We went to this restaurant with 2 other couples, and found it cozy, reasonably priced and everything was delicious. We had tofu drumsticks as an appetizer, and soy milk with ginger and cinnamon. The main courses were amazing, and dessert was too. Going back soon!
I've been for dinner here twice and had the same wonderful experience both times. The food is amazing here an the staff is very attentive and friendly. Definitely going to be going back for more.
Pros: variety of good options, great staff, good price pointThis place has been here for a number of years. There is somewhat limited parking in the area, but we have always found something. There is a wide variety of vegan dishes, desserts and juices. It is a nice place to come for dinner. The restaurant is somewhat small so it is best to keep parties probably 4 max. Although there is a bigger table at the back that you could reserve. They are not licensed if that matters to you.
Pros: variety, taste, staffI'm not generally blown away by the specials but LOVE having fried "prawns" for an appetizer and then the "seafood" souperbowl. Yum.
Pros: Food, ServiceThe dishes here were interesting and well-presented. The Singapore noodles were good and didn't have egg, which usually stops me from ordering this dish. My husband had a dish with tempeh, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Prices were moderate so this might be a good option for a more special night out. Staff seemed to know the other patrons and chatted with them, although they weren't particularly friendly with us.
Pros: Creative, Tasty, Good-sized portionsVegetarian Haven has a large menu which makes it tricky to decide what to order. I ordered a couple side dishes so I could try more items, but value-wise would have been better of with a special or one of the entrees. The soup was excellent, though quite small for $6. Dumplings were good, but pretty oily. Wish I could have tried other dishes. I'll need to go back someday.
Pros: Large menu, Nice presenationsWe went to this restaurant for lunch today, 2 adults and 2 teenagers including one carnivore who's very hard to please. The staff were all very nice, especially the hostess who was extremely friendly and welcoming. The food was tasty, creative and abundant while healthy. My husband and I had the chef's special, a broccoli and smoked tofu loaf topped with a special glaze that tasted like heaven, while the boys had a " clay pot" baked tofu and vegetables for one and a curried pad thai for the other. For dessert I had the fudge chocolate cake, so moist and delectable, melting in my mouth, with a scoopful of almond bark vanilla ice cream, the best ice cream I had ever had. The others (blueberry cheesecake, apple fritters and "better" pecan ice cream) were also all raving about their desserts. Suffice it to say that the difficult kid was so enchanted that he asked us to come back for dinner the same day. It's definitely one of the best restaurants I've gone to, and will definitely be back.
Pros: Excellent food, Friendly staff, Pleasant decorWe ate here twice in the past week, and had a great meal both times. The lime slushy was so refreshing in the summer heat, and every entree we tried was a winner. My favorite was a special, the golden tofu and mixed bean loaf (kind of like a lentil meatloaf, battered and fried) with wide rice noodles and mango salad. The ambiance was peaceful, and the server was the friendliest and most helpful I have ever encountered.
Pros: Terrific food, Excellent service, Nice atmosphereTry the Tempura. Delicious.
Pros: tasty, lots of options, non-traditional vegan foodWent to the AGO with my daughter and one of her friends suggested we tried this restaurant. I am so happy we did. The food is out of this world! Delicious flavours in every dish and exceptional service. We had such a great experience at lunch time, that we decided to go back for dinner and take my husband with us this time. He LOVED it as well, so I'm happy we went back. Seems like we do that a lot when we like a place, but I don't see a problem.
Please GO and be amazed. It's one of the best vegan restaurants I've been to. The owner came check on us both times and was very nice. You really feel like the staff is happy working there. The waiter that served us at lunch was having dinner with a huge group when we returned for dinner, which for me is a good sign.
Their menu is full of delicious items. We are vegan, but will be sharing this experience with our non-vegan friends and family. It's simply excellent food!
Service at this restaurant is perfect. The waitress made it a point to make sure we knew what saitan was, which is in many of their dishes.They have a lot of diferent cain of salads.I love the desserts bring me to the heaven.
