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The Guide · Wild Rice Soup in St. Paul

Best Wild Rice Soup in St. Paul (2026)

Twelve restaurants across Minneapolis. Compare neighborhoods, price tiers and what to order, then read the full reviews.

Kou Thao
By Kou Thao Staff Writer · Top of Minneapolis · Updated October 2026 · How the score is built
Best Wild Rice Soup in St. Paul (2026)
THE MINNEAPOLIS DINING GUIDES 12 restaurants
Compare all 12 restaurantsNeighborhood · price · score · first order
In the same order as the guide. Scores are out of 10; dollar symbols show the listed price tier.
RestaurantNeighborhoodPriceScoreWhat to order
01 Tongue in CheekSt. Paul$$Bacon & Egg Teaser
02 Stone ArchSt. Paul$$Cobb salad
03 Mañana Salvadoran RestaurantSt. Paul$Pupusa rebuelta
04 Forepaugh's RestaurantSt. Paul$$$Pan-seared salmon
05 Bennett's Chop & RailhouseSt. Paul$$Steaks
06 Pappys Chicago Style EaterySt. Paul$Chicago-style hot dog
07 1881 Eating HouseSt. PaulLettuce wraps
08 St Paul TapSt. Paul$$Burger
09 ShamrocksSt. Paul$$Burger
10 Patrick McGovern's PubSt. Paul$$Buffalo wings
11 Dark Horse Bar & EaterySt. Paul$$Burger
12 Joseph's GrillSt. Paul$$Burger

12 restaurants · In guide order

1 Tongue in Cheek Yelp

Tongue in Cheek

New American · St. Paul · $$

The Bacon & Egg Teaser and the Vegasm, kimchi potato cakes, get the attention, but this Lowertown kitchen builds its comfort side around the same care. Happy hour pricing makes it easy to pair a bowl of wild rice soup with the East Fried Pride and call it dinner. Plating stays sharp even at the lower price point, and the room reads as a genuine date spot rather than a discount gimmick.

What to orderBacon & Egg TeaserVegasm (kimchi potato cakes)East Fried Pride Call Directions Scored from the full review record 989 Payne Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55130 · (651) 888-6148
2 Stone Arch Yelp

Stone Arch

American · St. Paul · $$

A Cobb salad built for two and a breakfast meatloaf worth copying at home say plenty about this St. Paul room's range, and its wild rice soup fits the same mold: a filling, consistent bowl rather than a fussy one. It draws travelers moving through MSP as well as regulars, and the kitchen holds its footing whether the order is soup and a sandwich or a full breakfast plate.

What to orderCobb saladBreakfast meatloafWalleye sandwich Call Directions Scored from the full review record 4300 Glumack Dr, LT-2054, Terminal 1, St Paul, MN 55111 · (651) 460-9319
3 Mañana Salvadoran Restaurant Yelp

Mañana Salvadoran Restaurant

Latin American · St. Paul · $

This is a pupusa house first, the pupusa rebuelta and pollo guisado carry the menu, and its rice draws its own praise as some of the best in the city. Wild rice soup here plays a supporting role to the Salvadoran core, but it benefits from a kitchen that clearly respects rice as a dish in itself. A useful stop for a warming bowl alongside yucca fries.

What to orderPupusa rebueltaPollo guisadoYucca fries Call Directions Scored from the full review record 798 7th St E, Saint Paul, MN 55106 · (651) 793-8482
4 Forepaugh's Restaurant Yelp

Forepaugh's Restaurant

New American · St. Paul · $$$

Set inside a Victorian mansion built for celebration meals, Forepaugh's pairs pan-seared salmon and prime rib with a wild rice soup suited to its formal dining rooms. It is the rare St. Paul room where a cup of soup can open a full tasting sequence toward the seasonal vegetable medley. Reservations matter here, and the room rewards guests who come for an occasion, not a quick lunch.

What to orderPan-seared salmonPrime ribSeasonal vegetable medley Call Directions Scored from the full review record 276 Exchange St S, Saint Paul, MN 55102 · (651) 666-3636
5 Bennett's Chop & Railhouse Yelp

Bennett's Chop & Railhouse

American · St. Paul · $$

A supper club at heart, Bennett's pours 31 martinis and just as much attention into its soup list, wild rice soup included, alongside steaks built for a Saturday crowd. The bar side runs loose and friendly, walk-ins get seated even on busy nights, while the dining side keeps the classic Minnesota comfort-food instincts that make the soup worth ordering on its own.

What to orderSteaksMartinisSoups Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1305 7th Street W., Saint Paul, MN 55102 · (651) 228-1408
6 Pappys Chicago Style Eatery Yelp

Pappys Chicago Style Eatery

American · St. Paul · $

Best known for a Chicago-style hot dog and a Philly Cheesesteak that holds its own, Pappys is not a soup destination by design, but its wild rice soup gives regulars a warmer option beside the gyro platter. The room stays plain and the prices stay low, a strip-mall counter built for volume rather than atmosphere, and the food comes through regardless.

What to orderChicago-style hot dogPhilly CheesesteakGyro platter Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1783 Maryland Ave E, Saint Paul, MN 55119 · (651) 771-4500
7 1881 Eating House Yelp

1881 Eating House

New American · St. Paul

Inside a renovated 1900s building in Lowertown, 1881 Eating House pairs its lettuce wraps and roasted chicken with a wild rice soup suited to a slower lunch after a long train delay or a weekday errand downtown. The kitchen runs hit and miss across the fuller menu, but the soup and the historic room together make it worth a stop.

