Soup Curry in Sapporo: 7 Best Bowls by Tabelog
Soup curry in Sapporo, ranked by Tabelog: seven top-rated bowls from a ¥900 chicken curry to lamb and crab, with spice tips, queues and how to pay.
Soup curry in Sapporo is a thin, spiced broth with a whole chicken leg and big pieces of fried vegetables, served with a mound of rice on the side. Ramen gets most of the attention in the city, but soup curry is the bowl many locals line up for, and a good one costs ¥900–¥1,999. This guide covers seven of the best, all pulled from live Tabelog data (ratings and review counts are as of November 2026), with what to order, how to pay and when to arrive.
All seven are on Tabelog's Curry EAST "Hyakumeiten" (百名店, "100 famous restaurants") list for 2026. They run from a ¥900 neighborhood classic to a station-side bowl with crab claws. One thing to know before you go: most of the best soup curry in Sapporo is cash only.
What is soup curry in Sapporo?
It's a Sapporo invention. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, most aficionados agree the first soup curry was served in 1970 at a Sapporo café, and it was first called "medicine soup curry" for its slightly herbal taste. Hokkaido's official tourism site traces one root to a café called Ajanta and says the city now has more than 200 specialty shops.
The format is consistent. You pick a protein (chicken leg, pork, lamb, seafood or all vegetables), a soup base, a spice level and a rice portion. Vegetables are usually fried or roasted before they hit the bowl, so the soup stays clean while the toppings stay sweet.
How we chose
We started from Tabelog's ratings for soup curry in Sapporo and kept places with 350 or more reviews, so the scores mean something. Then we balanced price, location and payment options, because a 3.65 in a faraway suburb is no help if you only have two days. Prices below are Tabelog's budget bands unless we say a reviewer paid a specific amount.
Quick picks for soup curry in Sapporo
| Restaurant | Best for | Tabelog | Budget | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitaro | Deep-fried vegetables, top score | 3.81 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cash |
| MEDICINEMAN | Clear, consommé-like soup | 3.70 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cash |
| Suage+ | Central, English menu, lamb topping | 3.69 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cash, PayPay, Alipay |
| Hige Danshaku | Dashi-based soup, beard discount | 3.68 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cards (JCB, AMEX, Diners), PayPay |
| Hirihiri 2 Go | Sapporo Station, crab soup, all payments | 3.64 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cards, IC, QR |
| Coffee House | Cheapest bowl, since 1977 | 3.65 | under ¥1,000 | Cash |
| Picante | Crispy chicken, lamb, big queues | 3.65 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cash |
The 7 best soup curry shops in Sapporo
1. Kitaro Sumikawa Honten (木多郎 澄川本店), Sumikawa
Kitaro has the highest score of any soup curry in Sapporo on our list, with fewer reviews than the big names. It opened in 1985, and a Tabelog reviewer credits it as the first shop to pair soup curry with deep-fried vegetables. The soup is tomato-forward, with chicken and kombu in the background, and reviewers describe the heat as balanced by acidity rather than brute force.
Order the chicken and vegetable curry (¥1,500 in a recent review) and consider the extra soup (+¥200) and the omelet-style egg (+¥200). One reviewer ordered oyster curry in September, so check the board for seasonal specials. Reviewers say the staff warn that even level 0 is quite spicy.
Go early. It serves until ingredients run out, and one October reviewer found it sold out by 12:30 on a weekday. Another arrived five minutes before the evening opening and already found five people in line. It's a husband-and-wife counter with 21 seats, about 10 minutes' walk from the station according to reviewers.
Tabelog: 3.81 (355 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 lunch and dinner · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 21, counter and tables · Closed: Sunday, plus the second Saturday and some long-weekend holidays; dinner served Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri only · Getting there: 805 m from Sumikawa Station (Namboku Line)
2. MEDICINEMAN (メディスンマン), Nakajima Park area
Opened on November 3, 2001, this is the old guard. The soup is the point: one reviewer compared it to a consommé, light and clear but layered with spice, and said the dish changes completely once you add rice. The standard chicken curry is a whole bone-in thigh, roasted without batter, and a reviewer paid ¥1,490 for it.
