshest seafood off the boat that day – fresh or broiled oysters Rockefeller, for example, or an exquisite yellowtail-jack crudo with blood orange and red Sichuan peppercorns.
Sidle up to the metal bar in the bistrolike dining area, where you can watch an aproned guy with zen concentration shuck and smell each oyster for peak freshness, or if it’s sunny, wander into the spacious back patio with picnic tables. There’s sparkling wine to whet your appetite or local beer, or if you’re hungry right now a seafood michelada topped with oyster, shrimp and a crab claw.
The clam chowder is what you’d expect from a restaurant named after some guy’s boat (in this case, Nichols’ father’s). It’s a classic New England cream-based soup loaded with red potatoes, bacon, herbs and plump, succulent bits of clam. It’s poured into a warm mug ($14), then zhuzhed up with a sprinkle of diced chives and vinegar and served with oyster crackers. For spice, there’s a bottle of Crystal hot sauce.
The chowder is rich and decadent but cut through with fresh ocean brininess. Nothing more is needed – except for the excellent fish and chips, maybe, or just a big old platter of shucked oysters.
Details: Open 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 5000 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; instagram.com/smallchangeoysterbar.
Purple Onion Cafe, Los Gatos
Just one glance at this cafe’s veggie-packed All Season Detox Soup may make you feel healthier. And that’s before you dig in.
Steve Angelo, who co-owns the two Purple Onion eateries with Lisa Kilkenny-Hansen, created this soup several years ago, when he decided the menu should reflect his new eating habits.
“Each ingredient adds something to make me a little healthier,” he says.
The combination of golden beets, fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, spices, turmeric, coconut milk and house-made vegetable stock made it an instant crowd-pleaser. Initially offered as part of a regular menu rotation, the vegan, gluten-free soup started selling out almost immediately, with customer requests for more. Eventually, Angelo began making it ($7 for a cup, $13.50 per bowl) every day, along with the housemade tomato soup.
Angelo switches up the vegetable array seasonally — but just a bit. “I have to be careful not to change it too much,” he says. “When I do that, I face the wrath of regulars.”
Details: Open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at 26 E. Main St. and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday at 14107 Winchester Blvd.; www.purpleonionca.com.
Jack’s Restaurant & Bar, Pleasant Hill, San Bruno and other locations
This one is for the broth sippers and those who need a citrusy wake-up in the late afternoon or early evening.
Sitting at a lively bar and grill might not seem like the best time to sip a warm cup of soup, but the Avgolemono at Jack’s brings so much lemon flavor, it will leave you craving more. A traditional Greek soup with chicken, egg, lemon, cream and rice, the avgolemono at Jack’s is light and flavorful, with tender chicken that blends well with the rice at the bottom of the bowl. The tang of lemon hits with every bite.
The only complaint here is the chicken-to-broth ratio isn’t quite high enough, so be safe and order a bowl ($7.50) instead of a cup ($6). Or better yet, get a quart ($14) to take home.
Details: Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with locations in Pleasant Hill, San Bruno, San Mateo, Newark and San Jose; ilovejacks.com.
The Rusty Ladle, San Francisco
You’ll find no Soup Nazis at this new Outer Sunset joint. Instead, customers cozy up to a handcrafted bar – a bespoke artwork made with between 14,000 and 20,000 community-sourced pennies – as friendly servers ladle piping-hot soup, often accompanied by delightfully excessive “schmeltys” or inside-out grilled cheese sandwiches ($8.75), crusted with a crispy skirt of cheese on the outside, gooey cheese in the middle.
Owner John Lindsey quietly opened the restaurant in late December, next to the Lawton Street gallery he owns. The former chef had long been a soup super-fan.
Soups can be taken to-go, they’re easier to pour than a latte, he says, and fit well in the sometimes fog-bound and chilly Outer Sunset. Plus, he loves making them.
