Vegan Friendly Restaurants
You’ll find the biggest list here. At least one thing on the menu can be made vegan or the chefs will do vegan on request. This is the biggest target for amping up Ottawa’s vegan choices. Support these restaurants and encourage them to add even more vegan choices. It’s worth it, they offer delicious food.
Clover Food & Drink
155 Bank Street (Downtown)
Past favorite vegan restaurant Zen Kitchen sous chef West de Castro is the chef. Vegan choices always on the menu. Small, ambiently lit location. Simple but delicious food using local and seasonal ingredients. Great to have this choice for dinners downtown with omni friends or work functions. Great largely local wine and beer menu and locally roasted coffee. Open for lunch Monday to Friday, and dinner Thursday through Sunday.
Mellos *closed
290 Dalhousie St. (Byward Market)
Mello’s is in the process of trying to stay alive. Support the kickstarter!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2084742782/mellos-matters
Mellos transforms every night from a typical (and non vegan friendly) diner to a happening creative menu hot spot. Therefore if vegan and into more classy food, go at dinner! Some dishes on the dinner menu can be made vegan on request and they usually feature one or two fully vegan entrees. The menu and chefs change but are all sensitive to and knowledgeable of vegan diet. Mello’s originated almost 70 years ago! Let’s see it survive.
Town
296 Elgin Street
Hip spot on Elgin, small and large plates. Though you’ll see at most vegetarian friendly items on the list, call ahead or speak to the staff about a vegan option. I tried a beautiful oyster mushroom polenta. Great wine list too. Candlelit vibe, omni friends will glance over at your plate with jealousy.
A Thing For Chocolate
1262 Wellington St. W. (Hintonburg)
http://www.athingforchocolate.ca
Cozy creperie in Hintonburg/Wellington West based around incorporating chocolate into the menu.Vegan and gluten free menu available which has delicious savory crepes that use dairy and meat alternatives. Coffees and hot chocolates from the coffee bar can be made with soy or almond milk. Stay and sit in the back room with a coffee, crepe and magazine or take some individual chocolates from the selection to go.
House of Targ
1077 Bank Street
Pinball arcade which has a kitchen, we think this is a stinkin good idea. So are vegan perogies. Get the special vegan perogies or the vegan brunch platter on weekends which features fruit and coffee. Cool spot for vegan teens or adults alike. Nostalgia and delicious perogies will mesmerize you.
The Works
580 Bank St
2525 Bank St
326 Richmond Rd
363 St Laurent Blvd
http://www.worksburger.com/Menu.aspx#
In a growing world of vegans, we need a place to accommodate those who want to chow down on a big, juicy and totally cruelty free burger while watching a Sens game, celebrating with family, a teenage sports team or a casual date. Luckily the Works can do that. The veggie or portobello mushroom burger topped with almost all obviously veggie toppings (careful they are not pan fried in butter!). They have some interesting combinations sometimes featuring fruit or spice. Latest word on the street is that sadly the bun is no longer vegan friendly. The gluten free was also never vegan. Will try to update this info, but in the meantime you could go unless and cut your burger with a knife and fork and napkin in your collar. Very bustling and casual sports bar type atmosphere. A naughty deviation from a whole food plant based diet!
The Manx
370 Elgin Street (Centretown)
This British style pub features comfort food perfect for any rainy Saturday or first date bonding. It’s quaint, ambiance is spot on and sometimes features live music or live readings. Their vegan options are creative and multi cultural. Offers vegan mains such as a veggie pho inspired dish or tacos (ask sans cheese) currently. Vegan items on brunch menu as well such as tofu scramble. Very good selection of Scotch and Irish Whiskey. English charm in Ottawa.
Play Food & Wine
1 York Street (Byward Market)
Play is a trendy small sharing plate restaurant in the Byward Market. Request the vegan menu. The choices range from appetizers to bigger options but are still considered small plates. There are creative combinations and interesting flavours. You have to order a lot of you have a big appetite. Local and award winning beer and wine lists. This is a trendy, pretty and sophisticated spot for a date or party that overlooks Sussex Drive and the market at its finest.
Sidedoor
18 York Street (Byward Market)
http://www.sidedoorrestaurant.com
This is a restaurant your non vegan friends will be happy you can eat at. Though the vegan items are few, they are very well done and beautifully presented. The taro thai salad is so delicious. So is the curry dish. A very popular happy hour spot and even hosts weddings. With a little more time and demand, this could be a bigger opportunity for upscale vegan as Play has done. Give it a go.
two six {ate}
268 Preston St
twosixate.com/
A vegan being comfortable in a trendy foodie lover’s type establishment is proof that vegan eating is getting more mainstream than ever. two six {ate}’s staff is more than familiar and comfortable with vegan cuisine and serve up wonderful creations such as vegan spanikopitas and buffalo style romanesco (like cauliflower). This charming and chic spot on Preston incorporated over 50% of the canapé menu of my work Christmas party’s to vegan friendly choices. Along with skilled bar staff who will mix you up a sophisticated cocktail in a coupe glass or serve up a microbrewer beer, this is a great choice for vegans with omni friends or even a fully vegan private party! You should call ahead to arrange vegan choices, but the staff assures that the chef is game for anything and comfortable to make things up on the fly! Delicious.
Fauna Food + Bar
425 Bank St
Fauna is the kind of place that is a nice addition to the vegan friendly section because it is exactly where vegan cuisine is heading: into the trendy foodie hang outs. The atmosphere is warm and funky with interior brick and chic art and decor and completely sophisticated right down to the coat service and very professional wait staff. There are several vegan items on the menu including a soup, appetizer, salad and main. Other items can be veganized. It’s nice to be told which items are vegan friendly without even having to ask and even nicer when the food is amazing. The mushroom both based tofu and soba main is amazing. Mind the standard non vegan items you’ll notice, because your non vegan friends might order the vegan stuff anyway-mine did!
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Ace Mercado
121 Clarence St
Nobody will ever knock a small quaint Mexican food cantina, but who doesn’t equally love a glam and upscale hotspot to dine on Latin American treats? and one who’s chef is so open and able to create fantastic vegan fare. Ace Mercado caught my eye when it landed in the Byward Market and a friend just had a great and personalized experience there.
“Lovely vegan meal at ACE Mercado (high end “Mexican rooted cuisine designed for sharing”) in the market. The atmosphere is cozy-sharp and enjoyable. I had communicated with super nice Chef Trisha Donaldson & she warmly suggested cooking a custom surprise vegan meal for us.
We were greeted with a shared entrée and a main course composed of 2 fabulous dishes on a long plate. It was a lovely, fun, visually inspiring and yummy meal which we accompanied with a nice glass of wine.
I heard the place gets busy in weekends requiring reservations and potentially customization might be more difficult than on a monday as we did – they do have a vegan plate on the normal menu but choice is currently limited so I do recommend our path of contacting ahead. Chef Trisha’s warm replies were wonderful.
We’ll be back for more !
The PlantKind Life 