Belmonte Raw

Longtime customer very good selection of foods but some of their raw meals are a little strange texture wise, and if you are not a veteran raw food or juicer (like me, I was not used to it at all when I ate here first) then some of the textures and tastes are a bit off.
But! Once you learn their menu and don’t mind shelling out a pretty large sum of money it’s great. If you are a vegetarian/​vegan and are used to juices as your main meal this place is easily 4 stars.

I had previously done a 4 day juice cleanse with Belmonte Raw and enjoyed it. That is why I really wanted to enjoy the 5 day one I started on Monday this week.
Belmonte Raw provides a detailed schedule which I would’ve adhered to… had the juices actually arrived.
On Monday, my juice hadn’t arrived by the 8AM time. I called and they had it delivered to my work. I chalked it up to an error (which we all make).
On Tuesday, I brought my juices to work only to realize the Cashew Vanilla Milk had been replaced by a Pumpkin Seed Milk. This milk was utterly undrinkable. As the only heavy juice in the day, I felt very light headed, not having drank it. I called and asked that an extra juice be delivered on Wednesday. It wasn’t.
On Wednesday, my delivery was lacking the tea it was supposed to contain. I unfortunately didn’t realize this until after I emailed again about the pumpkin milk mixup.
On Thursday, I did receive 1 day’s worth of juices — which I did enjoy. I also received an apology delivery of extra vanilla almond cashew milk and some treats. This is much appreciated, but I did not receive my Friday’s juices.
On Friday, I still hadn’t received my Friday juices… 5 days into a juice cleanse and not having substance does not put one in a good mood. 3 hours later, and I still haven’t received a delivery…
I’m not sure if there is someone new working here, but this is truly a test to my patience. The market is saturated with juice cleanse places and although the quality of juice here is high, I would recommend shopping around.

Food was not bad but unnecessarily expensive. Also they were really pushy with trying to get me to promote them on social media, I’m sorry I didn’t want to post a picture on Instagram of your food right then and there, I came in to grab a lunch to eat not to broadcast your name… That’s your own responsibility. Customer service was bad and I felt uncomfortable in the tiny store.

The juices are fantastic and I love the selection. There are NOT a lot of organic juice bars (unfortunately), but THIS ONE IS, so that in itself is a rarity. However, the only reason I don’t give it 5 stars, is because they don’t write when the juice was made, as they are not made in front of you, just stored in a fridge. I would gladly pay $ 5 for a small juice made today, but feel ripped paying the same amount for a juice made 2 days ago. Most juice bars make it in front of you to guarantee optimal freshness. I hope this will change soon :)

I just finished a 3-​day juice cleanse and I’ve finally lost those last few pounds I’ve been trying so hard to get off. The juices are delicious and very filling, by day 3 I was full of energy and feeling great. Highly recommend this to someone trying to shed the last few pounds.

I am doing one of their cleanses. Today is the last day and I feel like I can keep going with it! The juices are absolutely delicious! It is pricey, which is why I won’t continue, but well worth it and I would definitely do it again! Thanks Belmonte!

Vegan, raw, omni, I don’t discriminate as long as it’s pure, natural, and done with perfection. Belmonte Raw nails it. Their juices and vegan milks are far better than the competitors. I didn’t realize there was that much critiquing room in the raw produce juicing business until I tried theirs. Balanced, yummy. Not relying on sweetness to win over the palate, these juices are a vitamin shot to the heart, mind, soul.
I am a bit overwhelmed by the prices hence a star short of a perfect rating.
Tasty Tip: Eat the chocolate thimbles. Raw, organic, unsweetened heaven. Worth every penny in decadence (you’ll ponder endlessly how it’s sweet tooth sating yet no sweeteners in it), and still cheaper than dessert at most restaurants.

This is a catering review, as I haven’t been to the actual restaurant.
My boss is a raw food junkie so we decided to order catering for a small internal meeting (6 people) at work.
Considering our party consisted of 4 (mostly carnivorous) men, the feedback on the food was surprisingly good.
The menu is quite restrictive, there aren’t a lot of choices when it came to ordering. We ordered the raw wraps, a large falafel salad and a large bean salad, along with some of the dessert, milks and juices.
Everything was delicious, especially the wraps and the desserts (chocolate peanut butter thimbles and raspberry chocolate ones).
The «falafels» in the falafel salad were absolutely disgusting (sorry raw foodies) but the texture was exactly like play-​doh and the taste wasn’t far off either.
Overall, a good experience, but not cheap. We paid just over $ 200 to feed 6 (including delivery), and it wasn’t an abundance of food.