Updated from previous review on Thursday July 07, 2011
I was a butcher and I am a big meal lover but this place is great ! for a restaurant that doesnt have meat or garlic or salt in anything they sure have some amazing food and I didnt even start on the dessert. Well what can i say about the desserts that hasnt been said about jesus lmao they all are amazing. 100% try out.
ONLY down side...........no liquor. not even organic booze or anything but its still worth going.
I have nothing bad to say about this restaurant, except maybe they should get a liquor liscense :). But the food here was phenomenal. We had the chicken drumsticks and some prawn for an appetizer (I know they get these ordered in, but they are still great!). For dinner we both had a different type of seitan steak. The rice was ok, but mixed with the sauce from the steak it was good. The steak had amazing texture and flavour. We had cheesecake for dessert and it was to die for!!!(not sure if they make it in house or not). Our server was extremely friendly, sweet and giddy. I would reccommend this place without hesitation
My husband and I love this restaurant. I am a vegetarian. He is not but loves the food at Vegetarian Haven. We eat out a great deal and It is often his restaurant of choice. The food is always fresh and varied. Their version of Pad Thai is very tasty. The hint of mint is a wonderful touch. All the food tastes so fresh. I can't say enough about the staff. They are friendly and very helpful.
Pros: Great food, Great wait staff, Always freshmy husband and i came here in nov 2010. we tried the drumsticks that EVERYONE was raving out. they were ok. we also ordered the sizzling seitan and the birds nest. both were decent....interesting... the best part of our meal with the carrot cake and the strawberry rhubarb pie. YUM!!
also, everyone that worked there was so nice and friendly and helpful.
most things on the menu are "fake meat" so if that is your thing then maybe you will like it more than i did. if i ever come back to toronto i would definitely try this place out again!
Pros: nice staff, dessertI loved the customer service there. It was busy when me and my boyfriend went but we received amazing service. The waiter and waitress were both smiling and didn't mind waiting for us to pick what we wanted on the menu because we did take a fair amount of time. The serving sizes are bigger than our average vegan restaurant. You get what you paid for. The almond steamer with ginger is the perfect treat on a cold day : )
Pros: Service, Food n size, environmentThis is a terrific place to have some lunch or dinner in Toronto (downtown). The menu is terrific and varied and appeals to non veggie types too. Service could not be better and the daily specials are creative and yummy. It even has a small patio for warm weather dining.
Pros: varied menu, great staff, creative specialsA different daily special makes it tempting to go back often. I've enjoyed most everything I've had hear and the servers are wonderful. Some of the desserts are very expensive but the rest of the food is well priced. Nice atmosphere inside makes for a good dining experience as well. There's no one dish that's specifically memorable although I have enjoyed many of the daily specials and their seafood bowl. Make sure you grab a slice of the cheesecake before you leave. It's worth it.
Pros: Variety, Daily Specials, Great StaffWhen I came to this restaurant I ordered the special of the day - rice, some vegetables and a mock chicken drum stick. I was not impressed enough by the meal to want to return, but I have discovered for myself that I am rarely impressed by mock meats - I do not like to eat meat real or otherwise. The food was reasonably priced and the service was friendly and attentive.
Pros: Reasonable price, Good serviceI am not a fan of fake meat. They had a lot on their menu and i was a bit turned off. But they presented to us the daily special : it was some sweet potato square with noodles on a spicy sauce, and looked totally tasty : it was. We ordered fresh juices, and had a vegan 'cream' of mushroom soup, with walnuts on top, which was ok, not the best ever, but just the fact that they made a cream soup vegan is enough to impress me ( i tried and failed )...
The desserts made us feel like we were 8 again. We ordered 2 classics : i had the chocolate cake with vegan vanilla ice cream and my boyfriend had the banana split which was giant and came with 2 flavors of soy ice cream. What a treat! The 2 girls serving us were friendly, asking us where we're from, how we liked the city, taking pictures of us. We sat outside, and enjoyed every second of our experience.
