Vegan
Chinese
Buffet
Asian
Reported closed May 2022.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
-
Loading...
-
- Accepts credit cards
-
-
Last update on 23 May 2022 by veganmeat
Update business info
-
-
75 Reviews
First Review by david-meng jen
MJG
Points +47
Great value - Edit
Any restaurant where my girlfriend can eat all the dishes is good in my books. It's true that some of the dishes have no seasoning and others are really salty and heavy, but you can't argue with the price!
Read moreAnother reviewer said that the server did not offer drinks and that was my experience too. They also had trouble with their 1 wireless card reader though fortunately we had enough cash to pay the bill. They really should have a wired backup at the bar.
I would go back. The location is close to many spots including the national library and theatres.
I'll rate it very good because they are not pretending to be extravagant veg cuisine, they deliver a full belly at the right price.
Pros: great value, AYCE!
Cons: Hit and miss dishes
Guest
fanciful bean
Points +58
Just okay - Edit
Yuan was close to our hotel, so we had to try it. We were kind of disappointed that no one asked us if we wanted anything to drink other than water. We weren't even offered tea and didn't see any on the menu. The menu had a few too many mock meats for my liking and not enough creativity. The pumpkin curry was delicious but very salty. Like I said, it was just okay.
Read moreGuest
jacqui2
Points +146
Best buffet, tasty veggie food - Edit
This place was easy to find, and really professional looking for a veggie restaurant. I decided to go for the buffet menu for $20 +tax, which was as much as you can eat, tea and pudding (ice cream or rice cake). You can order as you go - you mark a paper menu with a few things you'd like to try, and can order more as you go so you don't waste food. What is great is that the food is freshly cooked to order, and tasty and the service was good too (a steady flow of dishes). The tempura was great, really crispy, the dim sum was nice and the mock meat dishes good too. If I was in Montreal again, I would not hesitate to return here because it was so nice.
Read morePros: Value for money, Tasty, Variety
Guest
warino
Points +154
Obsessed with all you can eat? Go! - Edit
Recreational eating has always been a guilty pleasure. I will poo-poo the idea in public, but probably would indulge in private, if given the vegan opportunity. Well, thanks to the fact that the head office of my company is based in Montreal, every time I am in town, I come to Yuan for their vegan AYCE experience, really one of a kind for Canada. You basically can order from an entire menu of small plates of delicious Asian treats, like sushi, dim sum, noodles and small size entrees. Most everything is vegan, except for a few items made of processed ingredients that contain either egg or whey protein. I cannot vouch for the healthiness of the food (seems like Chinese vegan food and mockmeats have a lot of sodium, to my palate), but for a once in a while guilty pleasure, the food is super yummy. My favorites are the seaweed salad, salt and pepper fried "shrimp", the fabulous Montreal style wontons in peanut sauce, the lemon "chicken", the singapore noodles, and the curry "steak". The sushi is OK to me, but I am not a big fan of sushi in general. The service is pleasant, although once in a while you might have a server that does not understand either English or French. The prices are extremely reasonable, given the quantity of food you could theoretically order, but even if you were to choose the a la carte menu, the prices are still quite reasonable. The new decor is charming, but can be a little cold, especially in the section in the back of the restaurant near the washrooms, and on a weeknight when the restaurant is not full. But, this is really an unimportant detail in my opinion. I think Yuan is one of the best mostly vegan Chinese restaurants in Canada, and highly recommend a visit!! Plus, they have a great selection of frozen mockmeats and dishes to purchase in their mini market - a rarity for Montreal!!
Read morePros: Tasty, Delicious food, Quantity of Food, Price
Cons: Salt content of some mockmeats, Bit of language barrier, Some non vegan items
Guest
stretchwithgumby
Points +171
what a pleasant dinner! - Edit
I just had dinner at Yuan, which has an unusual all-you-can-eat format [a buffet but you order from a sheet and they bring it to you]. Mostly vegan, lots of fake-meat dishes. Everything I tried had good flavor and spicing -- the Imperial Yuan sushi, the edamame [though they did not give me a plate for the discards], General Tao eggplant, tempura and Singapore noodles. Dessert was green tea ice cream [not vegan]. Service was perfect, the place was clean, bright and clean -- I am amazed it only has 4 stars out of 5 on Happy Cow?!
