Vegan and vegetarian eating in [Toronto]

Ha! I was there yesterday too for lunch: my best friend keeps kosher, so this is one of the few places that we can go to ( that isn’t specifically kosher). We both had the shakshuka this time…

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If you don’t mind venturing north, there are some acceptable kosher places to go to with your friend. Marron is pretty good French-ish food. Bistro Grande is OK for pastas and other casual stuff. Tov-Li and Dr. Laffa are good for casual eating.

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Udupi Palace is a favourite place of ours, whether or not we are going with vegetarian friends. The uthapams and dosas are great.

Buddha Vegan has been an old favourite for Chinese vegan food. They were best when they were a bit decrepit and had some more unfamiliar dishes (e.g., black moss, which was some type of seaweed), but are still a good bet for mock meats, soups, and noodle dishes.

If we want to take a vegetarian or vegan friend out for a special meal, George will do excellent tasting menus that are just as interesting.

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Personally I don’t seek vegan or vegetarian food. However, I do go out of my way to eat tasty food. Veggie D’Light is tasty. So what if it’s vegan… it’s damn tasty. I was debating whether to post about him because some days the line is long enough as it is.

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I’ve been eating vegan or vegetarian food a little more frequently lately.

I like the mushroom udon at Planta on Queen, which is also on the Planta Yorkville menu.

I have been happy with the tofu & mushroom banh mi at Rustle & Still.

I think the mushroom soup at County Style Hungarian is vegetarian (not sure)

I like the Brussels sprout/parm salad and gnocchi alla Gorgonzola in the refrigerated section at Eataly.

I’d like to try Gia.

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I’m guessing that Country Style might use a meat stock as a base for even their mushroom soup. However, the soups at United Bakers use no meat and are great.

Rose used to have a very nice vegetarian banh mi that I ordered preferentially. I need to find my new banh mi go-to.

Ryus does a very good vegetarian miso ramen. I was surprised at how good the broth was.

I forgot to mention the Ethiopian is a good option for vegetarian, though for vegan you have to seek out places that don’t use butter as a base.

Gia is on our list to eventually try.

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I’m not sure . Some Catholics avoid chicken broth during Lent, and it’s currently Lent, so Country Style may keep some vegetable soups vegetarian (at least during Lent) for the clients who are observing Lent, or on Fridays for the Catholics who abstain from meat and chicken on Fridays during Lent.

Hungarians tend to be Catholic or Jewish. I will ask next time I visit.

Ethiopian vegetarian at Toronto restaurants is way way way too salty for me.

I haven’t had Ethiopian food at a Toronto restaurant since Feb 2014. That was my last Vegetarian Ethiopian meal, that I shared with 2 Chowhounds. I returned Blundstone boots the next morning, because I thought they were too small, to realize 2 days later that my feet had swollen 2 sizes after the vegetarian dinner.

@Kare , what are your current favourites?

I haven’t found many Ethiopian places that are too salty for my taste. I’m not surprised that the dishes can have too much sodium though. That’s probably the case for many of my favourite dishes. (Makes me wonder how much sodium a dish has when I find it tastes too salty.)

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I think that she likes the change? But I have wanted to try Dr. Laffa for a while!

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Also,
Aish Tanoor

https://aishtanoor.order-online.ai/#/

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This place looks good!
Thindi Indian Café , 400 College St. I haven’t been yet.
https://www.thindi.ca/s/order?location=11eacd1bcb37c6eab8b30cc47a2ae638

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I haven’t tried it yet, but there is an vegan Ethiopian restaurant east of the Danforth called La Vegan that is supposed to be very good. Fat Choi is another amazing vegan restaurant. It’s on Ossington and it’s from the same people behind Soos. There is also Rosalinda for Mexican. Another recommendation is Tenon for Vegan Sushi and Asian food. Revelstoke Cafe is supposed to be amazing for brunch.

https://laveganethiopian.com

https://tenonvegetariancuisine.com

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Thanks Kare. We haven’t yet tried La Vegan, but have noticed it. We did go to Rosalinda once pre-pandemic and thought it was pretty good.

There’s also Green Earth on the Danforth. When it was on Broadview, we ate there a number of times and found the Asian-ish dishes pretty good. At the original location, there was a slightly weird cult-y vibe as they constantly played videos of their spiritual leader. Not sure if that happens at the Danforth location.

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Have you tried OddBurger?

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Yes. I love it!

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Halloumi and eggplant toast with tahini at Emmer. Quite good.


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Burning Fingers and Syrian mezza at Zezafoun

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Gia, Rosalinda, Tsuchi and some other spots are mentioned in this article. https://torontolife.com/food/inside-kitchen-diaries-juan-alvarez-rosalinda/

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