Vegan Restaurant: Loving Hut Toronto

When in Rome! (or Toronto!)

I spent the long weekend (family day in Ontario) in Toronto and I knew right away I wanted to hunt down some amazing vegan restaurants. After a search on Happy Cow, I had a looooong list of places to visit. Ok, I went a little bit overboard. I know I can't even get to a dozen places in one day, let alone eat a dozen meals. My trip was then planned around the area I wanted to visit most (shopping!). Unfortunately, I only had time for one outing so the Loving Hut in Toronto was my restaurant of choice. Now, I'm not a restaurant critic by any means, so I'm just sharing my experience and my opinions with you. Enjoy!

What a lovely place! The staff is friendly and the decor is adorable, much like a popular cozy hangout kind of vibe. I was impressed with the large menu, since I'm used to being restricted to 1-2 options. Here's the best part: I ordered 2 meals, equalling 4 plates, to myself! I probably sounded crazy but I asked the waitress to bring me some take out containers so I could take half of each meal home. And extra ketchup, of course!

For the first meal, I wanted something with tempeh (it's hard to find in my area) and the waitress suggested the Tofu Tempeh Club. This is the kind of meal that's a classic go-to in my books. The double-decker sandwich had layers of tofu, tempeh, tomatoes and lettuce. Those heavenly fries had a delicious batter coating that made them extra crunchy, so good!

Next, I wanted to try something different. Something I wouldn't necessarily think of making at home or easily find in my town. The special that day was the Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce, which came with a side of rice AND the soup of the day. The Lentil Soup was really good! It was a thick chowder-like soup that was hearty and comforting.

The eggplant dish was great as well, even if I'm not a huge fan of eggplant. It was similar to a vegetable stir-fry with large pieces of tofu. The black bean sauce was a little bit thick for my liking, but tasted great. The rice definitely completed the meal, and would also be really good if the veggies were served over the rice.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience. The location, the staff, the food, and even the leftovers were great! I would love to visit the Loving Hut again sometime. But for now, I'll keep working on that list of mine. Let me know if you have any favourites or suggestions for veg*n restaurants, I would love to hear from you in the comments below!