Read morePros: excellent food, excellent value, friendly staff
Cons: guessing how much to order
Guest
MarkMtl
Points +38
Great Vegan food - Edit
I went to Yuan's tonight for supper with a friend. I have to say the vegan pineapple chicken was fabulous. The texture was perfect, not too much batter on the "chicken" I was impressed. I also had the dumplings in peanut butter sauce and that too was delish!
Read moreThe main reason for going was the sushi and it did not disappoint! I favourites were Dragon, Califonia, and Imperial Yuan - just excellent.
The whole experience there was wonderful.
Pros: Pineapple Chicken, Sushi, Relaxing Atmosphere
Guest
Ethan
Points +221
Very good Vegan Sushi, but.... - Edit
We had high hopes for YUAN after a long day of walking around Montreal. We were hungry and ready for some great vegan Asian cuisine.
Read moreThe restaurant was easy to find and it's VERY spacious, new, and clean. The staff were very polite and quite lovely.
They do most of their rolls very well: The avocado roll, the Futo roll, and Dragon Roll were tasty and the California roll was wonderfully delightful. If you want vegan sushi, Yuan is a very good option for it in Montréal. Sadly, nothing else on the menu was good.
We had the Wonton soup- it was exceptionally bland but had too much of an MSG/saltiness to it. The vegetable tempura was overcooked-- the batter was too thick and caked onto the veggies and it was hard to chew. The same could be said of the over-cooked/ hardened base of the sushi pizza: It way too hard to chew and the toppings was really FISHY tasting and quite messy. It really was quite vile.
The pineapple "chicken" was tasteless but otherwise inoffensive. The Gen. Tsao's "Chicken" was so over-fried that the "chicken" imploded when bitten into. It was like eating fried cubes of air. The ginger tofu was the most upsetting; Too much basil, not enough ginger, the odd addition of Gogi berries and BLACK OLIVES?!? I happen to LOVE each of these ingredients but together it was such a bad combination of (flavorless) items, and they were all overcooked. Neither of us could finish it.
Lastly, the Agedashi Tofu was over-fried; Hard and oily on the outside, tasteless and airy on the inside and the Stir Fried Tofu with Peanut sauce was far too peanuty... and I LOVE peanuts!
In all, Yuan is a clean, nice, centrally located space to get a few vegan rolls but order them A la carte. The temptation to fill up on the "all you can eat" menu will leave you ordering more and more, hoping for something good to eat, only to be disappointed again and again.
Pros: Clean, Friendly staff, Easy to locate
Cons: Pricey, Food is not tasty
Guest
cookiemonster
Points +1173
Changed for the better! An amazing place. - Edit
Yuan moved around the corner and upgraded their decor, what really surprised me though is that they upgraded their food too! Before the lunch buffet was cheap and pretty ok, the menu was expensive and lacked inspiration. Now, there is always a tout-a-volonté (all you can eat) option for $17 or $20 and it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!
Read moreYou order the dishes you want and they prepare them fresh for you. They come in little dishes for sharing so you can sample a good part of the menu each time you visit (don't worry though, you will come back). The food is really amazing, and almost all vegan. The stuff with eggs or milk in it is clearly labelled (6 dishes out of about 50 I'd say).
They have a variety of vegetarian maki sushi (12-14 kinds) plus a number of veggie nigiri sushi (6-8 kinds), 3 soups (the wonton is the best wonton soup I've ever had), 6 or 7 salads, a large number of appetizers, and finally about 20 tawainese-style dishes (chinese like). I have brought a number of people, meat-eaters, vegetarians, vegans, super picky people, people allergic to several things, and every single person has loved it. Convince your friends to go for the all-you-can-eat price, it is way more fun and the dishes are so good you will want to try a number of them.
