Grasslands

I’ve gone many times, mainly for brunch. I’ve always liked their food, love how everything is vegan.
I’m sad it’s closing next weekend. I’ll be there for one more meal.

I don’t go here often but when I do go, I really enjoy it. I love the burger boards, the little sliders, and the mustard crusted tofu. The drinks are delicious and boozy, as well. Nice atmosphere, great for a special meal as it is more upscale and expensive!

Good food, ok service. The cold press mocktails are awesome & the foid could even work for an meat eater. I was disappointed in the service, but the food made up for it.

I was really looking forward to this place after the great Unilocal reviews. I came here on a Thursday night. Expecting it to be busy, we made a reservation in advance but the restaurant was relatively empty so that may not have been necessary.
The food was mediocre for me — I ordered the chimichurri tofu. There were a lot of flavours, but I felt that the tofu and zucchini sides were served with too much sauce. The side salad was mediocre as well. My friend ordered one of the burgers but was not impressed with the quality.
Overall the atmosphere is casual but trendy. I would still try Grasslands again, perhaps for brunch. Hopefully the food will be better next time.

Vegan restaurant food done right. Oh and they do brunch. Basically, it’s perfect.
Have been here twice — once for dinner in a large group (a bachelorette, actually) and then again with a friend for brunch. I really like how they can accommodate large parties but also have cozy booths for smaller groups. Also everything was super tasty and the portions are really generous. Will definitely be going back and wouldn’t hesitate to bring non-​vegans here at all.

A couple of friends and I showed up to Grasslands on a Sunday afternoon for brunch. We didn’t have a reservation but they managed to seat us anyway, although not before a rather long wait and a strange air of indifference from the staff. Despite this, we were hungry and happy to be eventually seated. The restaurant did not seem to be especially full, although the staff seemed quite busy and we had to flag someone down to get our orders taken. I ordered the apple fritters and the guacamole grilled cheese while others ordered the «chicken» and waffles, hangover helper and waffle of the day. We waited a fairly long time for the food and were not provided with updates. The food did not come out at the same time, leaving some at the table without food for far too long. At one point, one of the waitresses said she was going to get the last plate, but it did not arrive for another 10 minutes.
On to the food — we received the apple fritters first, which came on top of a berry sauce. They were very greasy and tasted of baking soda, overpowering the taste of the apple. However, the portion size was very large for the cost and the sauce was good. Most of the mains came with a side of fries and salad, both of which were decent although the fries could have been crispier. The guacamole grilled cheese had a good flavour but it was drenched in grease. The «chicken» and waffles was a disappointment. It was presented as more of a sandwich, with tomato, lettuce and mayo. The breading of the chicken lacked flavour and was very hard and dry, making for an unpleasant chewing experience. The waffles were pretty good, although it did little to compensate for the taste of the chicken. Based on my friends’ comments, the hangover helper was good while the waffle of the day was sub-​par.
It seemed that flagging down the wait staff had become a regularity, whether it was to get more water or to get the bill. By the end of the meal, we were displeased both with the taste and the long period of time it took to get served. However, I will concede that the wait staff were friendly in our interactions with them… until the end. As we settled our separate bills, one of the waitresses told one of my friends «you better give your friend sh*t» for not tipping enough on the bill. At this point, our opinion of Grasslands was sealed.
Pretentious service, mediocre food. Stay away from Grasslands.

Ordered the seitan steak, mustard-​crusted tempeh, and zuchinni fritters. Food was pretty decent, with some interesting flavours.
Zuchinni fritters weren’t that special, I wouldn’t order them again. The seitan steak and tempeh were both quite nice — good texture and flavour.
Overall, nice atmosphere and decent food, but a bit on the pricey side.

came here for dinner one night in the last month — walked with no reso’s on a sat night — took a few min only to be seated
I read some reviews prior to and heard they have meet dishes!
and even the menu shows steak and chicken — but everything is definitely vegan lol
i had the steak nonetheless, and it was actually pretty good — it didn’t taste like a real steak, but it was good flavour for sure — even the side options were great.
so ya maybe not use the words chicken steak etc on the menu — but overall it was worth checking out

Another Happy Cow suggestion and spot on! This might be the best vegan restaurant of our 7 day trip visit to Canada! Here is what I will say… the service was impeccable… friendly attentive… everything you would want. The food… we ordered the ceasar salad with chicken (which I would highly suggest) very filling and a good portion for an appetizer. For the entrée we ordered the seitan steak. We actually had to take photos and post this one because it actually looked like a steak but of course was an amazing homemade vegan seitan steak. It’s always fun for us to post for our meat eating friends. BUT if you are not vegan or even vegetarian, I guarantee you will be completely satisfied by plant based protein at this place. The flavors were spot on. If we chose one restaurant to come back in Canada, it would be this one!

It is difficult to find a restaurant that a vegan and her carnivore husband can eat at together. Grasslands gets a five star rating from both of us!!!
We shared the apple fitters. DELICIOUS
We each had the green eggs no ham. Equally delicious. The Bloody Mary was incredible.
The only drawback was that they had run out of Daiya cheese but hopefully that’s not a regular occurrence. Will definitely be going back.