I ordered a curry with noodles when I went here with my family. It was delicious and inexpensive. I sampled a bit of my family's meals and they all tasted really good. I will go back here the next time in Toronto. The waitresses were also really nice and inviting, and our food came fast despite other tables being filled.
Pros: yummy , good serivce, veganThis restaurant has nice atmosphere, and lovely servers. The food is delicious and well presented. They are very compassionate and attentive to those with food allergies. Vegetarian Haven is now on our list of favourites!
Pros: near subway, kensington marketI haven't loved everything I've eaten there (my usual complaint is that some of the flavours are too strong), but overall I've really liked it. The specials are always really tempting. The cheesecake (made by Sweets from the Earth) is amazing, and the other desserts we've ordered have been great as well.
Located just downstairs from the Toronto Vegetarian Assocation headquarters (who sublets from the owners of Veg Haven), Veg Haven is a relaxing, welcoming restaurant on a pretty street.
While many Chinese-Buddhist restaurants have similar styles, Veg Haven is set apart.
Recommended:
-Shanghai Chow Mein: thick wheat noodles in a dark, slightly sweet sauce with mock ham (and you can add other mock meats if you want)
-Seitan or Tofu Steak Sizzling Hot Plate: nothing like it. Comes to the table making lots of noise and finishes cooking right in front of you. Omg, so good. Reminds me of my younger omni days at restaurants which did that - everyone's head would turn and I'd get embarrassed from the unwanted attention.
-Bird's Nest: Thin, light, fried, bubbled, crunchy rice sheets sitting on a savoury sauce and covered with tofu, fried tomato, mushrooms and other veggies. Just had it last night and it was gooooooood.
Lots of vegan desserts that you can't go wrong with. I had a vanilla cheesecake that was dy-no-mite.
Can take awhile to be served. Don't go if you're in a hurry.
Pros: Unique style, Friendly, Lots of choiceThe atmosphere is warm, inviting, and nurturing. Whenever I eat here the service is very friendly and congenial...everyone is so pleasant and attentive. However, it is the food that takes precedence. What is so amazing about this restaurant is that it seeks to provide for EVERYONE...celiac, individuals with allergies and sensitivities, vegans and non-vegans alike. The food is DELICIOUS...the daily special is ALWAYS a winner...(esp. the tofu skin rolls!) the presentation is beautiful, and the cuisine is flavourful, wholesome and unique. You can taste the care with which this food is made...the people who run this restaurant have your health and nourishment at heart.
Pros: delicious, nurturing, SO friendlyThe service and food were great. My husband who is not a vegetarian really liked the food. We liked it so much we went twice while visiting Toronto. They have so many food choices I could eat there again and again. They have the best vegan desserts I have ever had. Vegan chocolate cake & cheese cake were unbelievalbe. This is now my all time favorite restaurant.
Pros: Food taste great, Desserts great, So many choicesOkay first the good. The atmosphere is wonderful. The servers are top notch and very helfpul. Every desert I've had is great. Nice place to catch up with a friend after work.
Now the bad: Unfortunately, the worst thing about this restaurant is the food. WARNING: Do not take non vegetarians to this restaurant. A couple of my carnivore co-workers very kindly chose this restaurant for a work meeting and they couldn't even choke down their meals. I've probably eaten at this restaurant 15 times as Baldwin street is very close to work-never my choice. Every soup i've tried is flavourless, the hot and sour soup tastes too strongly of vinegar. Every dumpling dish is awful.
If I HAVE to eat there I order the drumsticks and a side of purple rice and have a great desert. Alternatively, I will sometimes order the Singapore noodles without the 'ham.' Those are the only dishes i can tolerate on the menu.
Go for the great deserts, tea's, service and atmosphere, definetly don't go for the food. This is not a place to take non-vegetarians or people who are new to veg cuisine. All it does is reiterate the false notion that veg food is bland and tasteless.
Pros: service, atmosphere, desertI went to this restaurant because my girlfriend recommended it in the past. I checked the menu online and was blown away by the selection. I really prefer a few items, not a binder full. We walked in to see the daily specials displayed, which looked delicious.
