Portland Kettle

My original review from 2017 that I stand by:
Damn. I don't think you will find better or more hearty comfort foods anywhere in downtown Portland than Portland Kettle.

Just had my third lunch there & introduced another friend who is their newest fan. In the past, I've tried the beef stroganoff (amazing!) and today I tried the beef barley mushroom soup. Incredible.

Twice I've had the chicken salad pocket. Great taste & interesting texture, but the pocket does tend to fall apart before the end. Also, this is the only place I like cornbread & you get a piece with each dish. So damn good!

My updated review:
If you love pastrami, you HAVE to have theirs! It's the best on the planet! This is the reason I'm sad to no longer work in downtown Portland as they are closed on the weekends. Words have no way of describing how delicious and amazing this sandwich is! Change your life - have a pastrami (or the corned beef!)

We found the Portland Kettle on Yelp and wanted to get some hot soup on a cold wet evening. Found out the Yelp listed hours are not accurate, when we arrived at 6:50 thinking it closed at 7:30 pm but the guy said they were closing at 7pm and we could only get soup To Go (no other food orders or sandwiches). No cornbread was available too (usually included with soup) since it was the end of the day and they were out. I got the split pea with ham which had large pieces of ham and was tasty but we were disappointed by not getting the full experience/food even paying full price through the normal operating hours. My buddy got the lemon rice with chicken soup and said it was "ok." We ended up stopping in another restaurant to get more food/appetizers and have our soup with it. I think it would have been nice to get some extra soup or something since we missed the cornbread.

----TL;DR----

Pros: good tasting hot soup. Should warm you up in cold weather

Cons: better come way in advance of closing or you might not get a "full order" of food. Closes at 7pm, not 7:30

Bottom Line: worth another try during early business hours, but wasn't impressed with my first visit.

A great quick bite with authentic food in he middle of downtown Portland. The lady was very sweet to recommend me the beef chili since they don't serve beef stew anymore. What of m orders, the smoked pastrami sandwich and the beef chili tasted great!
If you travel, this is a perfect stop to get a bite before you head out of downtown to your Airbnb o next trails :)

I am in love with Soups and this casual restaurant fulfills my hearts and my stomachs desires. Plus this area doesn't have a ton of choices for casual dining hence I am recommending it for the chilly Portland days and nights. There are always several soup options to choose from and I chose to mix the chicken noodle soup with the chicken vegetable soup and it was just right. A large soup is a little over $10.

As a soup connoisseur I really wanted this place to be good, but unfortunately I can make much better soups at home. The employee who helped me was nice at least and apologized that the only vegetarian soup option for the day basically had no broth left in the kettle so what I got was mostly a pile of bland noodles and vegetables. Oh well, was worth a shot.

This was a great spot for a quick lunch! The service was great and I love that it's family owned business.
Must try their pastrami sandwich, perfectly seasoned with a nice melt in your mouth texture. I was impressed and I'm from Texas.
I love that they have mini moon pies! All the flavors. Don't skip the cornbread and the soup & sandwich combo is a great portion for the price.
I will say that the lemon & rice soup was a little bland but the cornbread saved it.

Great variety and quality of homemade soup! Soup is delicious and it's difficult to pick a favorite, but don't worry, they let you sample the soup so you can try all before you order. I like that their soup is hearty and isn't too salty or heavy. Their sandwiches and pita pockets are good too! Service is friendly and everything is clean.

I decided to try this place. cause I was looking for something unique. Comfort food is what they go by and yes it hits the spot. I'm a soup guy and lived the 12 kinds of soup or chili. The special was clam chowder. Very good with tasty clams and cut potatoes with the skin. Small was 9.95 with no tax. I also ordered the lemon chicken and gumbo. The chicken hit the spot but a little lemon for me. Gumbo which was a nice stew and pepper mix. Get it with the corn bread as it hits differently. Very good

Was just finishing up my deliveries for the day and saw this place at the last apartment building I was at. Windows all steamed up, couldn't even tell if anyone was in there. Saw a little sign that said "open" so I went in. Line almost to the door! Two people working, one dude slinging sandwiches and soup like crazy, and an older guy ringing people up. Had the feel from that old Seinfeld episode with the "Soup Na*i", a little bit, like I better be ready. They were really cool and chill though, chose the Gumbo and cornbread and was not disappointed at all. 10/10 would definitely recommend. Next time I'm gonna try the Vegetarian Chili, and I also wanna try the pastrami sandwich. Will be back for sure.

Nice little lunch spot in downtown. Owner is a sweet woman and very welcoming. Got the hot pastrami. Half was plenty of meat. Came w yummy slaw and a pickle. Cornbread is tasty too.