If you don’t know it already, for those that work near Wynyard, Croutons is set to be a Godsend in the cooler months. Down in the Met Centre (enter through the Jamison Street entrance) these guys are all about soup, with some ten steaming hotpots filled with changing soups on every day ready for take away, plus a range of regulars (har-mee and laksa mainly).
We love the nubbly lentil, the creamy chowder when it's on and the pea and ham is pure comfort food – a thick, green number heavy with the hearty flavour of dried peas (no pieces of ham though which feels like a let down). Help yourself to toppings like croutons (of course), soured cream, cheese and hot sauce. Bread is $1 additional but there are four Sonoma varieties to choose from so at least you're paying for quality. You’ll have to ask for it buttered, as otherwise you’ll just get dry bread. And in our opinion, butter makes everything better, especially soup.