As someone who will eat almost anything (which in principle includes anything vegan and organic, as well as meats galore), I was intrigued when I was invited by a friend to lunch at Belmonte Raw. I have never been exposed to the world of vegetarian raw food, so here goes.
The Leslieville location is a storefront for their shipping empire of cleansing juices, though they also serve a very limited menu of veggie/​vegan grubs here. Within the narrow yet comfortably contemporary and woody space is enough seating to accommodate a handful of people. It’s really more of a takeout joint format, though the jubilant staff will bring food to your table.
I tried one of their juices, which sadly I do not remember what, but it was fresh and dense like a smoothie. What I do remember more is the $ 14 collard wrap. A green collard serving as the wrap wrapper, filled with finely chopped purple cabbage, carrots, and a bunch of other stuff, tied with a line of twine to complete the great presentation. Felt like I was eating a salad within a salad – it was basically a salad in the form of a wrap. Surprisingly it held together well, tasted lovely good and fresh, packed full of many great veggie flavours.
It was very enjoyable as I ate and watched the regular hoards of yoga chicks and yuppie vegan-​types walk in. I felt full and happy enough for a couple blocks’ walk, maybe even felt cleansed, until I desperately walked into nearby Jim’s Restaurant for a burger to finally shut my stomach up.
The folks at Belmonte Raw clearly put a lot of passion in the stuff they make, as expressed in my wrap. But it is kind of steep on the wallet. And as Randy from Trailer Park Boys puts it, A Man’s Gotta Eat.
{TTC: take any Queen streetcar to Carlaw or Pape}

Other reviews are saying «a little pricey». I’m sorry, $ 10 for a smoothie + tax is not «a little» it’s a complete rip-​off! I also had their vegetarian wrap for $ 14 + tax — a half wrap of collard greens with some chopped radishes/​turnips and a smattering of almonds and cranberries. I was so hungry afterwards that I had to eat a full fish & chips dinner at nearby Reliable, which I guess kind of defeats the purpose of eating healthy here! Of course quality, organic food should cost more, but other places like Raw are way more innovative in their prep and much more reasonably valued. I would saw the price points here are at least 40% higher than other veggie places I know, and I would say less tasty too. This place is only for yoga yuppies with money to burn

VIBE
I’m as carnivore as it gets but sometimes its good to take it down a notch. Since this is near Casa Nat and I was in the hood, it seemed right to try it out.
Hours are 10 – 3 so it’s a bit odd but because as a small business the staff need the time to prepare for deliveries for cleanses and what not. Staff are very friendly and chatty. Plus, cute benches, posters and a beautiful wooden table and bench near the front with a window seat view. The bathroom is also really pretty. I really want the wall paper in that bathroom!
I ATE /​DRANK
I had a carrot soup with some parsley. It’s not heated (surprise) but it was good. I then followed it up with a beet, ginger, carrot and lemon drink. Cold and sweet — just the way I like it.
Belmonte Raw also has shots. These are definitely different from the shots I used to have in my 20s. No more alcohol. Lots more echinacea. I had the invincible elixir: Vitamin D, echinacea and oil of oregano. Belmonte makes it more palatable by adding in some lemon juice. Let’s just say I came in with a red eye and a runny nose and after I came out, it was gone (partially because I took out my contact but I’ll give BR the credit).
I also got the Uplift drink — a mix of spinach, parsley, apple and ginger. Just a good vitamin mix and the apple and ginger give it a bit of sweetness.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
The place to get your five a day. I did good today. I will admit I was still hungry so I went to Burger Stompers after and I got two mini sliders. I never said I was perfect. Thus, maybe I’m not the ideal candidate for a cleanse. That said, I would definitely go here for a cleanse. These guys know what they’re doing and they care.

Love raw food. Love Belmonte. The menu is small but everything I tried was superb. Try the sun burger. A+
Belmonte is a little bit more expensive than Rawlicious and maybe even Live, but it’s very good. A raw food blogger that I know also said that their chocolate is the smoothest she’s ever had and I completely agree! I highly recommend it.

Came here for lunch today. Yummy!
I had a mexican themed salad, that contained a veggie wrap, and my DC had the asian slaw — I wish they have the spaghetti meat balls that Bec R had. That would have hit the spot.
The salads were yummy, and they had a wide selection of smoothies.

I love Belmonte Raw! I’ve been there a couple times and now I’ve tried a couple meals, a couple juices, and the dessert.
Like others mentioned, it is very pricey but I think it’s good value for the high quality product you’re getting.
The first time I went I had some sort of salad, which was delicious, a green juice (with ginger) and the dessert (peanut butter). Everything was incredible!
I went back a second time last week and had a salad on romaine and the vanilla/​cashew juice. I didn’t like my meal as much as the first time, but it was still very tasty and filling.
The meals are $ 14 and the juices range in price.

$$ but great!
Raw food seems to be the rage these days, and Belmonte Raw is a great option. Their menu is small, but focused. They announce their daily specials on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to sign up with them to get a heads up of what to expect. Their juices are great, fresh and fully customizable if you don’t like what’s on the menu. I’ve tried the «Balance» and «Grounding» juices — yummy. I’ve also had one of their raw wraps. It was expensive, but so delicious and filling that I was able to split it over two meals. Love their window seat, great for people watching.
Definitely a go-​to for me when I’m in the Leslieville area. Would go more often if I lived close by and got a major raise.

Went here for lunch. They didn’t have a huge selection but we got the spaghetti neat balls and my god they were absolutely amazing! Would defiantly recommend this place. It’s a little pricey but thats what you get for deliciously healthy fresh food!