23 best vegan restaurants in Montreal

This vegan Montreal mainstay has been serving up plant-based treats since the late 90s when its first location opened in Saint-Dominique. It’s been a local icon since relocating to the Plateau a few years later. Aux Vivres’ signature takes on healthy, fresh fare including bowls, sandwiches, salads, smoothies and juices makes it an ideal hangout for the health-conscious, both vegan and otherwise. 

Vegan, eco-friendly food doesn’t have to be all grain bowls and greens. This stylish eatery with multiple locations proves that vegan eats can be flavour-packed comfort food with their BBQ jackfruit burgers and creamy kale mac and cheese. Everything on the menu is plant-based, but there’s no shortage of gooey, cheesy goodness: LOV takes the fear out of toying with vegan cheese (a sometimes risky bet even for longtime vegans) with its nut-based alternatives. Vegan poutine, anyone?

Montreal isn’t especially known for its sushi, which makes this restaurant stand out all the more when it first opened. The rolls at Sushi Momo aren’t just good for vegan sushi; it’s one of the best sushi restaurants in Montreal, period, and has inspired a wave of like minded restaurant openings over the years. Order a set menu for the best sampling of the creative dishes they have to offer, including a beautiful display of pieces that incorporate a number of unique ingredients you won’t find on sushi menus elsewhere in Montreal. Their work with turning tomatoes into faux tuna alone—a closely protected recipe—is worth the trip.

At Italian restaurant and café Vegano, everything—including the pizza and the mouthwatering, mile-high cakes—are plant-based. You won’t find any rabbit food here; Vegano does classic North American-style comfort foods alongside solid Italian offerings, with generous portions to boot.

Vegan fare is often trying to beat its bad rap as a non-stop carousel of salads, acai bowls and smoothies. Where’s the beef, right? This new all-vegan pub venture that took up prime real estate at the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Pins Avenue proves the food need not always be so green. Hamburgers, hot dogs, Frito nachos; it’s all totally vegan. Even the liquor and beer on tap’s animal-free. If there’s one place to try to lure friends to the green side, it’s all this comfort food mecca. 

Trendy Village spot Bistro Tendresse does vegan cuisine in a setting that’s a bit more upscale than your classic plant-based salad counter. The chic interior and playful, internationally-influenced menu make Tendresse ideal for a night out in the Village, no matter what your dietary preferences are. Be sure to dig into the cocktail list if you’re dropping in for dinner. They've also got a killer brunch service as well.

Falafel, the go-to late night staple of vegans and vegetarians everywhere, is the star of the show at this casual eatery. In addition to the killer crispy goods—some say it’s the best in town after cheap eats like Nilufar—featured in wraps, bowls and served solo with tahini sauce, there’s also a lot of jackfruit and tempeh-turned-meaty on the menu. Eco-conscious vegans can enjoy an especially guilt-free meal thanks to Green Panther’s dedication to sustainability.

This adorable Plateau café is first and foremost about ambiance and coffee for Montrealers, but don’t skimp on the menu of simple, comforting plant-based food. That makes it a must-visit spot for vegans, the place to go for a bowl of soup and a sandwich or a mug of coffee alongside a vegan pastry. Genuinely delicious vegan croissants can be elusive, but this place does them especially well.

Sometimes even the most ardent vegans just aren’t in the mood for a salad or grain bowl, and on those days there’s Antidote. That’s where the highlights of the menu include vegan takes on meaty Montreal staples like smoked salmon and smoked meat. There’s also a vegan poutine, as well as other faux-meat and faux-cheese dishes such as ginger beef, grilled cheese and a BLT loaded up with seitan.

Kupfert & Kim’s colourful, veg-filled bowls and boxes—which are free of both animal byproducts and wheat—were already popular in Toronto before the chain opened its first Montreal location, and lucky for local veg-lovers has lived up to the hype. Fresh veggies, seeds and gluten-free grains are staples on the lunch and dinner menu, and the quick-service Old Montreal resto also offers simple breakfast menu, smoothies and baked goods.