Great quality, very tasty and nice atmosphere.
All very heavy and large-​portioned dishes, so come on an empty stomach and probably not worth it if you are counting calories, they have one or two salads but they aren’t very interesting. The dishes have a lot of oil (or earth-​balance? not sure) in them. There’s definitely a priority on flavour over health.
The menu does not completely match the one on their website, I suppose they haven’t gotten around to updating it. The dish I had planned to order wasn’t on the menu, but I found something else.
Despite that, I had a very enjoyable experience and would definitely go back.

There’s a spectrum of flavor for edible food that ranges from «interesting» at one end to «good» at the other. Restaurants that manage to strike a balance between «interesting» and «good» are the ones people tend to rave about, they balance innovation, arousing curiosity with distinctive flavors, while still managing to ground the experience with more familiar ones. I’m disappointed to say that Grasslands drifts a little too far toward the «interesting» end of the spectrum.
My meal, the portobello Parmesan, had a lot of potential, but seemed to have had an identity crisis between the ideation and execution stages. What should have been a cohesive meal ended up as a smörgåsbord of distinctive, but less-​than-​compatible flavors, ranging from cloyingly sweet to watery to bitter, and smoky/​savory all on the same plate. Nothing was «bad» per se but it was overwhelmingly mediocre and failed to tell any sort of story worth listening to. It seemed like a non-​vegan chef tried to create a vegan entrée by filling a plate with all of the vegetable-​based sides he could find in his cookbook.
The desert was worse; the dry vanilla cake was topped with tough, unripe, and unidentifiable cubed fruit a la canned fruit salad, and garnished with a mint leaf to further bolster the theme of identity crisis.
The staff was friendly and the atmosphere was hip, but the food failed to support the self-​confident atmosphere.
Tl:dr I had far better food for far less while in Toronto. Check out Camros, and Fresh, just to name two.

Went there for Winterlicious 2015. Wow, what a treat! The starter was a traditional French Canadian pea soup, which as a recent vegetarian I must say is hard to find in vegan form. Wow, exceeded my expectations. The seitan steak was expertly done with several delicious and well-​cooked accompaniments. Dessert was a delicious trio of dessert truffles, a wonderfully sweet, rich finish. Service was impeccable from start to finish, and the atmosphere was warm and chic.
My guest ordered a wonderful (if a little over-​priced) cocktail and I had a craft beer on tap (always appreciated).
A great place to dine for vegans, vegetarians and meat-​eaters alike. I will be going back, and soon!

Dined here for winterlicious and I am so glad I did. The restaurant is small and cute, great atmosphere that’s perfect for dates. Not a whole lot of seating so I would suggest trying to book reservations since the bar is small and right by the front door.
For appetizers we had the sweet potato fritters and beet salad. Firstly the portions for every dish we had were huge and we were already full after the apps. Both were so delicious. The fritters were crispy on the outside but perfect on the inside. The kale slaw was a bit tart and contrasted the fritters quite nicely. And the sunflower dip on the side was probably one of the best accompaniment sauces I’ve had. The beet salad was awesome as well. Who knew cashew cheese was so yummy?
Entrees were the home made seitan steak and the fettuccine with pesto. I don’t know which one I liked more. The seitan had a great texture and tasted really similar to what I remember ribs tasting like. The roasted potatoes, grilled veggies and fruit salsa on the plate really worked perfectly. Everything was harmonious and even my dad who is a flat out carnivore was left with a clean plate. The fettuccini was probably some of the best pasta I’ve had and you’d never guess it was vegan. The tomatoes added a great pop of freshness.
As for dessert, they were out of the chocolate bundt cake so we had the replacement of chocolate mousse with a big delicious cookie, and an order of the chocolate truffles. Both of these dishes were out of this world. The mousse was creamy and rich and decadent. The cookie was thick and chewy. And the chocolate truffles were smooth and full of flavour.
Honesty out of all the winter/​summerlicious restaurants I’ve dined at, I would have to say this has been my favourite experience and I have found my new go to vegan restaurant. The service was also super lovely and accommodating. They really helped to complete the dining experience. Overall, I could not recommend this place enough. While the normal menu pricing is a tad high ($ 16 – 19 an entrée) It’s good enough to impress even the pickiest meat eater.

