A soup spoon is a flattish, round-bowled spoon designed for eating soup. Broader and shallower than a tablespoon, it lifts a comfortable mouthful of liquid without dribbling, and its shape suits the circular motion of stirring and sipping from the side of the spoon. Formal place settings include it as the outermost spoon, a signal that soup opens the meal. Cream soups and consommés both suit it, while bouillon spoons, smaller and rounder, serve clear soups in cups. It is a specialist tool for a single job, but soup without the right spoon is a clumsy affair, and the soup spoon’s quiet efficiency is why it has survived centuries of table fashions.