Vegan restaurant with juice bar, bakery, and grocery space est. since 1997 and has been renovated into more of a diner type atmosphere than its original commune-like setting. Offers a menu of soups, salad, sandwiches, bowls, burgers, smoothies, tea, daily special, and brunch on weekends. Attached to the restaurant is its takeaway selling prepared dishes to take home as well various cooking ingredients like tempeh, rice, and chilled foods. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-10:00pm, Sat-Sun 10:00am-10:00pm.
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 28 Dec 2023 by geometric-noise
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182 Reviews
First Review by dennisthemenace
jedzen
Points +108
Love it. - Edit
I went many times to Aux vivres, and i always enjoy it. I prefer going there for lunch : the service is quick and the place is not overcrowded. At dinner time, it can be full and difficult to find a place : good thing is you can order your food to take out and eat on the park!
Read moreTheir corn bread with vegan butter is my favorite item on the menu. I also love their juices and smoothies ( try the creamsicle ) I like having one of their bowls or one of their GIANT sandwich on chapati bread. You can also order all kinds of sides, like tempeh, tofu, small salads, bread and spreads.
The desserts are not the best i had but they are quite good. I just don't find them to be so original and unforgettable ; but they are not bad! Try the spicy brownie, if they have it ( sometimes they don't ) it might be the best one.
About the service... since i've been there many times, it is hard to tell. Some of the servers are really nice and friendly. Some of them are not. No one has been rude. It never took an hour to get the food. Nobody made huge mistakes in my orders. I never had a bad experience, it's just that sometimes i feel like they are not focused on being nice with the customers. Not a big deal.
Just understand that the experience will be totally different whether you go there on a weekday, for lunch, during winter or on a friday night during summer. Like everywhere else!
Guest
~Jen~
Points +58
fresh and tasty vegan food - Edit
I've been going to Aux Vivres for years and I have seen it blossom into something extraordinary!
Read moreIt used to be half the size, dark and the service was horribly slow, but it was worth it for the meal. Now it is open 7 days a week, accepts credit and debit cards and there are so many waiters and waitresses that the service is excellent!
As for the grub, they use primarily organic, local produce and even grow some ingredients in the back (which is gorgeous terasse during warmer months of the year).
Their deluxe salad is a favorite of mine, the BLT (of course), tofu burger, weekend brunch (open till 4 pm!) and their daily special and soup are never a disappointment.
Desserts are great too, cookies that no one will believe are vegan, chipotle brownie, faux-mage cake, parfaits and tons more!
Can't miss with this place, they even have speedy takeout!
Pros: fresh and vegan, fast, take-out
Cons: sometimes overly trendy crowd
Guest
veganbackpacker
Points +69
Always my first stop when visiting Montreal - Edit
I've eaten here many times and have always had a good experience. Montreal is sooo lucky to have an all vegan restaurant!
Read moreIt's always fun to sit in the back courtyard on a nice day. I highly recommend the sweet potato fries, coconut BLT and all of the smoothies.
The only thing I've ever ordered that I didn't love was the smoked seitan sandwich. It had wayyyy too much seitan on it and the seasoning wasn't that great.
Pros: great food, cute place, nice outdoor courtyard
Guest
Ken4057
Points +1200
Sweeeet - Edit
Their BLT with toasted coconut is out of this world, matched only for coconutty goodness by the fried coconut tempeh at Toronto's Fresh restaurant.
Read moreAlso had a thick and deeply satisfying pizza, not always available.
Decent freshly made smoothies, too.
Very busy. Packed even, and for good reason.
I'd live there if I were a resident of beautiful Mt. Royale.
Pros: huge menu, unique items
Cons: crowded, not so clean
Guest
TRaeCH
Points +384
Reason enough to love Montreal - Edit
I consider myself eternally lucky to have grown up in Montreal and the city should be equally thankful that it is home to such a wonderful vegan restaurant. Though I personally have more local restaurants to discover, especially considering the other HappyCow reviews, this is one of Montreal's finest.
Read moreI can't complain at all about the service and the menu has various delicious and inventive dishes on it. The smoothies are well worth trying - the creamsicle flavour is delicious but I haven't yet had any as good as the "green something-or-other" (sorry, forget the name... it's the one that appears most healthy also).
The BLT they make is out of this world - one of the finest vegetarian, let alone vegan, sandwiches that I've had the pleasure of tasting. As for their variety of (salad) bowls, each has their own particular charm. I would recommend either the Tofu (wonderfully cooked) or Macro (pasta style) bowl.
The portions are very large which, for me, justifies the prices; some will consider them a bit high.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Aux Vivres is less than a 10 minute trek from Mont-Royal metro station so while it may be sightly out of the "downtown core," it is easily accessible.
If you're in Montreal, definitely check out Aux Vivres.
