Cafe Zupas

Cafe Zupas is a fast-casual restaurant that is new to Nevada, its first location is now open in Henderson near the shopping center at Richmar and Eastern. A second is coming soon to Summerlin. Cafe Zupas has had great success in Utah and Arizona. They offer homemade soups, freshly made salads, paninis, and gourmet sandwiches. I was fortunate to receive an invite to a VIP party that allowed Frank and I to sample various menu items. All guests were warmly welcomed and encouraged to sample the Try 2 Combo, which comes with a whole sandwich, half soup and half salad for $7.99. The Kid's Meal Combo is $3.99.

Salads are made in front of you as you order, soups are made fresh daily in Cafe Zupas' kitchen, and sandwiches are fixed when you place your order. It is quite the assembly line. I chose the Tomato Basil soup with Orzo Pasta, topped with asiago cheese for .59, their signature salad Nuts About Berries and Turkey Spinach Artichoke Panini. Frank had the Yucatan Chicken Tortilla soup, the BBQ Chicken salad, and the the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich. They got started on our orders right away, all components were added to our tray, we selected Brownies for dessert and our order came with Belgian Chocolate Covered Strawberries. By the time you pay your tab (ours was gratis on this visit), your order is complete and ready to be whisked away to a cozy table in the dining room.



We dug into the soups first, the Tortilla soup is fantastic and loaded with flavor. It was so tasty Frank devoured it before I could snap a photo. The Tomato Basil was good, but less of favorite. It's quite sweet and very heavy on basil flavor. I hear the Wild Mushroom Bisque is not to be missed so I'll try that one next time.





Next, we tried the salads, I had the better of two with Nuts About Berries. It was loaded with fresh berries and topped with cinnamon almonds and lightly dressed with poppyseed dressing. It' a bit sweet, but not cloying so it was enjoyable. The BBQ Chicken salad was loaded with tomatoes, black beans, corn, olives, red onion and dressed with buttermilk ranch. What it lacked was BBQ chicken. There are ten other salads to choose from one is sure to strike your fancy.





Unfortunately, the sandwiches were the weakest link. This is a shame because their Italian Ciabatta bread is really fresh and delicious. The BBQ Pulled Pork tasted more like honey mustard that BBQ. It wasn't a very hearty sandwich. Sadly, the turkey wasn't very good. It tasted like prepackaged deli meat. I prefer freshly sliced deli meats. I expected actual artichokes on the sandwich, but it was a spread. That was my mistake, the menu clearly states a three cheese artichoke spread. I overlooked it. Truly, the bread is so good, I'd try the gourmet sandwiches again. I'm interested in the Asian BBQ Pork and the Vegetarian.





Dessert ended the meal on a pleasant note. I love Belgian Chocolate Dipped Strawberries so those alone wooed me, but the brownies were quite good and oh, so decadent. Gooey caramel and candy topped one and the other was more of a bar with coconut, nuts, chocolate and other goodness.

The staff was incredibly friendly, they gave out dozens of prizes including water bottles and giftcards. Prizes will also be given out during their Grand Opening Celebration on May 18, 2013. It'll be a great time to go over and try 'em out. Prices are incredibly reasonable; there are few places where you can get a complete meal for less than ten bucks, but it can be had at Cafe Zupas.