The highly anticipated Soup ‘n Fresh opened earlier this year, exciting Souplantation customers for their similar buffet-style restaurants.

Some of you may remember a nostalgic restaurant from the 2010s. As a kid, I often visited Souplantation (or Sweet Tomatoes in other locations). It was a common place for families to go after running errands, going to church, and other occasions.

 Souplantation was a restaurant chain specializing in a buffet-style dining experience focused on soups, salads, and baked goods. Souplantation was founded in California in 1978 by Jack and Lillian Smith to create various meal options for families. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Souplantation had to close almost all its locations. On the bright side, a similar restaurant rose in popularity this year. Rancho Cucamonga’s Soup ‘n Fresh opened in February of this year and has been a spot I’ve been wanting to check out since.

I got the chance to check out Soup ‘n Fresh on a Friday afternoon. I initially noticed a line in front of the building. I waited about 30 minutes in line until I got into the restaurant. They only let a couple of parties in at a time to keep from overcrowding within the restaurant. After waiting, we walked into the restaurant and were greeted by the affordable pricing for lunch or dinner and carts full of trays and plates. Drinks are at an extra cost. 

After grabbing your plates, you walk right into the large salad bar. You are first presented with premade caesar and wonton salad, but then you see a large selection of greens, veggies, dressings and toppings to create any kind of salad you like.  At the end of the salad bar, you are met with the register counters where you pay for either your lunch or dinner and drinks. After paying, you must wait for a staff member to seat you. They have you wait in the same spot where people are paying and getting food at the buffet. Once you are seated, you are welcome to either finish your salad first or go on and grab food at the buffet.

Soup ‘n Fresh’s overall design creates a clean and modern atmosphere, such as using white trim and wood with clean and sleek shapes. The overall style is nice, but the dining room was quite small. There is no outdoor seating and no bar seating. Because the seating area is quite tight and always packed, it gets loud. Do not expect a quiet and calm atmosphere.

When I sat at my table, I ate my salads first. I split my plate with two different salads. The salads were fresh, and the dressings were on the vinegary side. After finishing my salad, I got up to get a drink and get some hot food. The drink selection was not large as well. They had one soda machine with six Pepsi products and a dispenser for Arnold Palmers, a mix of iced tea and lemonade. I chose the Arnold Palmers, which is your only option if you don’t want soda or water.

The hot food selection consists of two buffets. One side is for the fresh soups and the other is for the baked goods. On the side of the soups, their selection included multiple pastas and soups. I got the mac n’ cheese and the chicken noodle soup. On the baked goods side, I got cheesy bread, a baked potato and some cornbread. Some other selections in the baked goods section included honey wheat brown bread and brownies.

Everything had great and fresh flavors. Servings are smaller, which gives you more space to try different foods at the buffet. They had two ice cream machines with lots of topping options, giving you the ability to make various kinds of desserts

My tip when going to Soup ‘n  Fresh is to eat from the salad bar, but do not overeat. You want to make sure you have enough space to try everything from the buffets and still have space for dessert. If you are going with someone, it is ideal to have your friend wait in line while you find a parking spot.

Overall, I was pleased with the experience, and it made me feel like I was at Souplantation again. If Soup ‘n Fresh were a little closer to me and more quiet, I would go again. It is a great place to go with groups of people and plan to stay to catch up. Soup ‘n Fresh is located in the Thomas Winery Plaza at 8966 Foothill Blvd and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and closes at 9:30 p.m. on weekends.