What is the best vegan restaurant in Montreal?

Aux Vivres on Boulevard Saint-Laurent for everyday eating, and Sushi Momo on Saint-Denis when you want a kitchen to show off a little. Both are fully plant based and both cook vegetables as food rather than as a substitute for something else.

Where can I get a healthy lunch in Montreal?

Mandy's for a salad big enough to count as a meal, or Copper Branch for a bowl or wrap when you have twenty minutes. Neither leaves you hunting for a second lunch at three o'clock.

Is there good vegetarian food in the Plateau?

Yes. Aux Vivres sits at the top of the Plateau on Saint-Laurent, Sushi Momo is a short walk away on Saint-Denis, and Lola Rosa near McGill is easy to reach from either. That small triangle covers most of what I would send you to eat.

Do I need to be vegan to use this Montreal guide?

Not at all. The guide is plant-forward, not plant-only. Some of these kitchens are entirely vegan, others simply put vegetables at the centre of the plate. Order the way you eat.

Do Montreal restaurants pay to appear here?

They do not, and an offer of money would end the conversation. Every listing on this page is here because the sourcing and the cooking earned it.

Montreal · Canada

Gillian McKeith's guide to healthy restaurants in Montreal.

Written by Gillian McKeith

Montreal is a city that loves butter, smoked meat and late nights, and yet it has quietly built one of the strongest plant kitchens in North America. I like it for that stubbornness. Nobody here cooks vegetables to be fashionable, they do it because the produce from Quebec farms is worth cooking.

Aux Vivres on Saint-Laurent has been feeding this city vegan bowls since 1997 and still gets the grains right. Sushi Momo does entirely plant based Japanese food on Saint-Denis with more imagination than most kitchens twice its size. LOV in Old Montreal is the pretty one, and the food behind the prettiness is sound. Lola Rosa near McGill is dependable vegetarian cooking, Mandy's builds the best salad in the city out of proper leaves and grains, and Copper Branch, which started here, will feed you plant based in ten minutes flat when the weather is against you.

My test in Quebec is the same as everywhere: purity, wholesomeness, organic where the chef can manage it, and an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, grains and seeds. No restaurant on this page has paid for its place, and none could.

6 restaurants in Montreal

Open in full directory

Vegan canteen

Aux Vivres

Montreal, Canada

Montreal's original vegan canteen on Saint-Laurent, bowls, dragon sauce and proper grains since 1997.

Plant-based fast casual

Copper Branch

Montreal, Canada

Montreal-born plant based fast food, power bowls and wraps that leave you fed rather than flattened.

Vegetarian bistro

Lola Rosa

Montreal, Canada

A long-running vegetarian kitchen near McGill doing nachos, curries and salads with real vegetables behind them.

Plant-based bistro

LOV

Montreal, Canada

Old Montreal's breezy plant-based dining room, bowls, burgers, cocktails, all vegan.

Salad bar

Mandy's

Montreal, Canada

The Montreal salad institution, big bowls of fresh leaves, grains and vegetables dressed to order.

Vegan Japanese

Sushi Momo

$$$

Montreal, Canada

Entirely plant based Japanese cooking on Saint-Denis, inventive maki built from vegetables rather than imitation.

Eating well in Montreal: your questions

What is the best vegan restaurant in Montreal?: Aux Vivres on Boulevard Saint-Laurent for everyday eating, and Sushi Momo on Saint-Denis when you want a kitchen to show off a little. Both are fully plant based and both cook vegetables as food rather than as a substitute for something else.
Where can I get a healthy lunch in Montreal?: Mandy's for a salad big enough to count as a meal, or Copper Branch for a bowl or wrap when you have twenty minutes. Neither leaves you hunting for a second lunch at three o'clock.
Is there good vegetarian food in the Plateau?: Yes. Aux Vivres sits at the top of the Plateau on Saint-Laurent, Sushi Momo is a short walk away on Saint-Denis, and Lola Rosa near McGill is easy to reach from either. That small triangle covers most of what I would send you to eat.
Do I need to be vegan to use this Montreal guide?: Not at all. The guide is plant-forward, not plant-only. Some of these kitchens are entirely vegan, others simply put vegetables at the centre of the plate. Order the way you eat.
Do Montreal restaurants pay to appear here?: They do not, and an offer of money would end the conversation. Every listing on this page is here because the sourcing and the cooking earned it.

Every Montreal restaurant in the Gillian McKeith Restaurant Guide

Every Montreal kitchen in the guide, with my notes on each.

Browse all Montreal listings

Gillian McKeith, author of the Gillian McKeith Restaurant Guide

About the author

Written by Gillian McKeith

I'm Gillian McKeith: television presenter, creator of the global hit show You Are What You Eat, writer, nutritionist, and the editor behind this guide. Every Montreal entry here is chosen and written by me. I judge kitchens on the things that actually matter: real ingredients, honest sourcing, vegetables cooked with care, and food you feel better for eating.

Nothing on this page is a paid placement. Restaurants cannot buy a recommendation, and any listing marked as sponsored is labelled as such. If a kitchen slips, it comes out of the guide.

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