LOV is an acronym for “local, organic, vegetarian”. It is a beautiful upscale vegetarian restaurant in Montreal that has become quickly locals’ favourite to have a delicious and affordable vegan meal.
As a traveller visiting Montreal, you might be looking for a combination of good food, great price and a bonus of a cute spot. LOV combines that mixture and definitely has my recommendation if you are in my hometown and looking for a nice brunching spot (they have the delicious vegan brunch)!
All the LOV restaurants in Québec are now open: Rive-Sud (DIX30), Rive-Nord (Centropolis), Old Montreal (rue McGill) and Downtown Montreal (De la Montagne). Toronto branch is still closed but available for delivery and pickups.
LOV’s decor, even from the outside, is inviting, clean and picture perfect with its tall windows, twinkling lights, white clean brick walls and perfect furniture with palm and beachy tones. Think pistachio green, botanical prints and chic copper accessories all over, reflecting well the plant-based menu. At all their locations, LOV has several seating arrangements including bar seating, communal seating, table seating, you name it! My favourite being the hanging basket bamboo chairs.
The cuisine at LOV really focuses on its name mantra which is natural, vegetarian, organic and healthy produce and food. Find dishes that are gluten-free, vegan, many flexible options to have eggs, cheese or honey or not. Since everyone has unique diets, LOV’s flexibility is truly a heaven for those with specific food intolerances or simply strict preferences.
Not only we discussed how all LOV outlets are totally beautiful, their vegetarian plates are also beautifully arranged, turning any customer into a food photographer with the splash of colours on your plate.
Looking dynamic, the taste of the dishes are the same, making carnivores not even missing their meat! Vegan food seems tasteless for many, but bring those pessimist to LOV and you will convince them otherwise!
LOV is also great for a boozy brunch or a happy hour with its extensive affordable wine list and creative cocktails made with liquors from small manufacturers. You can find a selection of organic wine and organic beer as well.
Our experience at LOV
It was inevitable that we had to order the vegetarian poutine. If you don’t know yet what is a poutine, it’s fries, squeaky cheese (crottes de fromages) and gravy. No cheese, no poutine! So we were curious to taste a vegan version of the national dish of Quebec: Poutine. For me, the LOV Poutine (CA 10.75$) – sweet potato fries +$2 – didn’t quite hit the mark as a poutine, but was made with excellent sweet potato fries, vegan cheese under the sauce made with roasted vegetables, mushrooms and miso. As I am obsessed with mac and cheese, I had to order the kale Mac’n’cheese LOV (CA 13.75$), made of pasta, LOV’s vegan cheese sauce, cherry tomato, vegan mozzarella and, duh, kale. It was very nice to eat but missing a little sprinkle of taste. I was somehow expecting more taste because I am so used to heavily cheese’d mac and cheeses. As much as I learned to like vegan cheese, I feel maybe I am the one that simply can’t find a vegan cheese satisfying, yet! Lastly, for appetizers, we had the Dumplings (CA 12.75$) coming with 5 pieces of dumplings fried and stuffed with mushroom and vegetables served with an almond butter kimchi sauce, a must!
We also had the LOV Tacos (they are not available at the moment), which are served with roasted corn, fried lupine tempeh, avocado and all the usual fixings. They easy to eat and refreshing with a sprinkle of lime!
With 3 LOV burger options at the outlet we visited (DIX30), we had to try one of their burgers and went for the Big LOV Cheeseburger (CA 15.75$), which for me was perfect and as satisfying as real meat! The patty is made of black beans, and add to it the usually suspects: tomato, mixed greens, red onion, pickle, vegan mozzarella and big LOV sauce.
We really enjoyed our afternoon eating at LOV. Even with some tiny misses, it was great to have delicious and very affordable food. Concept food restaurants that look good like this tend to be pricey everywhere around the world, so it is refreshing that you can find a mix of everything you want that won’t hurt the wallet. We encourage you to go visit them for a meal or two and don’t forget to be understanding and to respect their rules, because yes, we are still in the midst a pandemic! The team has worked hard on their facilities to make it safe for you to dine out at their beautiful outlets so they deserve our support!
The LOV phone app: LOV has a pre-order phone app available on the Apple Store and Google Play store. Look for “LOV restaurant” in the store of your choice. The app will allow you to pre-order for take out and make a direct order from your table when you are at the restaurant. The second function allows a safe way for the restaurant to take your order, one that is popular in many restaurants around the world but still quite new in Montreal! Traditional table service will still be offered for those who prefer this alternative, of course.
Promotions and special offers will be found on this application, including a 20% discount using the code LOV20 on your first order!
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