Looking for Mtl's best vegetarian resto???

[cupcake22]

I am treating two good friends to lunch this Sunday and I am looking for a good vegetarian restaurant in Montreal...any suggestions? I've heard of Fuschia and Crudessence...are they any good???

[berbatov]

There's a vegetarian only resto-cafe called Lola Rosa on Milton, just east of the McGill gates. I've lived across the street my entire life yet I haven't been yet. I hear that it is good, and it is very popular. Since it caters to students, I'm assuming it's not very expensive and the atmostpher is definetely very casual. I think they also opened up another one in Westmount village.

[BernalKC]

This is a subject I've been researching as well.... You might check out this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/643643

Are there any neighborhood preferences? Are we talking vegan, lacto-ovo, pescatarian... are they any specific restrictions to consider?

Cafe Santropol is worth mentioning. Lots of vegetarian options. I have my eye on Lola Rosa too. And I hear the felafel at Boustan is excellent.

[lagatta]

There are also some non-vegetarian restaurants that cater to vegetarians. The vegetarian plate at Petit Alep is particularly good, just as an example.

[lorie]

Crudessence is not a restaurant, just a shop you can pop into during the day to buy some raw food concoctions. Very inventive, tasty, and healthy. But also very expensive.

Fuschia Epicerie Fleur is great, but check their website. They only serve one meal a day (announced on the website). I suspect they also close for a couple of weeks in August.

In that area, there is Aux Vivres, which is very good and has a diverse menu. No alcohol served.

In the downtown area is where my favourite vegetarian restaurant can be found: Burritoville on Bishop (east side, north of de Maisonneuve). No alcohol either.

[mainsqueeze]

They do serve beer at Burritoville.

[blond_america]

Burritoville serves a few Mcauslan beers by the bottle.

[Daiya]

NOTE: Fuchsia's website says that they are closed for holidays until September 2nd.
Crudessence does have a dining area now, but it is a bit tight.
On St-Denis, Chu Chai is a vegan Thai option. Chuch, next door, is their express section.

[carswell]

ChuChai doesn't do lunch on Sundays. Chuch probably doesn't either. Hard to know since the website doesn't list the opening hours for either establishment (how stupid is that?).

Same story for many other candidates, including Le Petit Alep and Au Cinquième Péché.

Under the circumstances, Aux Vivres may be the OP's best bet.

[Maximilien]

note to the OP, "Aux Vivres" is a vegan restaurant.

[dmarg]

I think Crudessence (www.crudessence.com) is your best choice. It's definitely the most inventive vegetarian in Montreal and right next to Mont Royal so you can talk your friends on a nice walk through the park, then go watch the Tam-Tams, and finally have lunch at Crudessence at one of their outdoor tables on Rachel. They have recently renovated so the resto-boutique (as the operators are calling it) is looking more fancy than before.

Two other places that I will mention are Yuan (www.yuanvegetarian.com/index2.html) for tasty vegetarian Chinese (including some fake-meat dishes) and a wide tea selection, or Spirite Lounge for good vegan food and crazy decor.

[cherylmtl]

Fuchsia is a cute little place, food is quite decent. I haven't been to Crudessence, so I can't comment on it - perhaps someone else here can.

[finefoodie55]

Montreal is not the best Vegetarian city by any means. Bonny's off Notre Dame in Griffintown is good, the Southwestern Chili and the Lasagna are good but on the other hand Pushaps on Mountain Sights has the city's best Thali served traditionally with metal plates and cups .Neither is fancy and Bonny's might not be open on Sunday it's best to call first.