The secret to the astounding depth of Ripe Cooperative’s French onion soup is the inclusion of demi-glace in the base, paired with painstakingly caramelized onions. The gruyere-laden crouton crowning the bowl is made with house-made sourdough. The result is a meticulous version of the dish — ideal for a rainy, cold day. Ripe Cooperative is open for indoor and outdoor dining.

Local French bakery chainlet, Petite Provence, is more than just flaky croissants and crusty baguettes — it’s also a convincing boulangerie, complete with wicker chairs and rustic country charm. The restaurant serves a full-day menu of soups, sandwiches, and heartier fare like beef bourguignon at select spots. All locations serve the French onion soup, though, prepared classically with beef consomme and sweet, browned onions, topped with a toasted round of Provence bread and parmesan and Swiss cheeses. There are even to-go kits for sale, which include recipes that incorporate the soup in other preparations.

This Alberta district restaurant might be the only place in Portland to get a full-on Swiss meal. Along with traditional entrees like emince Zurichoise, many of the starters are a veritable cheese-fest: fondue, spätzli, and rösti all come smothered with Emmentaler. The Alpine restaurant also borrows from its western neighbor and proudly serves a so-called Swiss onion soup, which recently returned to its rightful place on the menu. As a pandemic adaptation, the rich soup is also available to go and includes cheese for melting on top at home.

Rose City Park’s retro steakhouse serves up all the iconic mid-century fare, including French onion soup, which along with fondue became popular during the ‘60s in the US. Clyde’s version is based on veal stock, enlivened with a hit of brandy and topped with traditional accoutrements: toasty croutons and a thick layer of melted gruyere.

The dazzling selection of layer cakes on display might be Papa Haydn’s calling card, though this Portland mainstay with locations on both sides of the river also has a robust savory menu with a standout French onion soup. Papa Haydn’s version is quintessential, with a foundation of house-made beef stock teeming with caramelized onions, layered with a crostini smothered in melty gruyere and parmesan cheeses.

Despite ostensibly being a seafood restaurant, Jake’s is similar to Ringside and Clyde’s in that it has an old-school vibe that screams French onion soup. Rule of thumb: If shrimp cocktail is on the menu, it’s also a good bet there will be a cheese-topped soup. It might be hard to resist the chowder served in a bread bowl, but diners will be rewarded with a rich version served in a white crock crowned with golden parmesan.

Belmont’s Suzette is a go-to for its breakfast menu and crepes, both sweet dessert versions and savory ones made with buckwheat, but the cafe also serves a rendition of French onion soup that’s vegetarian, born out of a recent overhaul that removed pork and beef from the menu. The onion and mushroom soup gratinée’s foundation is vegetable stock fortified with caramelized mushrooms, finished with a toasted round of bread and bubbly gruyere.

Cafe du Berry has been serving fans of French-inspired fare with Pacific Northwest touches at its unassuming South Portland location since 1984. Despite using local ingredients, there’s nothing particularly nouvelle about Cafe du Berry’s menu, which means Portlanders will classics like escargot drenched in butter, and of course, the deeply savory French onion soup, which arrives in an earthenware crock, with picture-perfect rivulets of melted cheese dripping down the sides.