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ChuChai 
 based on 15 member reviews
4088 rue St Denis, Montreal Quebec
514-843-4194
Type: Ovo, Lacto, Vegan-friendly, Thai, Beer/Wine
Info: Thai vegetarian restaurant offering many choices, most of which are vegan. The main restaurant is ChuChai fine dining, and the less expensive version of the same food is Chuch (lunch express style). Price: Moderate.
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| "Super Yummy!"
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My Rating |
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7 |
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Posted on: Saturday, September 26, 2009 |
Review: My husband and I went there and ordered off the menu. I got sweet and sour chicken with brown rice and he got spicy chicken with eggplant and brown rice with a coke. Our total with tip was $55. More than I'd like to pay but it was the best mock meat I've ever had! I could seriously eat there everyday!
Pros: excellent food * *
Cons: expensive * * |
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| "Great night out"
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My Rating |
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28 |
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Posted on: Saturday, September 12, 2009 |
Review: We had a great night out with friends at ChuChai while on holidays in Montreal in June.
The atmosphere is a bit upmarket so this is really a great place for a special occasion dinner and getting a bit dressed up.
It was a really warm evening so we enjoyed sitting outdoors on the terrace. We sipped cocktails and enjoyed the atmosphere on Rue Saint-Denis while we waited for our food.
We shared starters, salads, curries and stir - fries and also had some desserts. All the dishes were excellent.
So get dressed up and head for ChuChai on your next special night out in Montreal.
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "Fancy, Pricey"
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My Rating |
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37 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 |
Review: This is the place I often suggest when we are going for a fancy dinner, especially if I am not the one paying! They have some very good dishes and I love the salad rolls and the tapioca/coconut cream pudding.
For the rest, it is mostly faux-meat dishes. There are about 8 basic choices (like red curry, basil and peanut sauce, roasted cashew, etc.) and you select which type of faux meat you want (shrimp, beef, chicken... don't think too hard about the frozen faux-meats you have seen for sale at the place down duluth). The price is about $14 a dish and you will want to have a soup or an appetizer to go with it as they are a bit small. I find the dishes good but not spectacular. I honestly go for the fancy decor and ambiance - if I am taking someone out for dinner.
The Table d'Hôte is overpriced but fun. You get 5 fancy little appetisers and a few dishes to share and try. It is a great thing to do on a date.
Check out the tapioca pudding for dessert!
Pros: Ambience * Fancy *
Cons: Pricey * * |
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| "Really good!!!"
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My Rating |
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5 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 |
Review: My wife and I went here for dinner a few weeks back and really enjoyed it. There is a good variety of foods, even for vegans, and it tastes phenomenal! The only let down was that we ended up paying about $50 for the two of us and we didn't get THAT much food, just a side of rice (which isn't included with the meal) and two sodas.
I really like the food, but the price has made me a little reluctant to return. I haven't tried the lunch menu/ to go area, which I've heard is a bit more afforable.
Pros: Excellent food * Good service * Nice selection
Cons: Can be expensive * * * * |
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| "Good food, but slow service"
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My Rating |
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3 |
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Posted on: Saturday, February 21, 2009 |
Review: Good food. The cafe is nice and clean. Not sure you want to go on your lunch break. Service is very slow.
Pros: good food * good selection * clean
Cons: slow service * * |
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| "Nice little date spot."
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My Rating |
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4 |
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Posted on: Friday, January 02, 2009 |
Review: We ended up a Chuchai because Chuch was packed with a line at the door. Chuchai is a classier version of Chuch, dim lighting, dark wood interior, white table cloths, etc...they dont have a dress code - but I felt a bit under dressed in my jeans and sweater. Very nice restaurant though. Staff were incredibly kind & friendly - happy to speak to us both in English or French and service was very quick (though there was only us and another table at the time).
We ordered the dumplings with peanut sauce to start - which ended up being my favorite dish of the night. Pad Thai was nice, as was the Chicken Red Curry, we did have to order rice on the side for an extra $6 though. Overall the service was excellent and we were happy with our meals, the only damper were the prices - each dish (due to the addition of rice) came out to about $20-$25. Next time, I think I'll stick to Chuch next door & save Chuchai for a date spot.