Highlights: fried dumplings, ravioli's in peanut sauce, general tau chicken, wonton soup, Imperial Yuan Sushi, Sushi Pizza, tofu in ginger and basil, lemon chicken, seat and sour chicken, and others I am forgetting. The only thing to avoid is the coconut shrimp, it's ok but the fake shrimp are just weird and too bulky.
Also, you can order flowering tisanes, these are herbal teas that are actually little flowers that they put in these beautiful clear pots so you can watch them open. It's worth the extra $4.50.
There is no alcohol license so you cannot bring your own wine or purchase alcohol there. We have brought our own fake wine/sparkling juice (we did ask first) if you want to have a fancy birthday dinner or something.
Highly recommended for visitors and residents alike. If you know the old Yuan, I promise you, the food is much better. The staff are super friends, kind, and helpful as always.
Also, the have a bit fake-meat grocery in the front, lots of fun, whacky, fake meat products. Fun for thanks-giving or if you absolutely love one of their dishes and want to re-create it.
Pros: Delicious, Friendly Staff, Well priced
Guest
Shamai
Points +66
OMG, it gets better!!! - Edit
I've always loved Yuan, and now it's gotten even better. New location, new decor, new menu...yum, yum!!
Read moreEverything is SO tasty, and I love the new idea of open menu, all you can eat, brought right to your table. You've upped yourself!! I don't know how you were able to do it, and you've made yourself even better!! I'll be back VERY often :)
Pros: delicious, comfortable decor, excellent service
Cons: none
Shamai
I continue to bring all my out of town guests to Yuan...keep up the great work!
Read moreGuest
MissBooksandCoffee
Points +20
Yums - Edit
I really enjoyed the Hot Pot i got. I've never had anything like it before, it was interesting! They have a very creative menu where you want to try absolutely everything, it's very appealing to meat eaters alike as everything just tastes that good. Some of the things lack flavor though. some of their steamed veggies were almost flavorless, or undercooked, their rice was pretty blah as well, but make sure to put sauce on all those things. their sauces are pretty fantastic i might say.
Read moreYou can also buy food in the other area that they make there. Be careful as there are MSG'S in their food, which really disappointed me.
Other then that, it was cool to sit in a fancy ish ambiance and eat veg, which isn't very common.
I'm only giving a 3 because of the MSG content. otherwise, it would have been a 4.
Pros: tasty, different
Cons: MSG, staff could be more informed
Guest
jedzen
Points +108
Not the best, not the worse - Edit
I went to Yuan a couple of times...
Read moreI am not a fan of their lunch buffet. A lot of the items are really salty or really sweet, or both. It is a mix of odd flavor combinations, and cold/warm food that should have been served hot.
The dinner menu is much better. However, you need to know what you're into. They do have quite a lot of FRIED items so if you don't like those check out for the words 'grilled' or 'steamed' and be sure to specify. Also, the menu is high on fake meat : i'm not a fan. They have some interesting dishes, like their sushis ( non-fried one, of course ) which are probably the best item to order. They are really good and well presented. They also have a lot of vegetables plates, with a lot of funny asian veggies that i never tasted before! Their soups are pretty good, too. They don't really have a vegan dessert. When i asked, i received a dry cookie, more salty than sweet. They have a selection of fine tea that i liked a lot. Good quality, great taste, and nice little cups.
There is a lot of place to sit and it is an ideal place if you go with a group.
Service is good ; they just have a problem with the number of people working for such a wide place. One night i was with about 10 persons and the orders all got mixed up and some of us had the wrong plates. Also, it was slow. They apologized saying there was one cook and 2 servers only that night. They offered us free tea ( yay! ) and we did not pay for the soup. They are always polite, and friendly, and they do the best they can. I think the problem comes from how the place is managed.