One reviewer took the manager's recommendation of a seaweed topping, and another waited about 30 minutes at lunch. A seafood option can sell out late in the evening. Spice goes by "Hot" levels; one reviewer called Hot 2 about medium by supermarket standards.
Tabelog: 3.70 (1,168 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 23, 11 at the counter · Closed: Tuesday and Wednesday · Getting there: 7 min walk from Nakajima Park Station or Nishi 11-chome Station
3. Soup Curry Suage+ (スープカリー スアゲ プラス), Susukino
If you only have one meal, this is the most convenient soup curry in Sapporo. It's on the second floor, about two minutes' walk from Susukino Station, with 49 seats and an English menu. It has the most reviews of anywhere on our shortlist, and the queue shows it: one October reviewer counted around 40 people before a weekday opening, while another got a 30-minute estimate on a Sunday evening and was seated sooner after registering with a waiting button.
Order the simmered chicken leg and add lamb. A reviewer called the grilled lamb the highlight and found the soup rich but refreshing. Reviewers paid ¥1,000–¥1,999, or ¥2,000–¥2,999 with toppings.
Tabelog: 3.69 (2,399 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cash, PayPay, Alipay (no cards, no IC cards) · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 49 · Closed: no closed days listed; hours vary by weekday (11:30–20:30 or 21:00, weekends from 11:00) · Getting there: 2 min walk from Susukino Station, second floor
4. Hige Danshaku (ひげ男爵), near Bus Center-mae
The soup here is built on Japanese dashi, which reviewers say makes it smooth and easy for almost anyone. The chicken comes off the bone with no effort, and the bowl includes maroni, a starch noodle that a reviewer found unusual in soup curry. Rice defaults to 300 g, so choose a smaller portion if you're not starving.
Tabelog's remarks add two quirks: weekday lunch (11:00–15:00) comes with four types of drinks at ¥100 each, and anyone with a beard, real or fake, gets ¥100 off curry at weekday lunch. Reviewers say weekday lunch fills with office workers, with people waiting outside after 12:00, and a Sunday had 7 or 8 in line at 10:45. Arriving after 14:00 worked for one reviewer.
Tabelog: 3.68 (1,008 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cards (JCB, AMEX, Diners), PayPay; no VISA or Mastercard listed · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 29 · Closed: not fixed · Getting there: 5 min walk from Bus Center-mae Station (Tozai Line)
5. Soup Curry Hirihiri 2 Go (スープカリー ヒリヒリ2号), Sapporo Station
This is the easiest bowl for travelers arriving by train. It sits two minutes from the Sapporo Station west exit underpass, takes nearly every payment method, and lists vegetarian options on Tabelog. A reviewer says Hirihiri began in 2004 and 2 Go opened in 2005.
The house favorite is the Horo Horo chicken curry (¥1,380), simmered until it falls apart. The crab soup curry (¥2,300, with claws) is exclusive to this chain, per a reviewer, who advises keeping the spice low to taste the crab. Another reviewer says maximum spiciness costs nothing extra. The lunch menu runs 11:30–17:00, and soup can run out.
Tabelog: 3.64 (1,162 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cash, cards (VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners, UnionPay), Suica and other IC cards, PayPay and other QR · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 45 · Closed: open daily except Dec 31 and Jan 1 · Getting there: 2 min walk from Sapporo Station, west exit underpass
6. Coffee House (こうひいはうす), Ropeway Iriguchi
The cheapest serious bowl on this list. Reviewers cite chicken soup curry at ¥900 and Niseko potato croquettes at ¥200, and one calls it established in 1977. Tabelog's own budget band is under ¥1,000, though most reviewers who add toppings report spending ¥1,000–¥1,999.
