Nusa

Soup? Well where I’m from, soup is something else… it’s good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s more like.“classic” I guess: carrot, tomato etc, nothing over-​sexy, but perfect to fight the cold january temperatures. So when I heard «let’s go at the soup place next door», I wasn’t super enthusiastic.WRONG.
Nusa’s soups are more like a proper meal actually. You’ve got some rice if you choose so, some vegetables, add some minced meat (chicken, beef etc.) together with the right amount of spiced sauce, curry coconut or some other south-​east asian flavours. A simple idea, with a nice twist, that makes a perfect lunch.
Don’t be afraid of the queue, all the soups are ready to be served, and this makes it very fast & easy !!! Quick, cheap and tasty, I say «encore» !

Nusa, how I love thee.
I have to say that I’ve never been super excited about soup. Soup is a nice starter, it’s great when you have a cold, it’s nice on a rainy day. Soup’s alright.
Enter Nusa. I was dragged here by colleagues who touted it as the best new lunch spot near our office location. The line was completely around the corner (and is every day) but moves fast.
What do they sell in there? Soup! Also, some other stuff on shelves that I’ve never seen anyone touch. But oh, the soup! Indonesian Chicken, Vegan Chilli, Tuscan Tomato, Szechuan Beef, Lemony Chickpea, the list goes on. All the regular stuff, plus an amazing selection of gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options (which are amazing, and I don’t have any food req’s).
Order it big or small, with rice or without. Pay a max of £5. Eat and enjoy.

Auch in London ist der Winter mit einem eisigen Wind angekommen. Da hilft zum Auftauen nur eines: Suppe!
Nusa ist da genau die richtige Anlaufstelle. Man wählt aus einer Reihe von Suppen und Eintöpfen (ich meine so 6 – 8 verschiedene gibt’s auf der Karte), die Auswahl wechselt wöchentlich. Vegetarisch, vegan oder doch mit Fleischeinlage? Gibt’s alles und langweilig wird’s einem da ganz bestimmt nicht. Ich habe mich für eine Curry-​Linsensuppe entschieden, dazu etwas Reis und Brot. Die kleine Portion reicht völlig, danach war ich erstmal pappesatt, aufgewärmt und glücklich.
Als Restaurant kann man es nicht wirklich bezeichnen, eher als Imbiss vielleicht. Ein paar Sitzplätze sind drinnen vorhanden, aber sonst eben zum Mitnehmen ins Büro. Alles in allem eine tolle Adresse für graue Novembertage.

Soup. For some people soup is a confusion — is it a drink? Is it a meal? How can it be a meal if you drink it out of a cup? Well fear not my Unilocaling friends as Nusa has answered our prayers and proved once and for all that soup is most definitely a meal and a bloody good one at that!
With a constant queue outside the door you know that it must be good! It’s a bit of a blurr inside as the team behind the counter are so fast and organised it’s easy to be confused but don’t let that put you off as my oh my is it worth it.
I went for the beef option, when asked if I wanted rice I obviously said yes. Then I was asked if I’d like bread — again, an obvious yes! I toddled back to the office and began.
Wow. The flavours are just mind blowing. It’s more of a broth than a soup but with a Thai tasting twist. The ingredients are fresh and you truly don’t want the pot to end!
I’m yet to try any other type but I am pretty sure I’ll be spending the majority of my lunch money in here from now on!

It’s soup season about 90 percent of the year in London, so at Nusa — you’re set up for success. They do soup and they do it right.
Great soups, every single work day. My officemates and I make a trip at least weekly and I’m always very satisfied. They’ll give you a quick sample if you aren’t sure about something, and always ask about adding rice and noodles to those that come with them (fresh and added AFTER the broth, as it should be!). My favorites have been the Viet Chicken and anything with coconut and cauliflower. Also the kongee is a nice little adventure for your soul.
The salads are kind of a miss (for me) — stick to the soup. I feel like Nusa thinks they need these salads for the 1 day of summer per year, but they don’t really.
That que at lunch is no joke, but it moves fast and you’ll have your soup in no time, don’t fret.
*cards accepted
*small area to eat-​in, but most people take away
*breakfast options available! (toasties, mosties)

Nusa, ever since I met you, I just knew you were going to be the one for me. I walked in, looking lost, and you were there for me, offered up in a small tasting cup. Since my lips first met with your warm, spicy (but not too spicy) flavourful deliciousness, I was head over heels.
Since then, I’ve gotten to know all your quirky habits, your ever changing menu, your super friendly manner, your generous portion sizes, your queues from 1pm onwards and I’m here to declare: I LOVE YOU! Will you marry me? All I can promise you is to work each and every day to make you as happy as you make me feel.
— Love, Chloe’s stomach

