vegetarian in downtown montreal

[helenhelen]

visiting for a few days and staying near st. catherine and berri. what are some good places to get decent vegetarian food, both nearby and accessible by foot or metro? they can be veg places, or non-veg places that have veg options. all types of cuisine welcome!

also, where can i find some good vegetarian poutine?

thanks!

[helenhelen]

thanks for all the replies, everyone! unfortunately, due to lack of time because i was running around at the mutek festival, i didn't get to check out too much food-wise. i had indian food 2x and both places were tasty, but i forget the names of the places (one was upstairs, on that little street where you can BYOB) and the other was on st. denis.

i did grab some veg poutine from la banquise but i have to admit i was disappointed. i didn't really like the fries or the sauce.. but the cheese curds were great!

[kpzoo]

Another option is the Thai & pan-Asian food at ChuChai and its sister resto, Chuch:

4088-4092 St-Denis
http://www.chuchai.com/

This is the type of place that has "mock meat" made from wheat gluten, I believe, and I've heard many good things about it, but don't think I've ever eaten there myself. This place is a small stroll up St-Denis from where you're staying.

Here are a couple of reviews:

http://www.montrealfood.com/restos/chuchai.html
http://www.trendmaker.com/food/chuchai/

[jellybelly25]

La Banquise has a vegetarian sauce on offer now. I haven't tried it.

[kpzoo]

Another place you might want to try is an Ethiopian restaurant. One that's within easy walking distance from you which I really like, is:

Le nil bleu
3706 St-Denis, between Cherrier and Des Pins
514-285-4628

They have a vegetarian combo platter that you can get for one or two people. Dishes include very flavourful lentil, spinach, mixed veggie, and split-pea preparations. Served with injera bread, it's really yummy if you're not afraid of bold flavours and some heat. Their juices are also declicious - I like something called the Ethiopian Sunrise (or something like that) which mixes peach, mango and pineapple, if I remember correctly. Enjoy!

[kpzoo]

I just ate at Aux Vivres again last night with another non-vegetarian friend and it was delicious. It's near Mont-Royal metro, so take the orange line north a couple of stops from Sherbrooke metro, or stroll up St-Laurent or St-Denis. This isn't quite considered downtown, but it's definitely worth a stroll.

My very favourite thing on the menu is the vegan BLT on chapati, which uses crispy smoked coconut to evoke the feeling and flavour of biting into a crisp BLT. Scrumptious. The "tonic" juice (apple/ginger/lemon) is my favourite drink but then again it's so good I've never even bothered to try anything else. They have daily specials, and a whole roster of salads, burgers, chilis, and other goodies. I hope you like it if you try it!

http://www.auxvivres.com/

4631 boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montréal, QC H2T 1R2
[phone]

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Aux Vivres
4631 Boul Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2T1R2, CA

[estilker]

You'd be hardpressed to find vegetarian poutine, because the sauce has usually some meatbased stock. Granted, most places just make it with powder and water. Not sure how strict you are, because most cheeses are not vegetarian either (rennet used to coagulate the milk in curds and whey often is animal based). Also some places in Montreal still use tallow (beef fat) instead of vegetable oil to fry (I know Frites Alors does). But if you're not all that strict, I'd say La Banquise (Plateau) is pretty much the place to be.