4 star food but 5 star service totally justifies a 5 star review.
Grasslands is located in an ultracool part of Toronto filled with all sorts of pubs and carnivorous, exciting concept food – but meateaters and cheeselovers, fear not. Grasslands can compete with the best of them.
The restaurant is a cool, intimate space that’s bigger than it first appears outside. Reservations are probably totally necessary in primetime hours.
Boasting a full bar and exciting cocktail menu, this place is not just for vegans. They even have some excellent dry bar mocktails, like a jalapeño-​spiced bloody mary (sans vodka) and naturally flavored cream soda.
The menu is expansive enough that it’s exciting but limited enough that you know they’re using fresh ingredients. The appetizers are cheeky (goat cheese made of cashews, fried oysters… oyster mushrooms, that is.)
We opted for the charcuterie board with an array of spreads and toasted bread. The warm marinated olives were succulent, the basil hummus was one of the better hummuses I’ve ever had. And the «goat cheese», while nothing like goat cheese, was a delicious entity unto itself.
The sliders were adorable and beautifully served, but unfortunately you could taste nothing on them (coulis, pickled onions, a flavorful veggie patty) because the mustard that they doused it in was sinus-​clearingly powerful. It was the most intense mustard I’ve ever tried. A small dollop on the side would’ve been enough to please even your most avid condiment lover.
The chickpea avocado salad was just boring, through and through. I’d definitely pass on this one next time, the taro chips were really out of place and the viniagarette was bland.
The corn soup was a surprisingly delicious, silky, creamy soup for not having any dairy in it. I wanted the recipe. It had spring onions, peas, and taro chips – again, the taro chips didn’t do much in the way of flavor or texture once they sat in the soup. They had the affect of potato chips in corn soup, I thought.
Service was excellent, from the bright, buoyant hostess to our waiter who was attentive but not overwhelming and happy to discuss the menu and our mutual love of hotels with hot tubs.
I’d definitely go again, even as a carnivore. It was very tasty.

As a total omnivore, this was quite an experience. I have to say it was delightful. Their cocktails are fantastic.
We ordered the crispy kings — which were quite nice, and the Charcuterie Board — which was lovely — the deep fried olives were a great touch. The Portobello Parmesan platter was great. Every side dish was fantastic. Their fries are beautiful. Their salads were lovely. The desserts were quite nice as well.
I appreciate that they offer so many gluten free options. I also appreciate that the menu isn’t completely inundated with tofu — which is a popular ingredient in the vegan world.
The staff was very attentive and helpful.
I would recommend this place to anyone. It was a very nice evening.

Here we go!
Location: Perfect. 10
Food: incredible, so tasteful, huge dish that serve 2 people. 10
Dessert: delicious and also serve 2 people. 10
Price: OK. 8

Engaged in this new experienced with a vegan friend and it was a good experience.
I really enjoyed my appetizer of crispy oyster mushrooms with the side of kale salad. They were made fresh as evidenced by the sizzle that was still heard on the plate as they were brought to the table and the oyster mushroom held up well amidst the cornmeal & herb batter.
This was my first time having organic tempeh and it came in the form of a steak that was flavoured well with dijon mustard coating for some kick. Everything on the plate was well seasoned and done with care.
Though we didn’t get a chance to partake in dessert, the atmosphere was very relaxed and the service was great.
Additionally, since the meal was fairly healthy and full of wonderful veggies that it made rocking out to Avicii a few hours later that much more entertaining and captivating!

This place has the farm-​to-​table aesthetic you see in loads of restaurants now, but it’s all vegan!
When I walked in, there was no one at the bar and no host or server in sight, so I sat myself at the bar. It became clear pretty quickly that they were absolutely slammed. Nonetheless, the apologetic bartender was really nice and I asked him to make me whatever he felt like making. The result was a delicious, refreshing cucumber vodka lemonade with pineapple juice. YUM! The dinner was excellent as well. I tried the chicken dinner, which came with broccolini and mashed potatoes. Everything was great!

I came here because one of my most awesomest Unilocal friends invited me to a vegan meetup. While I’m not a vegan (or even vegetarian), I tend to have my vegetarian moments (though I love meat, my favourite food is tofu… go figure).
Anyways, I ordered the sliders, crispy oysters, and had one of my friend’s corn fritters along with an Augusta Beer.
In order of first to worst.
1) Sliders — while these were tiny, they were so filling as it had both seitan and black beans in it (my poor washroom… tmi…I know). The patties were awesome and probably one of the best veggie burgers I’ve had. The soft buns accompanied the patty perfectly.
2) Corn Fritters — These were really good and tasted like a giant samosa filled with veggies.
3) Crispy «oysters» (mushrooms) — these seemed to have too much batter to me and not enough mushrooms. However, other people liked it. It tasted like mushroom tempura, and I don’t like tempura. Maybe it’s because I just don’t like fried food that much. However the kale salad beneath it was delicious. I love kale.
4)Augusta beer — While I don’t drink often (though Unilocal events are making me become more of an alcoholic… ugh…), this type of beer is why I never liked beer. It reminded me of a Labatt Blue or Molson Light, and those are the two beers I despise the most.
In terms of food temperature, they weren’t piping hot, but they were sufficient.
For items 1, 3, and 4, I paid a total of $ 29 before tip, which I find reasonable and the portion size. So I think for food it gets ⁴⁄₅.
Service: The bartender was kind of odd, but otherwise food seemed to come out around your standard restaurant time — 10 to 15 minutes. I didn’t like that they didn’t serve napkins or cutlery and you had to ask for it. I understand the environmental factor of napkin wastage, but what about buying reusable napkins? ³⁄₅
Atmosphere: It’s dark, but seems like a decent hangout place and possible date place. ⁴⁄₅
Verdict: Would visit again and for those non-​vegetarians, would recommend the sliders first.