Pros: great vegan food selection * great atmosphere & decor * friendly bilingual staff
Cons: prices are pretty high * * |
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| "mmmmm"
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My Rating |
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6 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 |
Review: the food was so good, so many different options. the service was a bit long, but nice.. well worth it.
Pros: yummy * tasty * variety
Cons: long * expensive * |
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| "Delicious!"
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My Rating |
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1 |
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Posted on: Monday, August 25, 2008 |
Review: Amazing food.The service wasn't great but can easily be ignored once you bite into the delicious food. I recommend the red curry with "shrimp", the seaweed appetizer, and the fried tofu appetizer with cucumber and coriander. A little pricey but certainly worth it!
Pros: food * indoor atmosphere *
Cons: service * small patio * |
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| "Minimal meets Conventional!"
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My Rating |
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21 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 |
Review: This is the first vegetarian Thai restaurant I have come across any where outside Thailand, and even there they are a rarity. While it is a great idea for those of us who like Thai cuisine but cannot stand the fish sauce and shrimp paste in almost all items in the so called 'vegetarian' section of the conventional Thai restaurants, let me voice my peeve about these vegetarian South East Asian restaurants in North America that use meat as a reference point. Chuchai had its menu full of beef, duck, chicken, shrimp and what not. Of course, in the introduction it says that these are all 'mock' meats made from seitan etc. But what they forget is that these restaurants are frequented and sought out by non-carnivores. I do not need meat as a reference point for ordering from the menu. Even the mention of these meats makes me feel I am eating the flesh of dead animals.
Having said that, Chuchai is definitely a fine dining experience with white linen, black uniformed waiters, minimal decor and a good selection of wine. The food was well prepared, full of flavor and presented very attractively. However, I thought the pricing (specially for the entrees) is on the higher side. Service was excellent.
Pros: Food * Service * Location
Cons: Unimaginative menu * Prices * |
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| "Dull and overpriced"
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My Rating |
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25 |
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Posted on: Sunday, July 27, 2008 |
Review: So I went there armed with the HappyCow reviews to help in my menu choices, but I really wish I didn't.
I had the crispy breaded seaweed appetiser. Someone said they'd never tasted anything like it before. Nor me, really - but not in a good way. It was like sticky sesame fried pretzel slices - not exactly unpleasant, but not an experience I'd care to repeat. The hot and sour soup with vegetarian chicken and lemongrass was adequate despite a slight taste of dishwater, with three small slices of an acceptable fake chicken.
Followed by the vegetarian duck with hot chili and basil. Decently spicy, and decent-sized portions (rather than overly-huge American sized), but it was a really poor duck substitute - I've had far better fake meats than they use here. The sticky rice was crusty on the top, rather like if you'd left cooked rice to cool in the open air for several hours and then microwaved it - the worst rice I've ever had - it's astonishing how they could mess up rice.
Service was terrible, from a surly rake-thin Asian woman who has obviously chosen the wrong career having no interest in so much as saying hello to a customer, never mind smiling or attempting to build rapport.
I was really looking forward to this, given the reviews and the recommendation from one of the animal rights protestors. But it wasn't worth the trip, nor the $50 check.
Pros: ambience * *
Cons: disappointing food * terrible service * overpriced |
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| "Innovative Thai oh my!"
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My Rating |
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15 |
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Posted on: Monday, June 02, 2008 |
Review: Wow. I eat thai fairly often and ChuChai had some really interesting dishes. There were tons of mock meat dishes (not my thing), and it is maybe 95% vegan. We had a breaded seaweed that I had never seen or tasted anylike like it before, sauted eggplant with spicy sauce and INCREDIBLE peanut sauce covered tofu (among the best tofu I have ever had). Yum yum! Nice terrace and atmosphere too.
Pros: Delicious * Variety * Atmosphere
Cons: * * |
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| "Western Kind of Thai Food, Very small portion"
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My Rating |
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34 |
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Posted on: Saturday, May 31, 2008 |
Review: i went there with my boyfriend and his mom. His mom loves the food, eventhough it is about pricy. 2 starters, 2 curries, a fried rice and 3 desserts at more than 100 bucks.
