The Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Toronto
Vegetarian restaurants in Toronto have finally entered the mainstream. It wasn't too long ago that veggie eats were confined to niche dining experiences like Annapurna or Commensal. But ever since Juice for Life (now Fresh) blazed a trail more than ten years ago, the city has awakened to the reality you don't need to be a carnivore to have fun.
With Fresh's bustling locations on Spadina, West Queen West and The Annex, and its long history feeding the stomachs of vegan and meat eaters alike, it's no surprise that readers of blogTO have anointed it the Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Toronto. Its menu continues to feature popular rice and soba bowls with names like the Green Goddess (steamed bok choy, kale, swiss chard, broccoli, grilled tempeh and more), Ninja and Power House, a variety of vegetarian burgers, wraps and salads.
But beyond Fresh, there are a variety of vegetarian restaurants which have sprouted up in neighbourhoods across Toronto. Here are some of the best:
Fresh
With three locations in downtown Toronto and two cookbooks, Ruth Tal's Fresh (formerly Juice for Life) is the Queen of rice bowls, salads and sweet potato fries. More...
Cafe 668
No longer the hole in the wall vegetarian place at 668 Dundas, Cafe 668 has moved west and now sports a contemporary look worthy of the Spring Rolls crowd. More...
Urban Herbivore
In the heart of Kensington Market, the recently renovated Urban Herbivore makes killer sandwiches, custom-crafted salads and fresh juices. More...
Fressen
A sister restaurant to Urban Herbivore, Fressen offers a more sophisticated, sit-down vegetarian dining experience. More...
Pulp Kitchen
Pulp Kitchen is Leslieville's original vegan hangout. A great spot for brunch, lunches or fresh juice and protein shakes. More...
Live
Despite it's success, Live still stands as one of only two raw food destinations in Toronto. While portions might be on the small side it's tough to beat the flavour and innovation. More...
Jean's Vegetarian Kitchen
The Danforth's new spot for vegetarian Thai food, Jean's keeps things on the healthy side. Prices are reasonable too. More...
Le Cafe Vert
A vegan and gluten-free lover's paradise. This cozy restaurant in Leslieville makes the best gluten and dairy-free pancakes and waffles in Toronto. More...
Comments (35)
I really hate to say it, but Cafe 668 has gone downhill since they changed locations. Same menu, except everything is $3-$4 more expensive than it used to be, and the decor is annoying...now it looks like every other restaurant in the city.
I like Fresh but it's really noisy, which is kind of uncomfortable for a nice meal.
Fressen is too stuffy and expensive for the small portions they give you.
The avocado sandwiches at Urban Herbivore are great. I wish there were more middle-or-the-road vegetarian restaurants. Those mentioned are basicall all there is in the city. There should also be more vegetarian options on menus, and more stuff without cheese or dairy. It is like the default option for a vegetarian is pasta, usually smoldered in cheese and/or cream. There's cheese, cheese, cheese everywhere!
I've been on hunger strike until Bo De Duyen reopens. So far I've been fasting since October 1st. :\
Bo De Duyen has closed permanently and moved to Roncesvalles. I don't think it's open yet though.
Urban Herbivore! Yum yum. The soups? The muffins? The BROWNIES? The salads? Copious and DELISH.
Check out Toronto Vegetarian Association's Vegetarian Directory for a complete list of veggie places to eat, organized by neighbourhood.
And see Romantic restaurants in Toronto - fine dining guide for places that offer vegetarian fine dining with full table service or a fancy buffet. Some of the places mention on your list are only open during the day, such as Urban Herbivore, Pulp Kitchen and Sadie's. You're also missing one of my favourite daytime spots: Camros just south of Yonge and Bloor.
btw: I love Cafe 668's new decor.
I couldn't disagree more heartily with this list unfortunately. Cafe 668 shouldn't even be on this list. Terrible portions, way overpriced and fairly tasteless.
Although I enjoy Fresh, putting it as #1 on this list is a absurd. Top 5? Ya, maybe, but this restaurant is the equivalent of healthy fast food. Rice bowls, burritos, and burgers.... c'mon please.
Surprised Fressen is as low as it is as well. Although I find it pricey, and not great if you're going with a large number of people due to portion size, the food is still interesting, and very tasty.
Vegetarian Haven should be #1 on this entire list, and it's not even present? That restaurant is incredibly friendly, well-priced and the food is beyond.... definitely one of the best meals I've had in my entire time in Toronto.
I agree that Get Real, Veg Haven and Camros should all be on there. Fresh? Maybe top ten, it's not that great and Cafe Vert isn't even fully vegetarian.
