The Best Restaurants In Toronto For Vegan Eats, Picked By A Couple Of Top Chefs

One Love

Price: 💸

Address: 854 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON

Why You Need To Go: "This place absolutely blew my mind when I moved to Toronto and [it's] somewhere that keeps me craving more always and forever," chef Matthew Ravenscroft, the culinary director of Gia restaurant, told Narcity.

Ravenscroft works hard to encourage everyone to "eat their damn veggies," and he said One Love has incredible food that is simply a staple in the community.

"That corn soup is something I actually wish I could bathe in," Ravenscroft added.

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La Bartola

Price: 💸💸- 💸💸💸

Address: 588 College St., Toronto, ON

Why You Need To Go: According to Ravenscroft, the creativity and flavours found at La Bartola take plant-based cooking to new heights.

"Chef Ivan Castro shows his expertise and knowledge of Mexican cuisine through storytelling in the language of food," Ravenscroft said and added that he would highly recommend every single item. "I'm salivating as we speak."

There's everything from a jackfruit and mushroom al pastor taco to a roasted plantain dish over a red mole, and desserts like pineapple tamales with coconut dulce de leche.

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Buddha's Vegan Restaurant

Price: 💸- 💸💸

Address: 666 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON

Why You Need To Go: "This places rocks my world EVERY. SINGLE. TIME," Ravencroft shared with Narcity adding that it's everything that he wants when he orders out.

There's a wide variety of soup and noodle dishes as well as plant-based entrees that could pass off as their meat counterparts.

"Everyone who works there is the best and the flavours are out of this world," Ravencroft said. "Every time I go I order too much hoping to have leftovers and, to say the least, nothing gets left behind and I eat it all in one sitting and am never mad about it."

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Gia

Price: 💸💸

Address: 1214 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON

Why You Need To Go: Elia Herrera, the executive chef and co-owner of Colibri and Los Co Vegan (and former Top Chef Canada contestant) really enjoys the porcini agnolotti at Gia. The sumptuous pasta dish is filled with wild mushrooms and Tuscan kale and comes with truffle butter and black pepper.

"They make these super-delicious vegan sandwiches called Stephano's Sandwiches, which use 'chicken' (soy-based) imported from Barcelona, which is basically thin layers [of treated soy protein] compressed together," Herrera told Narcity. "And when you cook it and you eat it, it looks literally like you're eating chicken texture."

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Planta

Price: 💸💸- 💸💸💸

Address: Multiple locations

Why You Need To Go: On top of its "very good" food, Herrera said that Planta also has nice plating, presentation, techniques, and flavours.

"I remember a green curry there with loads of vegetables and some noodles, and it was amazing," Herrera said. At Planta Queen, there's a Hakka dish, which is a Thai green curry with broccoli, tofu, and coconut milk.

Planta Queen has a variety of vegan sushi and dumplings to choose from, while Planta in Yorkville will fit your pizza cravings and Planta Burger has so many burgers you could eat, including one that's dressed with truffle aioli.

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Fresh Restaurants

Price: 💸💸

Address: Multiple locations

Why You Need To Go: While Herrera recognizes that Fresh isn't completely vegan, she says they do have great vegan options.

"Their [vegan] hamburger is really good, and their buffalo cauliflower is almost like chicken wings and I love it," Herrera explained. "Plus, the price point is actually quite reasonable."

Their burgers range from $18-20, and their buffalo cauliflower comes out to $15.

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