We ordered the wonton soup, filo pasty special and spicy cayenne tempeh. The wonton soup was rather bland and needed salt, which was no where to be seen. They did have paprika on the table so we added some of that. The filo dish looked amazing, but they used WAY to much spice, they could have only used 1/4 of what they did and it still would have been too much. Its not that it was spicy hot, there was far to much paprika, cumin, cinnamon and whatever else was in there. The Tempeh dish was ok, I had never had it before and didn't know what to expect, but it was lacking the cayenne. They really know how to steam the bok choy, the best I have ever had, it was nice and crispy. I will probably not go back to this place as there are far to many restaurants to try in Toronto. My g/f will be back though..
went to the Vegetarian Haven because of several good reviews I'd read. There was one not so good review that I should have listed to.....The menu is quite extensive and I guess we picked the wrong thing. The soup we had (wonton)was quite tastesless and the tofu burger piled into a 6" tower had to be dismantled before eating it - really ridiculous!!! I'm not kidding! Tables are really close together so you will be having your meal hearing your neighbour's conversation and they yours. Try it if you are looking for a restaurant that caters to vegans - you won't have to ask a lot of questions about ingredients and you may find one of their "hits", but I will not go back.
Pros: serviceAhhh...It was so good to find this restaurant. Excellent food-so much so we spent $54 dollars--the banana split is to die for!
First choice for me for vegan food in Toronto!
First, the good parts: It's an all-vegan restaurant on a lovely street in a nice and convenient part of town. Service is friendly. The menu is huge and varied and draws on many different world cuisines.
The problem is, with nearly every dish I tried, I got the impression that they were so focused on adding their own new twists that they let the basics slide somewhat. The samosas were filled with spinach rather than the usual potatoes, which is fine, but the filling was watery and too salty. The hot and sour soup was extremely sour and only minimally hot. "Spicy Szechuan seitan nuggets" were not at all bad, but neither particularly spicy nor at all Szechuan.
My tofu burger was the most curious of all, and nearly impossible to eat as it was served to me. It was stacked at least six inches high with pieces of baked tofu and roasted vegetables much smaller in area than the bun, and cut in half except for the bottom of the bun. Each half was held together with a wooden skewer, and the skewers were joined at the top with a slice of orange. How on earth is anyone supposed to eat that? It's far too big to fit into anyone's mouth, so it's necessary to remove some of the layers and eat them separately, which requires removing the skewers (which you need to do anyway to get the orange slice off), which means the whole thing falls apart. And by the time I had finally polished off one of the halves, the juices from the roasted vegetables had dribbled down the other half and made the bottom bun all soggy. I found myself wondering if what I had ordered was actually a joke dish designed to lure unsuspecting newcomers into making messy spectacles of themselves trying to eat it.
I do understand why so many people like this place for its originality and variety. But if you want good, basic food done right, you might be better off someplace else.
Pros: vegan, nice atmosphereI was in town for a festival and we found this place on happy cow. I was completly blown away by the selections and the service was superb! The food was stellar as well as the energy. Do yourself a flavour and check this place out!
Pros: excellent food, service, priceuse to like it last year...now it seems alittle too pretentious for me!
I'm not kidding at all when I say that I was blown away by Vegetarian Haven. Situated in a quaint area, with a terrace and lovely decor, Vegetarian Haven offers an unforgettable vegan dining experience. I went to what one of the servers dubbed The Haven (and rightly so) this past weekend while on a visit to Toronto. I went with an omnivore and my boyfriend, a vegan like myself. I ordered the tofu drumsticks, thanks to rave reviews on this page (thank you!) about them--they were absolutely delicious, though, when they were served to me, I was a little bit wary of eating them, for they had an uncanny resemblance to actual chicken drumsticks. What I especially liked about The Haven is that they actually bring out the prepared special of the day; they show it to you, beautifully prepared and wonderfully fragrant. Of course, they had me sold when they showed me the special of the day, which consisted of a seitan "steak", a cucumber roll of shiitake mushrooms, salad, mushroom sauce, fresh hummus, and sweet potato noodles (how original!). Another thing that stood out was that all of their meals offer a great variety of foods; they don't serve you just protein, or just veggies, or just noodles. Each menu item is complemented by a variety of different types of foods. The wait staff and the service they offered were impeccable, and I don't use this word lightly. They were humourous, friendly, helpful, kind, informative, knowledgeable. Any diner could not ask for more. Dining at the Vegetarian Haven was the highlight of my experience in Toronto. A+ service, and did I mention that the desserts were most decadent and, to put it lightly, to die for? Try their cheesecake and fried apples!