If you're in Parkdale, and have some time, check out M&B Yummy Ethiopian. I really like it.
http://www.mbyummy.com/
i think Fresh is actually not very good the dishes look interesting on the menu but don't taste very good. my fave vegetarian would be vegetarian haven on Baldwin, the Sunny cafe inside Noahs at Bloor and Spadina or Bar Nazareth on Bloor street west just east of Dovercourt where you can get a huge 5 item meal enough for 2 for 8 dollars. or the vegetarian items on the buffet at Little India restaurant on Queen West al these restaurants serve food that is yummy
yes, i enjoyed Vegetarian Haven on Baldwin, the service is great and the atmosphere is good as well. I also enjoyed the restaurant on Midland, i think it was called Lotus or something, that place makes superb dishes!
also the one near pacific mall, i forgot what it was called, but its portions are great for sharing at reasonable prices.
The Chinese vegetarian restaurant near Pacific Mall (in Markham) is called Graceful, at the far corner of Market Village. I had my small wedding dinner over there and all of my guests were very preased with the creative menu and presentation of the dishes :) Much better than Lotus on Midland IMO because Lotus' menu is quite saturated in fat(many items are deep fried gluten, which I don't fancy too much). Graceful also serves vegetarian dimsum daily until 4pm I think.
Wheres the Vegetarian Haven?! I agree, the food at Fresh is not so great!
I once had the pasta and peanut sauce dish-after a couple of fork fulls of pasta, my dish became a peanut soup bowl instead! I think they're overly rated and the VegHaven totally underrated; I'm partially glad though because it's remained my Toronto secret for years now..
i, too, don't get the fresh craze. will never forget my experience with the green goddess with cold soba noodles. it was SO incredibly bad. tasteless, overpriced, somewhat reminiscent of cardboard. can't, for the life of me, understand what others see in this crap.
don't get me wrong. fresh has some decent grub (seed, grain based burger with peanut sauce was great..can't go wrong with sweet potato fries) but stay the hell away from the overrated green goddess.
I don't get it. The green goddess is AMAZING. Maybe the problem was the soba noodles. You should order it with rice instead.
Pretty sad that Fresh is on this list... I've been there once and probably won't go back. Service was poor and food mediocre at best. Yes it looks nice but I'd rather pay for food quality and service over looks (that's me).
Bo De Duyen provides great food and friendly service. If you're looking for something a little more north of downtown try www.healthyvegetarianrestaurant.com - so glad I found this place as I'm not downtown always... amazing food and super friendly family-type service.
I've only been to Fresh once, and I'll never return. I don't get the big hype over it either. I'd much rather go to Le Commensal. I think it's the best veggie restaurant out there.
Totally. I have just updated the post....When this was first published Rawlicious wasn't open yet.
Bo is apparently reopening in a scaled-down cafe form S of Queen on Spadina since their Roncesvalles attempt didn't pass muster in terms of zoning. This is what I hear on the Bo Facebook group, anyhow.
This is an awesome site!! Thanks for the great feedback and suggestions. I agree Bo De Duyen is AMAZING!! Def one of my favz..mmmmm Has anyone tried Veggie D'Light(www.veggie-dlight.com)?? I recently tried ordering from them (they deliver to your home:}), and they were out of this world, wow. I attempted to order years ago from a vegetarian catering place, and was very disappointed, but this time I struck gold!!
Le Commensal is terribly over-priced.
Fresh is a particularly great place if you are going out with non-vegetarians (unlike Fressen which is more "out there").
Lotus Pond is pretty good, great mock lemon chicken (and I usually abhore all mock meats).
Cafe 668, great prices (maybe the person above went to the old one?) and great atmosphere/decor.
Graceful Vegetarian...yuck.. go to Lotus Pond if you are already in that area looking for Chinese vegetarian.
Vegetarian Haven has amazing selection.
For non-veg places with great options, check out Hopper Hut (Sri Lankan) and Rendez-vous (on the Danforth) - both fantastic (and fantastically cheap beyond your wildest dreams).
I think Cafe 668 has a great, elegant, modern atmosphere. A wonderful place to take people who are not vegetarian. I didn't find my meals expensive at all!
Here's the thing with Fresh. Everytime I tell someone I'm vegetarian they say OMIGOD THERE'S THIS GREAT VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT'S CALLED! and I say "Fresh" and they say OH YOU'VE BEEN?
Like, I am so sick of that place just seeing it's stupid italic type sign irritates me. I am particularly sick of guys thinking they are going to impress the pants off me by taking me to goddamn Bloor and Spadina for some overpriced mango tofu and a smoothie with a relentlessly chipper menu description. THIS SMOOTHIE HAS EVERYTHING INGREDIENT NEEDED TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE, AND ALSO WHEAT GERM.
The reality is that for long-term vegetarians who have done the most rudimentary explorations of Toronto restaurants, getting "Fresh" as a recommendation is like being told to check out Starbucks for coffee.
The reality is that there aren't a ton of vegetarian restaurants out there, and there especially aren't a ton of vegetarian restaurants out there that we don't already know about.
Also I am sick of vegetarian food being synonymous with Thai food. I am sick of Thai food.
Re: "The reality is that for long-term vegetarians who have done the most rudimentary explorations of Toronto restaurants, getting "Fresh" as a recommendation is like being told to check out Starbucks for coffee."
I couldn't have said it better myself, Choppery.
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