Anyway i would recommand this place for groups but maybe call for a reservation so they can have enough staff. Order some sushis, a steamed veggie plate and tea and you might have a nice dinner!
Guest
LaVanessa
Points +367
Hit and miss - Edit
I've been here several times and my experiences vary. Sometimes the food is great, other times not so much. Although the staff is very friendly, service can be slow. Overall, I find the food to be average, but that's okay considering the reasonable prices. The physical space is quite lovely and calm.
Read morePros: cheap, good selection, friendly staff
Cons: slow service, average quality food
Guest
Eve Love
Points +75
What an experience! - Edit
This is a truly nice place to sit for an hour and experience the Asiatic Creative Vegetarian Cuisine
Read moreI been there around 15 times and NEVER been disapointed.
The "table d'h'te" is the best way to enjoy the whole thing. Both miso and sweet-and-sour soup are great, the ginger salad is so refreshing, sushi's are CRAZY, and my favorite meals s definitely the "végé-anguille" (veggie eel), but the eggplant in basil sauce, the steak are pretty good too. Everything is in the textures and different tastes! but sure, there is lots of sugar and sweet sauce.
Great selection of really good teas.
Make sure to visit the backstore boutique with a freezer full of really good fake meat, almond powder, shitake mushrooms and sea weed.
We went only once to buffet that seems to be only served for lunch.
when you make reservation, you can choose the special low table, where meals are served in cute bento style dishes, for a complete experience.
Guest
plumerider
Points +56
Not impressed - Edit
maybe i'm spoiled because i have all the best vegan chinese restaurants a girl could ask for in chinatown, philadelphia, pa (kingdom of vegetarians, harmony, singapore; what else do you need!?), but i was not impressed by this restaurant. my fiance and i stopped in for a late lunch; the buffet was not impressive, so we opted to order a la carte. the best part of our meal were the appetizers we ordered - the roasted duck legs were so good! and cute (burdock root serves as the "bone" of the duck leg). but our meals were terrible, and i NEVER say that about places that are at least trying to be healthful and vegan. we ordered the general tso's chicken and the sweet and sour chicken...both were so fried that eating two or three pieces of "chicken" was all we could handle before feeling a weird stomach. and the sauces were gooey and thick and not tasty at all. tasted like something out of a jar from the grocery store. it was just terrible. because we hate to waste food, we did get the food wrapped to go, but we couldn't even bring ourselves to eat it later on. yuck! sorry for the harsh review. i don't live in montreal, so i haven't been able to go back and try other entrees. i hope that we were just there on an "off day".
Read moreJeffrey
Hi Plumerider, I liked your review of this place and found it helpful. I also hate when my food comes super-deep-fried!
Read moreGuest
kennyp353
Points +1674
Unpleasant food, if you can even get served - Edit
A very wise man once told me that if he can't say anything nice about a place, he won't say anything at all. I thought about that when deciding whether or to write about Yuan when I first visited six weeks ago, even forgetting that my wise friend is actually a famous restaurant critic, but my rude experience there last Friday night means I'm gonna share my unpleasant experience anyway.
Read moreI went on a Thursday night about 9pm, there was one other table being served in the entire restaurant. The menu sounded good, the soup and sushi appetisers were perfectly OK, but the veggie Chinese restaurant staple, sweet and sour battered fake chicken, was a disaster. Imagine if you will someone opened a tin of some disgusting cheap Uncle Bens or Sharwoods Chinese sauce, added a tablespoon of dayglo tartrazine, microwaved it for 30 seconds and poured it over some fake chicken balls, with a side of wilted lettuce. I've had this dish dozens of times at dozens of veggie Chinese restaurants, and this was hands-down the worst of the lot.
Don't ask me why, but because the starters had been OK and because I'm a bit of a soft touch, last weekend I thought I'd give the place another chance, so on Friday I turned up at 9.42pm, thinking it closed at 10.30pm as per happycow's website (it's now actually shown on the door as closing at 10pm), but they told me that the kitchen was closed. It didn't matter to them that I'd spent $15 in a taxi to get there. Why bother with displaying closing times if you're just gonna ignore them? What time should you show up to get served here? 9.30pm? 9pm? 8pm?