Pros: desserts, service, everythingThis is an amazing place located in a marvelous city. The citizens of Toronto are so fortunate to have so many vegan choices to choose from. What a stark contrast when compared to where I live, Indianapolis, IN. What I found really cool was the Toronto Vegetarian Society was located upstairs from this restaurant. I was awed at the amount of references, and books found there. I certainly want to visit Vegetarian Haven again, and I am sure I will have to spend at least a week in Toronto just to enjoy the entire array of fine vegan dining establishments. I was especially fond the dessert I ordered which was called "pie in a glass". They took their remarkable vegan cheesecake and blended it with ice cream to create a "cheesecake milkshake". Every major city should be so fortunate to have a place like this grace their city and make tastes buds jump for joy.
Pros: Dessert, Prices, VarietyI've eaten at Vegetarian Haven about a dozen times now and most of the time the food is good. Some items are better than others and I've had a few 'misses' in with the 'hits' so I tend to stick with what I know is good. The wontons are good and so are the tofu drumsticks. The seiten steaks are dependably good as are the seiten cutlets. The burgers are HUGE and excellent. The Ham and Cheese burger is tasty if you're not put off by mock meats. The specials can also be one of your best bets as they tend to be quite good. Just be wary of things labelled as 'spicy'. I ordered something once that I believe was called 'spicy szechwan noodles' or something similar and it ended up being noodles in red sweet and sour sauce, not at all spicy. With that said, most of the time the food is quite good and the dessert selection is awesome as are the shakes and root beer floats - yes they are vegan - everything is. Service is always good as well and the decor is nice. I especially enjoy the patio in the warmer months.
Pros: Most food excellent, Service is great, Incredibly huge menuI'm from New York, but I live in Toronto. Vegetarian Haven is the greatest restaurant I have been to here. Everything I've had is amazing, and it always takes me forever to get through the menu...there are so many options!! And the prices are really reasonable at about $8-$10 a meal. They also have amazing cakes (try the cheesecake!) and biscotti, shakes, pies and cookies. Perfect :)
Pros: great vegan menu selection, fresh, amazing flavoursThere are so many choices it is overwhelming. Everything is vegan except for one salad dressing. Very nice atmosphere (could take a date there). Great prices. Fabulous looking (and tasting) desserts.
Pros: huge menu, atmosphere, beautiful dessertsThey have a pretty big menu and I got some kind of stir-fry with a delicious sauce on it. While it wasn't the absolute best food I've ever had, it was definitely worth the money. Only complaint is that the portions are kind of small, but considering that it is a fully vegan restaurant, I couldn't expect the food to be decently priced AND abundant.
Pros: Fresh and colorful, TastyThe tofu drumsticks are amazing.
Very friendly staff and wonderful soya shakes! You get to choose from their vegan desserts as a shake ingredient - yum. I'll be back for sure.
The service and the desserts is incredible at Vegetarian Haven. The food is fairly decent. It's one of the better restaurants in the downtown area.
Pros: Service, Desserts, Atmosphere
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I agree 100%. The dessert is fabulous and the atmosphere is nice too, but the food is in my opinion, pardon my frankness, absolutely disgusting. I've eaten there 4 times and I have never been able to finish my entree, but somehow I always have room for dessert. I actually do like the drumsticks, but that has been the only savoury item I can tolerate there.