As an Asian, i am very very dissapointed as the food is not authentically Thai. The typical modified version of western kind of Asian food.
The curries tasted SWEET (!) instead of spicy or hot. Every food is kind of sweet.
The waiters/waitresses are friendly but not attentive. Too eager to get the table clean eventhough we havent finished the food yet.
With the restaurant less than half filled and more than 5 waiters, they even did not notice that a guest spilled her drinks and got wet.
If you like western kind of Thai food (the authentic Thai food might be too hot to many), then this restaurant is kind of serve 'good food' then. It looks nice, clean and western too (decoration).
By the way, every dishes are 'design' for single serving. So the portion is very small and if you intend to share it, then order a few more dishes!
Pros: clean * *
Cons: Food * Service * price |
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| "Overpriced"
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My Rating |
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3 |
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Posted on: Friday, December 14, 2007 |
Review: My boyfriend and I went to ChuChai when I was new to the city. The hype about this place is waaaay overstated! The menu is great, lots of choice and all veggie. I ordered a "fish" dish which was good except for the heavy sugary sauce that accompanied it. Unfortunatly the prices are steep and dont come with rice or a side unless explicitly stated. The brown rice I ordered was cold and undercooked. Be prepared to pay upwards of $25 each for an average meal not including drink or tip. Montreal definately boasts better veggie fare than this place.
Pros: all veg * tasty fish-thing *
Cons: overpriced * cold food * |
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| "Slightly disappointed..."
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My Rating |
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4 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 |
Review: I was really looking forward to trying out Chu Chai on my visit to Montreal last week. Based on others' reviews I was expecting something akin to a religious experience, and unfortunately it was several notches below that.
I think the thing that turned me off the most was the atmosphere. They're going for that sleek, trendy look that's so popular with the NYC SoHo types. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing... but Chu Chai's decor just feels steely and cold. The server's lack of enthusiasm didn't help either.
Still, what matters most to me is the quality of the food. The fried dumplings were sadly disappointing; they were miniscule in size, over-fried and hard. You really couldn't even tell there was anything inside them. If they had been steamed they probably would have been much better. The spring rolls looked very good though, and did get two thumbs up from our dining companions.
For our main dish, my boyfriend and I split the fried rice noodles with duck, chilis and basil. This dish was incredibly tasty. However, for $14 we really expected a much larger serving. (Obviously at Chu Chai you're paying more for the decor than for the food.) Other dishes we sampled were the chicken and broccoli, which was simple and tasty; and the fish with ginger, which was very delicately spiced but still flavorful. (Note: The pepper rating system is spot-on. Zero peppers means zero heat, unlike at many Thai places. If you find that boring, order something with a pepper or two.) And what's the deal with making you pay separately for rice? You'd think they could toss it in for free with prices that high.
It was a blessing in disguise, though, that our main dish was so small... because the desserts were very good. The fried bananas with ice cream were out of this world. I would probably return there just for that alone. The coconut tapioca custard was good too.
The food at Chu Chai is, for the most part, very good. For this reason alone I'm giving it four cows. Whether or not it's worth the price is up to the individual, I suppose. I don't think I'd go often, personally, when there's other great Thai food available in Montreal for a much more reasonable price.
Pros: Tasty food * Varied selection *
Cons: Way too expensive * Cold, trendy decor * Lackluster service |
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| "Try it and you'll love it"
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My Rating |
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7 |
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Posted on: Friday, June 22, 2007 |
Review: Although the meals here are horridly expensive for the amount of food that you get, the food is to die for. For an appetizer, try the peanut butter dumplings (only as of recently have they been made vegan) and the breaded mushrooms. A friend of mine said they tasted like sesame beef, but I'd never tried sesame beef, so I couldn't compare. Their meals are very tasty overall, but they don't really offer that much (quantity) in terms of their \"star\" ingredients, ie. fake meat. For example, a meal of \"shrimp\" and veggies offers perhaps only 6 or 7 shrimp. Overall, however, this place is a must-try.
Pros: Delicious food * Friendly staff *
Cons: Expensive * Small portions * |
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