It’s hard to go wrong here, but Lindsey says he’s especially proud of his Bodega Bay-style clam chowder. Made with clams, leeks, cream, red potato, celery and onions, with bacon on the side, it’s prepared with a bouquet garni of fresh herbs. You’ll always find chowder and tomato soup ($7.50 for a cup, $10.50 per bowl) on the menu, plus two rotating seasonal soups.
Details: Open noon to 8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at 3645 Lawton St, San Francisco; rustyladle.com.
Daeho Kalbijjim, Concord, Milpitas and other locations
With the weather still nippy, what’s better to warm the body than fiery food – like, literal flames rained down on top of your dinner?
Daeho Kalbijjim is a South Korean chain whose newest location just opened on Concord’s diverse Willow Pass Road (there are others in Milpitas, San Mateo, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Washington state). The restaurant specializes in one thing, kalbijjim, a hearty stew made from braised short ribs, turnips and carrots and customizable toppings. And it does it well: Lines are often out the door, and in 2023 The New York Times named it one of the 25 best restaurants in San Francisco.
When you’re eating kalbijjim, you’re eating history. From the 14th to the 18th century, the dish was reserved exclusively for the kings and royal families of the Joseon Dynasty. It remains a special dish in many Korean families, served for holidays and other special occasions.
You’re also eating a dish that, in terms of savory-meat lusciousness, borders on the best French beef bourguignon. The doh gal jjim ($90) made with short rib and ox tendon is a good mid-range option – there’s a cheaper version with back rib and a pricier one with Cajun seafood. It easily feeds four people, and that’s before you add the complimentary banchan and extra goodies like chewy rice cakes, noodles and corn on the cob.
The stew comes out in a bubbling cauldron fit for the medieval ages. And speaking of medieval, if you ordered it with shredded mozzarella cheese (you should), the server blasts it with a heavy-duty blowtorch to create a gooey, crusty top. The tender hunks of meat and melting tendon make for a hearty, deeply satisfying bite – wash it down with golden-barley soju or a boozy tangerine slushy.
Details: Hours vary slightly by location, but all serve lunch and dinner daily. 1827 Willow Pass Road, Concord; 217 W. Calaveras Blvd., Milpitas; 213 Second Ave., San Mateo; and 1620 Post St., San Francisco; daeho-kalbijjim.com
New England Lobster Market & Eatery, Burlingame
On a rainy, drizzly day, walking into this seafood restaurant, the New England Lobster Market and Eatery, feels like walking into a giant living room. It’s a lovely spot to spend an afternoon and home to what it claims is the largest tank on the West Coast — a whopping 75,000 gallons – holding lobsters of up to 10 pounds.
The lobster corn chowder is the move here. Get at bowl-size serving of the hearty chowder ($23), served with buttery bread, or go all-in on the bread bowl ($28). Sure, it’s a tad pricey – but that’s all part of the game when lobster’s on the menu. Minimize the pocketbook strain by going during happy hour to save on drinks – $3 beers are served from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays.
Details: Open daily 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at 824 Cowan Road, Burlingame; newenglandlobster.net.
Noodleosophy, Millbrae
Noodleosophy is part of the Social Eatery mini food hall, where Rice Monster serves up an array of rice bowls and Grapeholic specializes in grape teas as well as fruit and milk teas.
There are plenty of comforting, meaty bowls of noodles on offer here, but the basil pesto vegetarian soup ($13) is fantastic. Order it with biangbiang noodles, which are wide, thick and, frankly, a revelation. These noodles originated in China’s Shaanxi province, and the Chinese character for these noodles is said to be one of the most complex characters out there. Fortunately, you don’t have to write it, just slurp up the combination of noodles, spiced tofu, bright basil pesto, corn, bok choy, bean sprouts, cilantro and green onion.
Details: Open 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 8:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday at Social Eatery, 102 S. El Camino Real, Millbrae; noodleosophy.com.
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