Vegetarian restaurants in Toronto are herbivore-friendly places to get your food fix. Whether you're looking for a killer grain bowl, a nutritious smoothie or a plant-based, meat-shaped meal, Toronto's love of veggie food means you're covered anywhere you go.
Here are my picks for the top vegetarian restaurants by neighbourhood.
Annex
One Love Vegetarian is the answer to your callaloo cravings if you're ever hungry by Bathurst station. This Caribbean menu is all organic, featuring a corn soup that's pretty famous across the city.
Baldwin Village
For Asian-inspired eats, Vegetarian Haven offers gluten and wheat-free options. Favourites like tofu drumsticks and Pad Thai are perfect if you have a hankering for Asian, minus the soy sauce.
Beaches
You'd never expect a pub to be vegetarian, but lo and behold Castro’s Lounge is one such pub. These guys have been serving veggie-friendly quesadillas and burritos to go with your brewski for almost 25 years.
Bloorcourt
For something quick in the morning, Spark Fresh Bar has a selection of healthy smoothies to get your day started. For lunch, you can try their boxes stuffed with rice and a slew of healthy fixings on top.
Bloor West
What Awai lacks in meat, it makes up for with beautiful presentation. Unlike many restaurants on this list, Awai has a higher-end feel: they offer cocktails on top of hearty dishes in a candle-lit setting.
Live Organic in Liberty Village adds a tasty cashew "cheddar" to some of their bowls. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Canary District
Tori’s Bakeshop does organic and vegan baked goods like "butter" croissants, vanilla donuts and delicious pop tarts filled with seasonal fruit so good you'd never believe they don't use dairy.
Corktown
Impact Kitchen is a little stern-looking, so you know they mean business. Everything here is gluten-free, from their cookies to their salads. While not everything here is vegetarian, it's certainly healthy and always has the option of arriving meat-free.
Danforth
The number one healthy spot on the Danforth: Big Carrot isn't just a grocery store. It also has a juice bar and a counter for made-to-order food like vegetarian tacos and sandwiches.
Dundas West
The man behind Veghed was raised "neo-Amish" (just to give you a sense of how natural his upbringing was). The result is a menu that's completely chemical-free, with soups and quinoa boxes good for your hunger pangs as well as your health.
Entertainment District
There's plenty of vegetarian Thai options at Khao San Road despite it not being a strictly veggie spot. They even have a full separate vegan menu with options like curry, minus the fish sauce.
East Chinatown
To anyone who's ever claimed vegetarian restaurants don't have enough options, direct them to Simon’s Wok. This Chinese spot has 111 items on their menu, from fried noodles with bean curds to eggplants and tofu.
Etobicoke
Thrive Organic is a super homey restaurant that draws all the local vegetarians to Lakeshore Boulevard West. Aside from their menu of breakfast wraps and sprouted grains pizza, they also have raw and vegan desserts like tiger nut tiramisu and cashew Matcha cake.
Wutai in Markham specializes in Buddhist cuisine, meaning no meat or garlic. Photo by Hector Vasquez.
Financial District
Most vegetarians crave a fat juicy burger now and then, right? Planta Burger has you covered, with burgers that fulfil all your greasy, cheesy needs, without the actual cheese. Expect patties made completely from veggies, mushroom "bacon" and potato-based queso.
Junction
With photos of eggs benny and sausages popping up on your IG feed every Sunday morning, it's easy to feel left out. Grasshopper has your back, doing all-day breakfast and brunch that's completely vegan, with options like pancakes and faux chicken with waffles.
Kensington Market
The 42-ingredient salad at Hibiscus Café sounds intense, but it's actually delicious. Surprisingly, it doesn't taste like you're eating an entire garden in a bowl. Also, don't forget to try the vegan ice cream for dessert.
Koreatown
Pizza might be the ultimate unhealthy food, but not so at Apiecalypse Now where the thin-crust pies are completely vegan. As if that weren't temping enough, they also make replicas of the pink Simpson's donuts which are completely dairy and gluten free.
Liberty Village
It's all about the quintessential boxes, bowls and wraps at Live Organic, but the food here is far from boring. Their mixes feature tasty cashew "cheddar" and "sour cream" sauces and their daily gluten-free waffles come with delicious coconut whipped cream.
Little India
Indian cuisine features some of the most amazing vegetarian dishes around, so naturally Udupi Palace is one of the most delectable options on this list. Their unreal dosas are totally worth eating in a basement for.
Creatively plated plant-based dishes are the draw at Planta in Yorkville. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Littly Italy
Hogtown Vegan is where you go to trick yourself into thinking you're consuming meat and dairy when you're not. Items like the "pork" sandwich, made of veggie protein, are equal parts comforting and healthy.
Markham
As you should know by now, Chinese food isn't always barbecued pork or General Tao chicken. At Wutai Vegetarian on Woodbine you'll find what's known as Buddhist cuisine, with large plates of finely crafted meals sans meat, or garlic for that matter.
Ossington
Fresh-pressed hemp milk (correlation to the name, maybe?) is the base for many of the giant smoothies offered at the The Grow Op, where sandwiches can also be made vegan.
Parkdale
Doomie’s is a Los Angeles transplant trying to make veganism cool (isn't it already?) with clean eats that don't really look all that clean. Their Big Mac — a lawsuit in the making — tastes just as good as the official McD's burger, served with a side of fries.
Queen West
Kupfert & Kim is one of those names that's basically become synonymous with vegetarian food in the city. They've got tons of locations in the downtown core already, but Spadina is one of the more popular spots to grab their Oaxaca bowl.
Rosedale
Most famous for their milk blend of almond, coconut and cashews, Nutbar also does healthy coffee, energy balls, smoothies and pretty toasts with avocado spreads or cashew butter with watermelon.
Kupfert & Kim has five locations around the city, all around the downtown core. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Scarborough
Super affordable, The Veggie Thali is a real Vic Park gem, with hot table items like channa masala for under $7 and veggie biryani, roti and veggie samosas made to order.
St. Lawrence Market
Cruda Cafe doesn't go overkill on the cooking. Ninety-nine percent of their dishes are raw ("cruda" in Spanish) or otherwise cooked at low temperatures to maintain the full spectrum of health benefits. Everything here is gluten-free, unrefined and local.
West Queen West
From the makers of Kupfert and Kim comes the date-friendlier Hello 123, serving cocktails to go along with your avocado burger and pulled pineapple sliders.
Yonge and Dundas
After hours of shopping, the Urban Herbivore at the Eaton Centre is your best vegetarian source of sustenance. Just like its Kensington Market location, they sell a variety of veggie wraps and sandwiches.
Yonge and Eglinton
One of the first brands to bring healthy eating to mainstream Toronto, Fresh still has one of the most enjoyable vegetarian menus around. Head there now if you've never tried their quinoa onion rings.
Yorkville
Reservations are highly recommended at Planta, which is a good sign since plant-based restaurants don't usually need them. With a menu by David Lee — formerly of Nota Bene — these eclectic treats are worth calling in for.
by Tanya Mok via blogTO
No comments:
Post a Comment