Essence of Life - Kensington

The store is small but they have everything you need - and even stuff you might not need

It is cramped and cogested occasionally but their selection and prices cannot be beaten. They carry all the vegan raw staples for very affordable prices and also have a large selection of cleaning homecare and health and beauty products. Great location as well.

This is my absolute favourite store for all my vegan treats and "meats" they have the best selection and always have something new when i come in. Things like unsweetened coconut ice 'cream' and other non-dairy treats, vegan packaged foods, and crazy varieties of Cliff Bars, Sol Burgers and Tofurkey products that you cant find at say a loblaws or sobeys and with the exception of maybe the Organic Produce they are very well priced, I've yet to find cheaper prices for some of the specialty vegan foods at any supermarket in the area.

This is a pretty nice store in the heart of the funky Kensington Market. I came here to stock up on travel food, so the lack of fresh groceries was a non-issue for me. Selection was quite good for its size and prices were acceptable. On the flip side, space was cramped and the aisles were too narrow, which spoiled the shopping experience a little bit. But still, it's well worth it to pop in and browse the shop while you're in the area.

Don't expect to get any pre made food here. This is just a small health food store. The isles are impassable and the place is ridiculously overcrowded. Selection is limited and prices are average. Enjoy some outside time and shop the rest of Kensington market instead.

Love this place
You can find everything there and it's not that expensive compare to some other vegan store.

But not as cheap.

Perhaps the largest natural store in the city proper with the exception of the horrendously overpriced Big Carrot on the Danforth.

Massive freezer section, fresh produce, lots of beauty products in a separate section with a separate cash.

I like going here, but I go to Tutti Frutti a few doors down for essentials since they're definitely cheaper.

To begin, most Montrealers are hard pressed to sing the praises of Toronto. The reasoning behind it is fairly obvious given their proximity, partially overlapping identities, sports rivalries, civic pride and many other things. Rivalries aside, as a proud Montrealer, I absolutely adore Toronto's Kensington Market area!

Essence of Life is a a one-stop-shop for vegetarian and eco-friendly items and products located in the heart of Kensington Market. It is well stocked, offers good value specials and has a very friendly and helpful manager. I can say that in respect to variety, the selection one would find in Montreal pales in comparison to what they offer at Essence of Life - I'm 90% sure it is because they sell many vegetarian products that don't have french packaging and therefore are not available, at least, in the province of Quebec.

I have traveled fairly extensively throughout the United States and while Essence of Life doesn't quite measure up to many of the health food stores I've visited in the US, I have yet to see anything substantially better in eastern Canada.

Honestly, my rating is highly reflective of the area surrounding Essence of Life; Kensington Market is the closest thing I've seen to a vegetarian utopia in all of my travels. Kudos Toronto!