Pros: Delicious food, Great, diverse menu, Juice bar/smoothies
Cons: Not all that it was pre-renovations
Guest
Ketty
Points +133
Fantastic restuarant - Edit
Everything I tried here was great -- the dragon salad with tofu, the brunch with maple tempeh & tofu scramble, and a couple of smoothies. Good vibe, great food & good value (a complete brunch in Nov 2009 was $9.25). Delicious! Went two days in a row, and would've gon back if I had been staying in Montreal another day!
Read moreGuest
thelink
Points +165
Fabulous - Edit
We spent a couple of weeks in Montreal in June and went to Aux Vivres twice, once for lunch and once for weekend brunch.
Read moreThe wheather was nice and so we enjoyed sitting in the lovely courtyard. The service was fast and very friendly.
For lunch we had burgers, dragon bowls and smoothies which were all great. For brunch we had the brunch specials that you can only get on weekends and they were also great. The coffee was nice and strong.
The absolutely best item on the menue was the Banana Chocolate tart though. It tasted like heaven!!!
I ordered it on our first visit and gave a little taste to my friends and of course they ordered it on our second visit because they were so impressed. I decided to try the "Uncheese cake" on our second visit but unfortunately it wasn't near as nice as the Banana Chocolate tart : (
So whatever you do, don't leave without trying the Banana Chocolate tart : )
Guest
BruceWayne
Points +57
Awesome - Edit
Visiting Montreal for the first time, I checked out Happy Cow for some vegan restaurants. This one seemed to have the most positive reviews, and most detailed. It is one of the only all-vegan restaurants in Montreal, and it absolutely did not let me nor my meat-eating friends down. The BLT was awesome. We also got the cornbread with guacamole and butter and it was an amazing starter. Our server was awesome, her name was Jolie? I think? and she was really helpful and friendly.
Read moreThere was nothing unsanitary about the servers or chefs that I noticed, despite the reviews I've read about poor practices. I also got the Cafe Frappe I think it's called...it's a coffee-chocolate smoothie and it's pretty good too.
I'm coming back for lunch before I leave. I recommend everyone to try this place out. It's on an awesome road (Rue De la Saint-Laurent) full of cool shops with crazy cheap used clothing and junk for anyone with a hankering for "trash-treasures". Check this place out.
Aux Vivres!!! For Life!!
bruce
Pros: service, food, location
Cons: not in philly, not in america, not in my house
Guest
cookiemonster
Points +1173
So good! - Edit
So, I avoided the new renovated, fancy, chic'er Aux Vivre for a long while. I had visited it both in the pre st-laurent days and the pre-renovation days and I had fond memories of the great, extremely cheap, vegan food and I had some sort of weird chip on my shoulder about the new place.
Read moreI am glad that I have let go that now, this place has simply amazing vegan food. If the prices are higher and the look yuppier, I can appreciate the fact the servers get paid more and that business is booming at a vegan restaurant in Montreal. That can only be a good thing and this place is always bustling at meal times.
The BLT sandwich on chapati is insanely good (smoked coconut bacon), I order it almost every time and I am not a sandwich person. The ginger cookies and carrot cake: y-u-m. They have wonderful specials everyday and sometimes even great things like vegan poutine! Tomato Gazpatcho is a regular for the soupe de jour and I can't help but order it even if I am not too hungry. Go there for an amazing brunch special on the weekends. Some of the salads are intense - huge and delicious.
What can I say? Yes, it used to be cheaper, yes it used to look less yuppy, yes it used to be a collective, yes it used to be more "punkrock". Times change, get over it. It is a vegan restaurant (a good thing), it has amazing food (a very good thing), and it is affordable, if not cheap (also good).
Check this place out, order a BLT on chapati and I gaurantee you will be happy.
Pros: Delicious, Desserts!, Unique menu items
Cons: A little pricey
Guest
plumerider
Points +56
what a wonderful surprise - Edit
went here while on vacation in montreal, thinking it was only vegetarian. then i got there and saw that everything on the menu was vegan! holy moly - i had like a 5 course meal...couldn't help myself...appetizers, smoothies, main course, dessert, cereal coffee! all of them were delish! highly recommended - bright, cheery, vegan, friendly staff...what the heck else do you need?!
Read moreGuest
Ilovecows
Points +61
Worth the visit - Edit
Aux vivre is a very nice Vegan restaurant. The prices are reasonable and the menu is rather original.
Read moreGuest
iansnyder
Points +37
Good food for a decent price - Edit
Aux Vivres is the best vegan restaurant I've been to in Montreal. The food is very good and I don't have to worry about if it's vegan or vegetarian, and if you just get a meal it's not too pricey. There's a really nice variety of foods, and I LOVE their corn bread... this is making me want to go eat there now :)
Read moreMy wife really likes the sea vegetables, and we both enjoy how fresh everything tastes; it just tastes healthy.