I've got a better idea. Don't show up at all. There are tons of other far better vegetarian restaurants in this part of Montreal. Save your money and go elsewhere.
Pros: relatively cheap
Cons: you get what you pay for, if you can even pay for it, if they don't close early on you
Guest
philjdomm
Points +945
return of the mock - Edit
first montreal visit: went twice.
Read moresecond montreal visit: do not order bubble tea. they specialize in mock meat but not bubble.
Guest
teal_ocean
Points +122
I LOVE Yuan - Edit
We have been to Yaun 10+ times and have enjoyed it everytime. Lots of yummy vegan choices, friendly staff, clean, and a back area where you can buy TVP items. Their sweet and sour soup is delicious! 5+
Read morePros: Clean, Freindly staff, Good value
Guest
raphalla
Points +768
Delicious and Good Portion - Edit
We like this restaurant and have been there for a couple of times for dinner. The food is good and very friendly service. However, it seems like they do not have many staff, so the service can be a bit slow too.
Read moreThere are many choice of food and the portion is big or fair enough with the price.
This is our favorite restaurant in Montreal.
Pros: Food, Price, Ambient
Guest
tablemoonspoons
Points +135
top notch! - Edit
if you make it to the lunch buffet here consider your self a very lucky person for that day. the buffet rules, it even has sushi. there is salad stuff. soup, and small dessert things and a decent selection for everyone. entirely vegan as far as i know. i have only been for the buffet and as long as the same stuff is on the menu and you choose well, you will be pleased.
Read moreGuest
dkingdesigndotcom
Points +88
should be in the '2-carrot' category since it - Edit
could be a pricey experience when you do not choose your dishes carefully.
Read moreMy wife and I went to this restaurant on our first evening in Montreal, Quebec. It has a nice decor and has some non-food items for sale at the display counter.
I ordered the wonton soup ($3.00) and pad thai(7.99) for my main. My wife ordered the sticky rice ($2.50) and the small vegetarian "meat" platter ($14.95)- which turned out to be really really ... really small.
My wonton soup was good although a bit more in the wonton catagory would have been nice (only 3 very very small wontons were in the soup).
The Pad Thai was a good portion.
I also had the free tea which was ok. They used tea-bags though.
My wife's platter of vegetarian "meats" included deep fried (yet cold) tofu leaves, 3 extremely thin slices of cold mock ham, cold algae, 2 types of maki,pink ginger sheets, quite a bit of lettuce (unfortunately a lot of noticable wilted dark edges and dark folds were present which should not have been included with the lettuce) and a blob of wasabi. It would have been nice to have a choice for the dip.
More variety in this dish would have been better (they don't include their pork, fish, etc. there). The lettuce upon which everything was laid took up too much of the volume.
The sticky rice was good according to my wife although I still have fond memories of the sticky rice I had in Thailand which was cooked in bamboo cylinders along the road sides. That tasty treat has perhaps ruined me for trying other sticky rice.
Summary: do not order the meat platter and you'll have good value for your money. (We looked at the other tables, some dishes were of big portions ). All in all around 33 CND (after taxes and before gratuity).
Pros: free iced plain water, which arrive 45 mins after we've been , seated, :(!
Cons: veggie meat plater, tea-bag, veggie meat plater
Guest
david-meng jen
Points +13
best vegetarian restaurant in montreal - Edit
me and my wife are regular customers.the food is amazing and the service is excellent,everyone is friendly.they have a new menu since the beginning of the year and there is more choices.the prices are really good,nothing too expensive like some other vegetarian restaurants.theres also a store in the back of the restaurant which is pretty amazing.you can find all you need.thank you yuan for being in montreal.
Read moreGuest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business
See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 27860 times.