What to orderLettuce wrapsRoasted chickenSeasonal vegetables Call Directions Scored from the full review record 214 4th St E, Suite110, Saint Paul, MN 55101 · (952) 698-1881
8 St Paul Tap Yelp

St Paul Tap

American · St. Paul · $$

The patio draws the Saturday afternoon crowd, and the burger and wings menu keeps things simple, but St Paul Tap also holds a wild rice soup on the colder-weather list for guests who want something warmer than fries. Service has been uneven lately, faster on quiet weekdays than during a packed patio afternoon, so timing a visit matters.

What to orderBurgerWingsFries Call Directions Scored from the full review record 825 W Jefferson Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55102 · (651) 227-6315
9 Shamrocks Yelp

Shamrocks

Burgers · St. Paul · $$

An Irish stew regular by nature, Shamrocks extends that same comfort instinct to its wild rice soup, a fitting pour for a bar built on St. Patrick's Day energy year round. The patio holds up well after dark with good lighting and cover from bugs, and the room gets loud with groups, so a soup order is often better suited to the quieter early hours.

What to orderBurgerFriesIrish stew Call Directions Scored from the full review record 995 7th St W, Saint Paul, MN 55102 · (651) 228-9925
10 Patrick McGovern's Pub Yelp

Patrick McGovern's Pub

Pubs · St. Paul · $$

Buffalo wings and a turkey Reuben anchor the pub menu, but the wild rice soup gives Patrick McGovern's a reason to stop beyond the pull tabs and the patio. Sunday nights run easy to walk into without a wait, and the kitchen keeps a straightforward, unfussy hand that matches the neighborhood-pub setting rather than reaching for anything flashier.

What to orderBuffalo wingsHot turkeyTurkey Reuben Call Directions Scored from the full review record 225 7th St W, Saint Paul, MN 55102 · (651) 224-5821
11 Dark Horse Bar & Eatery Yelp

Dark Horse Bar & Eatery

American · St. Paul · $$

Reopened with an expanded menu, Dark Horse now carries a wild rice soup alongside its burger and sandwich list, a smart addition for the Lowertown crowd heading to a St. Paul Saints game or a brewery crawl nearby. The patio gets busy on event nights, and the kitchen holds up under that volume without losing the basics.

What to orderBurgerSandwichSalad Call Directions Scored from the full review record 250 E 7th St, St Paul, MN 55101 · (651) 478-7139
12 Joseph's Grill Yelp

Joseph's Grill

American · St. Paul · $$

A hockey-tournament shuttle stop and a happy hour regular, Joseph's Grill keeps its wild rice soup on the list for guests settling in before a Wild game or catching up over lunch on a slow Monday. The Burger and Fish and Chips get more attention, but the soup rounds out a menu built around dependable, unhurried service.

What to orderBurgerSteakFish and Chips Call Directions Scored from the full review record 140 Wabasha St S, Saint Paul, MN 55107 · (651) 222-2435
What to know before choosing a restaurant

The top picks: Tongue in Cheek, Stone Arch, and Mañana Salvadoran Restaurant, with all 12 rooms ranked below.

Wild rice soup runs through St. Paul's American rooms all winter, and the list below is less about one bowl than about the kitchens that treat it as a house staple rather than an afterthought. These are St. Paul rooms, from Lowertown supper spots to airport counters, each with its own reason a bowl of creamy chicken and wild rice belongs on the table.

Frequently asked

What is the best wild rice soup near me in St. Paul?
It depends which part of St. Paul is near you. Bennett's Chop & Railhouse and Forepaugh's lean toward the classic, richer supper-club style, while Stone Arch and Joseph's Grill keep it as a reliable, everyday bowl. Each entry above is ranked by its Insider Score, a measure built from the review record, not by any payment or promotion; no restaurant pays to be listed.
Is wild rice soup a St. Paul specialty or a Minneapolis one?
Wild rice soup, especially the creamy chicken and wild rice version, is a Twin Cities staple found on menus across both St. Paul and Minneapolis. This guide focuses on St. Paul rooms specifically since Minneapolis and St. Paul are separate cities with separate dining identities, and mixing the two would blur which kitchen is actually being recommended.
Which St. Paul restaurants on this list are good for a special occasion?
Forepaugh's Restaurant, set in a historic mansion, and 1881 Eating House, inside a renovated Lowertown building, both suit a celebration dinner better than the casual pubs and sports bars on this list. Their Insider Scores reflect consistency across the full review record, not a promotional placement; no restaurant on this guide paid for its spot.
Do any of these restaurants serve wild rice soup with a Native focus, like manoomin?
None of the restaurants on this list are Indigenous-owned kitchens built around manoomin, the Ojibwe word for wild rice, or the broader Indigenous food movement. They serve the metro-wide chicken and wild rice soup common on American menus across St. Paul. Readers looking for the Indigenous food tradition specifically should look to that separate, distinct lane of Twin Cities dining.
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The data first, then the verdict

We start with the review record, not a press release. Every room here is a real kitchen with a strong rating across a meaningful number of reviews, ranked on our 10-point Insider Score. We weight consistency over time and the rooms locals return to, not the ones tourists pass through once. The list updates as the data does. How we work →

About the writer
Kou Thao
Staff Writer · Top of Minneapolis

Kou Thao is the St. Paul & Corridors Editor at Top of Minneapolis. Born in St. Paul and raised in Frogtown, he grew up working the family egg-roll stand at Hmongtown Marketplace. He covers the marketplaces, University Avenue, the East Side and West Side, and every corridor counter worth the trip across the river.

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