Pros: Awesome selection, VEGAN :), Reasonable prices
Cons: Service can be REALLY slow at times, Fake butter is a bit weird, *
Guest
kennyp353
Points +1670
Very, very good - Edit
The cornbread with guacamole was exceptional and plentiful - definitely the best cornbread I've ever had, and certainly top five guacamole. I had the fake lox (smoked salmon) as a wrap - it wasn't really fishy, but had a unique and pleasant taste that worked well with the capers and fake mayo, I'm glad I tried it. The vanilla smoothie was superb, too. Service was a bit hit-and-miss - I missed out on dessert since my waitress disappeared. Total at $20 was less than half the price ChuChai with vastly better food. This, alongside Bonnys, my joint-favourite in Montreal.
Read morePros: cornbread, guacamole, value for money
Cons: closed Mondays, service variable
Guest
philjdomm
Points +945
Mon Return - Edit
they have never dissappointed me. still and will be one of the best!
Read moreGuest
delmarytinoco
Points +28
You choose!!! - Edit
Excellent food, terrible service, you choose!!!
Read moreGuest
sherill
Points +128
Love this place! - Edit
My fiance and I (both vegan) visited Aux Vivres in May 2005 while visiting Montreal and fell in love with this lovely restaurant. I can't remember how many times we ate there but it was more than twice. The food was excellent and so was the selection and the service. We will definitely return.
Read morePros: Excellent food, Lots of options, friendly staff
Guest
Deano
Points +123
Aux YES. - Edit
We loved it here. We had to wait 10 minutes to be seated and we soon discovered why it's so popular. The borscht to start was fab and the pizza and BLT we had for mains were just as good. The desserts were too. Everything was fresh, tasty and served with a smile. They were very busy but we were served promptly and we didn't feel rushed. Top stuff.
Read morePros: Fresh/tasty, Good atmosphere, Vegan
Guest
pandora_13
Points +80
As good as I'd remembered it to be. - Edit
I had visited Aux Vivres while on vacation in Montreal in 2005. We enjoyed our meal there so much that I couldn't wait to return. I did just that last week whilst vacationing again in that fair city. They'd expanded and redecorated the place since I'd been there, and the the new decor looks great, very serene.
Read moreI started with the soup du jour, a lovely creamy soup made with celery root. Served with a nice chewy bread, it was quite satisfying in its own right. I then had the amazing BLT sandwich, wrapped in a chapati. I know it's been said here before, but I really can't describe in words how good this thing is. It's incredible that coconut could be transformed into such a convincing "bacon". Stuffed full of the faux bacon, lettuce, tomato, sprouts and mayonnaise, this is one tasty -- and enormous -- sandwich. My boyfriend and I split the thing, and we barely had room for dessert. We had dessert anyway though... the faux cheesecake. This was decent, considering that vegan cheesecake is the most difficult thing to pull off. Still, as far as their cakes go, our table sampled three of them -- cheesecake, carrot cake, and chocolate cake -- and they all definitely looked much better than they tasted. The cakes were very dry and not so flavorful. I think I would stick with the ganache-filled tart or the parfait here.
One thing that should be mentioned is that the service here is really slow. I don't know if they were understaffed for an unexpectedly busy Thursday evening, or what... but getting the server's attention for water or to order dessert was quite a production. Never mind waiting for the check. Go off-hours or when you have lots of time to kill. But do go!
Pros: Huge portions, Great sandwiches, Inventive menu selections
Cons: S L O W service, desserts so-so
Guest
tragedia
Points +43
My favourite restaurant in Montreal - Edit
The thought of being able to order from a menu without having to ask 1000 questions about animal products fills me with delight; at Aux Vivres, everything is 100% vegan. I look forward to eating there because they have a different and always delicious meal of the day each day. (I look forward to them serving vegan lasagna again!) Their sandwiches are lovely (and huge! Choosing to get a sandwich in a chapati is advised: Bring the second half home.) The entrees are diverse and enjoyable--though expensive--especially the chapati with veggie butter and the corn bread with guacamole. The restaurant is completely packed on weekends; that in itself means that this place is worth trying out.
Read morePros: Meal of the day variety, Cozy and casual ambiance, Outdoor terrace
Cons: Sometimes slow service, Expensive, Cash only
Guest
dennisthemenace
Points +26
1st Time - Edit
This was my first visit to Montreal and I have just had the most delicious Vegan Lasagne in Aux Vivres.The waitress who had only been there 2 weeks was very helpful,enthusiastic and informed on the food that was served to us.The Restaurant was clean,pleasant staff and A1 all round......Eat well sleep well.
Read morePros: Good value, Excellent food, Good atmosphere
Guest
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