The soup is gentle and broad rather than fiery. Reviewers like the sweet pumpkin and carrot and the chicken katsu, and several wish they'd ordered the large soup. Seating is tiny (18), so expect to wait at peak hours. It's a tram ride from central Sapporo, and the Ropeway Iriguchi stop is 2 minutes' walk away.
Tabelog: 3.65 (414 reviews) · Budget: under ¥1,000 (reviewers often pay ¥1,000–¥1,999 with toppings) · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 18 · Closed: Wednesday · Getting there: 2 min walk from Ropeway Iriguchi tram stop
7. Picante (ピカンティ), Kita 13-jo
Picante is the one with the line. One reviewer was quoted about 40 minutes for a table and an hour to be served on a Saturday lunch, though the wait for a seat turned out to be about 20 minutes. The reward is a choice of soups, including a chicken-broth one named "38 Billion Years of Wind", and crisp fried chicken ("PICA Chicken") that you can eat crunchy or dunk.
Reviewers paid ¥1,570 for the chicken leg and ¥1,750 for the garlic-roasted lamb, with lassi from about ¥400. It's near Hokkaido University, a handy detour from the north side of the station. Tabelog lists a designated smoking area, so ask if that matters to you.
Tabelog: 3.65 (1,110 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 42 · Closed: open daily, 11:30–20:00 · Getting there: 3 min walk from Kita 13-jo Station (Namboku Line)
How to order soup curry in Sapporo
Start with the protein, then the soup, then spice. Chicken leg is the safe default at every shop here. Pick spice level 1 or 2 on your first visit: reviewers at Kitaro and Hirihiri say even the mild settings run hotter than expected, and each shop's scale is different.
Rice is on the side, so you can spoon soup over it or dip rice into the bowl. Reviewers do both. If the shop offers a large soup (Hige Danshaku and Coffee House reviewers both mention it), take it when the bowl is loaded with vegetables, since they soak up broth.
Most places don't take reservations, so arrive 10 to 15 minutes before opening or after the lunch rush. For an evening in Susukino, our Sapporo beer guide has places to follow up. Visiting in winter, when the broth is most welcome? See the best cities for food in Japan in winter.
Paying for soup curry in Sapporo
Cash is the rule. Kitaro, MEDICINEMAN, Coffee House and Picante accept only cash on their Tabelog pages. Suage+ adds PayPay and Alipay but no cards. Hige Danshaku takes JCB, AMEX and Diners (no VISA or Mastercard listed), plus PayPay. Hirihiri 2 Go accepts cards, IC cards and QR payments, so it's the fallback if your wallet is thin. Bring ¥2,000 per person and you'll be fine.
Frequently asked questions
Is soup curry the same as Japanese curry rice?
No. Japanese curry rice is a thick, roux-based stew poured over rice. Soup curry is a thin spiced broth with large, separately cooked ingredients and rice served alongside.
Which soup curry in Sapporo has the best Tabelog score?
Kitaro Sumikawa Honten, at 3.81 from 355 reviews. Among the high-volume places, MEDICINEMAN (3.70 from 1,168 reviews) and Suage+ (3.69 from 2,399) lead.
Do soup curry restaurants in Sapporo take credit cards?
A few do. Of the seven here, only Hirihiri 2 Go and Hige Danshaku take cards, and Hige Danshaku lists JCB, AMEX and Diners only. The rest are cash, sometimes with PayPay.
Can I book a soup curry restaurant?
Not at these seven. Tabelog lists reservations as unavailable for every one, so go early. Suage+ and Picante are the busiest.
Find more soup curry in Sapporo
Browse Sapporo's top-rated restaurants, the Sapporo curry ranking and the curry guide. For card payment, opening hours and walking distance on one screen, use the TabeDog map. We also covered how TabeDog works for food in Sapporo.