This long-counter diner on Parc in Mile End serves up deep-fried goodness: tall-stacked burgers, fried croquettes, crispy fries, Philly cheese steak sandwiches and poutine. It’s a feel-good eatery (with gluten-free items, too) by the people behind the much healthier Jones Café. Don’t leave before ordering one of the milkshakes—to-go, if you’re too full from your meal. You’ll thank us later.

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The vegan-restaurant mainstay, the nourish bowl, is done to perfection at this good looking Hochelaga café, where the piles of healthy grains, veg and tofu or seitan feature wonderfully tasty dressings (the ginger citrus one is a favourite). “Hearty” is the word of the hour at this café, so expect hefty sandwiches on sourdough bread and lots of kale to accompany the natural wines and indulgent desserts.

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The veg-forward menu at this Toronto outpost is as inventive as the dishes are satisfying. Sink your teeth into fully loaded potato wedges topped with coconut bacon bits, the towering nacho plate, the burrito bowl or a deep dish of creamy pasta. And peruse the cocktail list: made with fresh-pressed juices, the zing factor is on another level.

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When life calls for a breakfast burrito, this Prince-Arthur spot is your destination. It’s a fry shack with a heart, with wings made out of oyster mushrooms, fried pickles served with ranch sauce, taco trios and fried tofu & waffles slathered in syrup for brunch. They bake their own burger buns (and sell them to-go, word to the wise).

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This mainstay of vegan food—before vegan food was even a thing in Montreal—is famous for its saucy Thai curries featuring substitute meats so realistic, you’ll think you’re eating the real thing. Their duck is particularly misleading, which is an awfully satisfying thing when you’re a vegan who misses meat. For those more into vegetable flavours, the mixed veg green curry is a delight over sticky rice.

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Founded by the people behind Sushi Momo and LOV, this small central Montreal chain produces sushi sans fish, with all the emphasis being put on veggies. While some vegan sushi attempts to emulates the traditional kind, this take on it makes no attempt to—it sing its own unique song, to the tunes of freshness, umami, and texture contrasts galore.

This stylish Griffintown spot brought a whole new offering when it opened: a vegan Italian wine bar. The focus is on the private import bottles here, mostly Italian, with the food as a close second. Think focaccia, mushroom arancini, fried polenta with salad, lots of lovely vegetable small plates, plus toothsome tortellini and other pasta dishes.

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Ok, falafel is always vegan, but this small chain of restaurants goes the extra mile by offering mushroom-based shawarma and faux-meat dishes as well. That said, you simply can’t skip the falafel: these pillowy little fritters will give Panthère Verte a run for its money as the best in town, especially served in the fluffy home-baked pita stuffed with mixed salads and lashings of tahini sauce.

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Slurp up a bowlful of comfort at this ramen spot, where you’ll also find tasty little dishes like gyoza, crispy potato croquettes, and a series of marinated vegetables, all tastier than each other. The ramen is topped with flavoursome sautéed tofu for that generous, nourishing bite.

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Sitting pretty on Wellington Street, Archway is dubbed a “bar santé, suggesting a healthful approach to wining and dining. The wine list is packed with interesting choices in the macerated/orange wine section, plus a celebratory selection of bubblies. The food, meanwhile, has the refined plating and subtle flavouring to match the setting. The signature dumplings are delish, and the Japanese twist on tacos is worth ordering too.

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In the centre of the Plateau near St. Lawrence Boulevard, Casa Kaizen—from the same group as Bvger—is a fusion of Mexican and Japanese flavours, served in small shareable dishes perfect with a thirst quenching beer. Expect to discover new flavours—purple potatoes, negra modelo-braised wild mushrooms, pink mole, fig and truffle chutney—and relish the sunshiny experience.

Another in the vegan sushi wave, this beautifully breezy Plateau spot does a better job at emulating the look and flavours of traditional sushi than some of its brethren. The maki are a guaranteed good order, but feel free to experiment too—there are cooked dishes with meat alternatives, like the pad thai, that are mighty comforting when the mood strikes.

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Lattice fries? Check. Oozy cheeseburger? Check. Comfort lives at Burger Fiancé, a small and impossibly hip Montreal burger chain that seeks to meet your cravings in a vegan way. The high-stacked pulled-pork sandwich, made with shiitake mushrooms, is some kinda good—perfect with a side of creamy mac’n’cheese. And maybe a cherry float?

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