What’s on the menu at Lov, the first Toronto location of Montreal’s popular plant-based restaurant
More plant-based places
Name: Lov
Contact: 620 King St. W., 416-366-8569, lov.com, @lovrestaurant
Neighbourhood: King West
Owner: Dominic Bujold
Accessibility: Fully accessible
The food
The menu is mostly vegan takes on comfort food. Although items like mac-and-cheese, burgers and poutine sound like cheat-day indulgences, the Lov team puts a healthy spin on just about every plate. The onion rings, for example, are kombucha-battered, while the fritters are actually packed with jackfruit and quinoa. Even the gnocchi gets a healthy boost from buckwheat and sweet potato. For clean-eating zealots, there are plenty of power bowls and salads to choose from, too.
The drinks
Lov’s wine program focuses exclusively on organic wines. Although there are a few Canadian bottles (Hidden Bench, Tawse), the wine list pulls from California, Spain, France, Italy and Australia, too. The cocktails (which include of trio of Seedlip-based mocktails) are just as much about function as they are about fashion—the short list of tipples were designed to match the décor.
The space
Tucked into the glassed-in ground floor of King West’s newest tower (Shopify and Indigo occupy the top 14 floors), the space is designed to make guests forget the urban sprawl outside. A foyer constructed from antique leaded glasses windows leads into a sun-soaked room done up in tea-party hues of dusty rose, sage and emerald. It’s all very Lewis Carroll, with greenery adding to the fairy tale quality of the space.
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Name: Lov
Contact: 620 King St. W., 416-366-8569, lov.com, @lovrestaurant
Neighbourhood: King West
Owner: Dominic Bujold
Accessibility: Fully accessible
The food
The menu is mostly vegan takes on comfort food. Although items like mac-and-cheese, burgers and poutine sound like cheat-day indulgences, the Lov team puts a healthy spin on just about every plate. The onion rings, for example, are kombucha-battered, while the fritters are actually packed with jackfruit and quinoa. Even the gnocchi gets a healthy boost from buckwheat and sweet potato. For clean-eating zealots, there are plenty of power bowls and salads to choose from, too.
[caption id="attachment_506429" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] These mushroom-and-vegetable gyoza come with an almond butter–kimchi dipping sauce. $14.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506420" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] The arancini are stuffed with plant-based mozzarella, and come in a harissa sauce with roasted cauliflower. Although most of the cheeses on Lov’s menu are made at Lov HQ in Montreal, the mozz for this plate comes from Earth Island. $12.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506439" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] This wedge salad comes with a vegan gorgonzola (the blue’s from spirulina), tempeh bacon, and a house-made ranch dressing. $15.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506441" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] The zen salad is made with shirataki noodles (low-calorie noodles made from the konjac yam). They're tossed with red cabbage, carrots, daikon, pickled chilies and cashews in an almond vinaigrette. Some cilantro, mint and a few puffs of rice paper finish the dish. $16.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506428" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] The sweet potato–buckwheat gnocchi is tossed in a hemp-basil pesto. It's then dusted with a flurry of potato starch-based parm. $20.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506424" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] For dessert, there's this chocolate-caramel torte.$5.[/caption]
The drinks
Lov’s wine program focuses exclusively on organic wines. Although there are a few Canadian bottles (Hidden Bench, Tawse), the wine list pulls from California, Spain, France, Italy and Australia, too. The cocktails (which include of trio of Seedlip-based mocktails) are just as much about function as they are about fashion—the short list of tipples were designed to match the décor.
[caption id="attachment_506430" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] The Look of Lov is a mix of Aperol, Limoncello, Lillet and lemon juice, with an aquafaba foam adding a creamy element to the citrusy sipper. $14.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506437" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] Although this snap pea–adorned coupe looks innocuous, the Emerald is potent potion of Cazadores Blanco tequila, Green Chartreuse, Bowmore, lemon juice and orgeat syrup. The bar swaps out the traditional egg white foam topper for aquafaba. $14.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506431" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] The Peach Bum is a blend of Bombay Sapphire gin, peach juice, vanilla syrup and elderflower sparking water. $14.[/caption]
The space
Tucked into the glassed-in ground floor of King West’s newest tower (Shopify and Indigo occupy the top 14 floors), the space is designed to make guests forget the urban sprawl outside. A foyer constructed from antique leaded glasses windows leads into a sun-soaked room done up in tea-party hues of dusty rose, sage and emerald. It’s all very Lewis Carroll, with greenery adding to the fairy tale quality of the space.
[caption id="attachment_506422" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] Here’s the grab-and-go counter, where customers can get drip coffee, espresso-based drinks and vegan baked goods.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_506427" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] The 50-seat patio is broken up into two sections: one faces King West, while the other is tucked away in a lane alongside the building.[/caption]){kind=link}