How can a mere soup place have a near-​perfect rating? With that thought rolling in my head, I made my way to Nusa. It helps that it’s a quick 2-​min walk from my place of work. The options are simple and make choosing easy. I soon settled for the Sri Lankan cashew nut and green bean soup.
And my mind was blown – it was perfectly spiced and mildly hot. The green beans weren’t overcooked and were left just a little bit al dente – nicely crunchy. And the cashews were plenty and not too hard. They complimented each other very well. The broth itself was coconut milk based and had a lovely herby flavor.
Near perfect rating? This one should get all 5 of those stars.

Nusa provides a very solid and fresh lunch option, and i’d certainly say it’s one of the best choices in a location that’s over run with various café’s and restaurants.
Jumped in here for a quick bite and was pleasantly surprised with the vast array of food options. We got huge salad boxes in the cooler, really fresh and healthy ingredients and nice to see someone has thought about what goes together. Salmon, avocado, chicken, lime and rice noodles all have their space and they’re dam good.
Past the cooler and you have the main attraction the soups and rice boxes. Firstly, the smells are really vibrant, loads of spices throwing around back there and it really sets taste buds off. I believe most of the menu changes daily but they always have a nice meaty option and a veg option too. The beef pot looked incredibly good, served with a nice brown slice, it was smokey and spicy. Excellent with beef.
This is certainly a spot for a good feed if you’re in a rush and any healthy conscious stomachs will really like it in here. Given I’m only 2 minutes away, I’ll certainly be back next week and I’m already wondering why it took me this long to get there!
GO FORTH and go east. Check it out.

Love the soup. Very friendly staff and extremely helpful!

This is by far THE BEST SOUP place I have ever tried. Every single soup they have on the menu was amazing. It was like having a soupgasm in your mouth with every bite. Whenever I would get a cold or flu, this was the thing that best cleared my sinuses.
I have never in my life tasted better soups. Most of the soups are Malaysian/​South East Asian style. You can try any of them before you get it, and they ask if you would like rice. I went here for years before I moved away. Thank you Nusa for being there for me when I needed you most! The best cure for a cold or flu, and the best comforting, warming food one can have on a cold London day.

Have food allergies/​intolerances? Then this is the place for you. In fact even if you haven’t it is still the place for you.
Their soups are made fresh and their menu changes daily. These are not normal soups like tomato or vegetable, these are gourmet soups influenced by Asian cuisine like Sri Lankan, Vietnamese and Indian.
There will always be at least one option for vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, and gluten free. (For a full gluten free option make sure to request the rice not the bread — they seem to give you bread by default).
The soups are ridiculously flavoursome. I’ve never been disappointed. Price wise, you’re looking at a fiver for a bowl of soup. But those with intolerances will gladly pay it because finding so many allergen free choices in one place is the best thing ever.
My intolerances have recently severely worsened and I’m basically struggling to find things I can eat… it’s lucky I work round the corner to this place!

Just an update to say I went here a few weeks ago, still awesome! The repeat visit is the true test of a 5 star Unilocal review and Nusa passed with flying colors. Man I wish I lived closer to it…

Nusa is famous for its soups so I have no idea why I got their rice option when I went for the first time. But it turned out to be a delicious choice :)
I went to the one in Farringdon, which is too small to eat-​in so most people do takeaway for lunch. They have a nice range that includes drinks and salads, but looking at their menu the rice looked really healthy and thought it would make me more full than their soup.
It came in a big box with meat on top of a bed of aromatic rice, with two different condiments put separately in plastic little cups. There was definitely too little sauce, so I wished it came with more because that was what made the combination taste so good… it was the perfect blend of spices.
Well done, really enjoyed the rice dish and can’t wait to try their soup!

Hot, hearty, freshly made soup + fixings for under a fiver?
Sold to the shivering graduate student wandering around Clerkenwell.
(Go at times that are just before or after the lunch rush, ie not between 12 – 2, otherwise you’ll be waiting for approximately ten years. Or thereabouts.)

