15 Of The Best Montreal Restaurants For Vegetarians
No meat, no problem. 🥬
A beet salad from Omnivore Grill. Right: Someone eats a vegan taco from Bistro Tendresse.
Whether they come from restaurants that are internationally renowned or marvellously cheap, the best of the best plant-based meals in Montreal are good enough to give vegetarians yet another shot of smug satisfaction — and to make omnivores wonder if they ever needed to eat meat in the first place.
We’re long past the days when the sole vegetarian option on many menus was a tired pasta dish — even finding vegetarian poutine is hardly a challenge — so this list recognizes that some of Montreal’s best vegetarian restaurants aren’t exclusively or even primarily vegetarian.
Here’s where you need to go to eat the best vegetarian food in Montreal:
Queen Sheba
Where: 4525, ave du Parc
Why You Need To Go: A Mile End restaurant specializing in Ethiopian cuisine, Queen Sheba serves up huge vegetarian platters with dishes designed to be soaked up with their spongy injera bread. It’s not exclusively vegetarian here, but the selections from their vegetarian delights menu are made so rich and plentiful that you won’t even bother looking at the meat-based options.
Elena
Where: 5090, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Why You Need To Go: Known for having some of the best Neapolitan pizza in Montreal, every part of the menu at this Saint-Henri restaurant goes heavy on the vegetarian options. From salads and fried cauliflower to pasta and pizza, there’s an abundance of excellent choices when you want to eat well without meat.
Épicerie Pumpui
Where: 83, rue Saint-Zotique Est
Why You Need To Go: The Thai offerings at this counter-style eatery in Little Italy tend to change up on a semi-regular basis, but if you want vegetarian eats with a kick of spice and then some, this is where you want to go. Fried parsnip fritters, Thai-Muslim style vegan curry, pad kra pao with stir-fried tofu and Quebec mushrooms, and more; whatever you get, it’ll be good here.
Hello 123
Where: 5700, ave Monkland
Why You Need To Go: Vegetarian brunch isn’t that hard to find — think about how common poached eggs on avocado toast have become — but this vegan restaurant like to take things up a notch with all kinds of wholesome options both for daytime breakfast menus and night-time options like pulled ‘pork,' shawarma with shiitake mushrooms, mac and cheese with cauliflower, and more.
Maynard
Where: 30, rue Prince Arthur Ouest
Why You Need To Go: Every greasy spoon standard and cheap eat classic you could possibly want is here, and they’re all made without a single scrap of meat or dairy. We’re talking anything from pogos and mozzarella sticks to burgers and ranch wraps, plus some fried Oreos for good measure. Their convenient location in the Plateau doesn’t hurt, either.
Conceria
Where: 3580, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Why You Need To Go: There are countless Italian restaurant options in Montreal that offer a great meal out, but this Saint-Henri spot specializing in purely vegan menus just might do the best job of all. They can’t cover their dishes in meaty bolognese or slabs of cheese, but they make up for it more than adequately with black truffle aioli, cashew creams, tofu ricottas, plant-based parm, and other twists.
Tendresse
Where: 1259, rue Sainte-Catherine Est
]Why You Need To Go: The Village has become that much more of a destination for vegetarian nights out with restaurants like this one, which offers a completely vegan fine dining menu for lunch, brunch, and dinner from chef Davide Feniello. There’s nothing they won’t do — options here run from dumplings and tacos to sweet potato gnocchi and mushroom calamari.
Bloom Sushi
Where: (Multiple locations)
Why You Need To Go: Having trouble getting a table at the famous vegan sushi spot Sushi Momo? Skip the lines and head down to Bloom's Old Montreal space (they've got another one at the Quartier des spectacles), a beautiful spot that does all of Momo’s greatest hits, plus a couple of their own unique inventions. For the most filling experience, try out their omakase option with gyoza, miso soup, hosomaki, and futomaki.
Mimi & Jones
Where: 5149, ave du Parc
Why You Need To Go: finding a diner that doesn’t have any animal byproducts isn’t exactly easy, but this spot is proof they can exist and be excellent. Mimi & Jones dishes up vegan takes on the best of your average diner classics: burgers, Reubens, and even Philly cheesesteaks are in play here, as well as milkshakes, floats, and more. There’s a lot of gluten-free options, too.
Omnivore
Where: (Multiple locations)
Why You Need To Go: With loads of mezze to choose from, such as hummus and baba ghanouj, to a huge selection of protein-rich (and animal-free!) salads, plus an all-vegetarian menu of finger food and a selection of warm sandwiches, there’s a lot of options here for a hungry vegetarian looking for Middle Eastern eats in Montreal.
Le Vin Papillon
Where: 2519, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Why You Need To Go: This Little Burgundy restaurant from the same clan as Joe Beef and Liverpool House stands out thanks to the pronounced lean towards vegetables in its menu (not to mention the selection of high-end wines). The chefs focus on what’s seasonal and local: there will be some options on the menu with meat as well, but they can easily be avoided and your focus kept on the good stuff.
Om
Where: 4382, boul. Saint-Laurent
Why You Need To Go: A Tibetan restaurant in the Plateau, Om has multiple options on its menu that contain meat, but the vegetarian ones are worth a visit on their own: Anything from the samosas and momo dumplings and a whole side of the menu reserved for vegetarian dishes like butter ‘chicken’ with tofu and chana masala are cheap and satisfying.
Tacos Frida
Where: 4350, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Why You Need To Go: It’ll be a feast at this Mexican restaurant in Saint-Henri when you order the taco platters made with pastor-style mushrooms or cacti, or even just their guacamole with chips or the pozole without the pork. A supremely cheap place to eat, one or two dishes should be ample, but your savings will let you order more if you’re still hungry.
Falafel St-Jacques
Where: (Multiple locations)
Why You Need To Go: A restaurant where Middle Eastern flavours meet completely vegetarian and vegan diets, their sandwiches, homemade crispy potato wedge fries, and house salads, alongside a regularly rotating selection of desserts and savoury baked goods keep things filling and cheap. Their recipes for shish taouk and other traditionally meaty dishes rely on ingredients like mushroom and seitan, and folks swear by their meaty texture.
Dépanneur Le Pick-Up
Where: 7032, rue Waverly
Why You Need To Go: It’s all about the sandwiches when you want to eat a good vegetarian meal at this diner-style operation. Cozy in winter and cool in the summer, order anything — from the grilled halloumi sandwich to the pulled faux pork sandwich to the grilled yuba Seoul sandwich filled with a spicy hit of gochujang — and you’ll be set. If you’re starving, this place has sizable burgers to try out, too.