This small shop, on Old Street where it meets Goswell Road, churns out warming cups of worldly flavours ranging on a recent visit from Mexican to Goan to North African.
It’s a bit further afield than my usual soup stop so I see less of it. The salads always look lovely, as do the unique fruit cups — pineapple and gremolata; fresh papaya and blueberry — but my preference for warm food typically wins out.
Winners, for me, on the soup front include:
Shrimp Gyoza Dumpling Ramen Broth
Chilli con Carne
But avoid the bread. It’s seriously lacking in… everything awesome.

Soups up! Looking for a tasty quick lunch in Farringdon? Head to Nusa and you won’t be disappointed. It’s a shop of liquid goodness. With daily specials and a simple but varied menu, you could potentially go here every day and not get bored. Well, unless you don’t fancy soup.
It’s a perfect place to pick up some winter comfort food, unfortunately, the limited seating means you’ll probably end up eating this at your desk.
I like Nusa, I don’t love Nusa. It’s soup, how much can you love soup?

The soup is dazzlingly delicious.
But the soup bread, dire.

In this crazy life we live there are good days, there are bad days, and there are soup days.
Today was definitely a soup day.
It was destiny for me — and apparently everyone else in London — to head to Nusa where I was able to sample to my hearts desire every slurp-​worthy selection on offer and take away a little pot of happiness. This ain’t yo mama’s soup we’re talking about here, I personally tried the Malayan corn chowder and Thai vegetarian Tom Yam which were both spicy and fantastic.
The menu also included chickpea & spinach, chilli, some sort of African lentil, cream of courgette, and the masterpiece that was B.L.T. soup. You’ll find everything from creamy home-​cooked goodness to gluten free, lactose free, vegetarian, and vegan options.
Just a note to the dine-​and-​dash folks out there, when I arrived at 1:05 there was a five person line out the door. Ten minutes later when I left, the line had snaked all the way down the street curving around HSBC.
Note to the Nusa team… pop a spoon in that take-​away bag! I won’t mention the erm, creative way that I devoured my soup today…

I’ve lived a couple minutes’ walk from Nusa for four years but only tried it for the first time yesterday.
I loved it. The Sri Lankan cashew and bean soup was very tasty, filling and good value (under four quid). The fresh berberi naan was a nice touch too.
I’ll be back … soon. I suppose I should sample other soups (their breakfast items look good too) but honestly will probably just go for the Sri Lankan soup again.
Only one complaint: one of the main reasons it took so long for me to sample Nusa was that it’s such a popular lunch option. I’d tried to pop in a few times before only to find the queue much too long.
Next time, should there be a bit of a wait, I think I’ll be up for it. Yummy stuff

This is by far the best soup I’ve had in London! The weekly menus are so diverse and full of flavour packed, hearty soups that you never get bored of the options. In fact, after a few visits you’ll be checking the menus to see when your favourite soup will next appear on the menu! The soups have the option of coming with rice and are always complimented by a piece of yummy flatbread. My favourites have to be the Jammin Jamaican Jerk Chicken (has a lovely spicy kick to it), the Zanzibar Chicken and Moroccan soup that comes with couscous instead of rice.
You can sample any of the soups before you decide which one to get. Just on the right of the front door is a menu with the soups, with a list of the ingredients. Lunch time can get rather busy, between 12 – 1:30 expect to find a line out the door! Trust me, it’s well worth the wait!

Nusa, the tiny little soup shop on Old Street, has the power to make or break my week at work. Without any exaggeration, its weekly rotation of soups have become such an institution at my work, that a bad menu can really throw the office shui.
Fortunately, a bad menu at Nusa is a rarity. Top soups to date have included, Jammin Jamaican Jerk, Smoked Fish Chowder with Salsa and my personal favourite Prawn Jambalaya. If you’re struggling to choose between the array of deliciousness, just ask for a couple of samples and have yourself a mini taste-​off. With bonus accompaniments including cous cous, noodles, rice and bread you could have yourself a little carb party too if you fancied.
My only criticism would be that no matter what I order, it tastes like Thai food. Coconut milk and chilli pops up in the most unusual of places and whilst I’ve always enjoyed a spicy kick, some days I crave a plain old bowl of chicken noodle without the pak choi and dried shrimp addition. Still, there’s always the freshly prepared pineapple with mint gremola sugar to take my mind off it. I call this ‘convenience fruit’ and I know it’s one of the worst booby traps for the café mark-​up. But pineapple and mint gremola?! That’s all killer no filler baby.
With soups priced between £3.50 and £4.10, Nusa isn’t always the cheapest option. Still, when it’s up against Pret, Costa and Starbucks as its nearest rivals — I know which one I’m going to choose.