Scarborough

This eastern and northern suburb of Toronto includes several Asian vegetarian restaurants, and two that are South Indian.

A-1 Sweets & Restaurant – k
3300 McNicoll Ave (e. of McCowan), 416-299-9424
www.facebook.com/pages/Scarborough-ON/A-1-Sweet-an
~~East Indian cuisine.
››› Located near the Scarborough Sikh Temple.
~~Kapil writes at VegGuide.org, "The food at this restaurant is great. It tastes like food from India. Me and my family go to A1 every week, we enjoy the food very much. Sometime there can be a long wait, but it is well worth it, because we all love the food, especially the Malai Kofta. This is a good restaurant to take your kids. My two kids love going there, they won't eat Indian food from any other restaurant."
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Tue-Sun 11am-9pm. A bit later on Fri and Sat. Closed Mon.

v Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen – c d
3290 Midland Ave #9 (n. of Finch), 416-292-7095
~~Chinese style vegetarian cuisine. Large menu.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Daily 11am-10pm.

Govardhan Thal
840 Markham Rd (n. of Lawrence), 416-438-0544
~~Informal Gujarathi homestyle restaurant with sit-down tables and a take-out counter. Buffet.
~~Jan emailed us with the following description: "Run very much like a homestyle kitchen by a team of Gujarathi homemakers, this is an authentic vegetarian buffet with an excellent selection of Gujarathi foods. They have dishes like stir-fried ivy-gourds (Tindora in Hindi) and Bajri rotis (made from a gluten-free millet-like flour). They also have the regular rotis and its a joy to actually see them make it fresh before your eyes. Lunch is usually $4.99 plus tax and dinner is $8.99 after taxes.
     The cooks double as staff, and although sincere, they only speak Gujarathi. So you might have a hard time communicating but usually the clientele here is quite friendly and jumps in to help out the vernacular-challenged vegetarian :)
     They have sit-down tables as well as a takeout counter. But there is not much ambiance to speak of per se."
~~Hours (9/17/2009): daily 9am-9pm.

Indian Spice Kitchen Restaurant
748 Markham Rd (n. of Lawrence), 416-850-7781
~~New. North Indian lunch and dinner buffets, thali, a la carte, samosas and Indian sweets featuring veg. and non-veg. items.
››› There are 40 plus items in our buffet and we have seating for 62 people.
~~Tracy writes: "I highly recommend them. The ambiance, food and owners are wonderful. You can either order from the menu (very reasonable $2.99 small or $4.99 large) per curry or have the buffet like we did ($7.99 lunch or $8.99 dinner). On the buffet, there were at least 10 curries, rice, soup, chat papparis, fresh garlic or regular naan (frankly the lightest and tastiest I have ever eaten) and two desserts – you can also order a separate dessert from their small bakery section. I am always on the look out for the best chai tea and frankly I believe I have found it! The chef apparently cooked originally in Dehli (I believe they said) and I certainly found a lovely richness in each dish. I thought those Indian dessert balls dipped in a light syrup were also the best I've had. Enjoy!"
     Located on the west side of Markham between Lawrence and Ellesmere Road. All major credit cards accepted.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Mon-Thu 11am-9pm, Fri-Sun 11am-10pm.

Lotus Pond Vegetarian Restaurant – ç d
3838 Midland Ave, Unit 121 (s. of Steeles), 416-412-3140
~~Elegant vegetarian Chinese restaurant with over 60 dishes – Szechuan, sweet & sour, some spicy. Dim sum in the morning. Cash only.
~~“...my favourites are the Dim Sum, steamed taro buns, red bean cake, mock lemon chicken, who needs meat?” –Wendy.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): daily 11am-10pm.

Naturally Yours Gourmet
919 Kingston Rd (w. of Victoria Park), 416-691-7055
~~One hot entree daily, salads, sandwiches, take home deli items.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Mon-Wed Noon-3pm.

Saravanaa Bhavan
1571 Sandhurst Circle (Finch & McCowan), 416-293-7755
www.saravanaabhavan.ca
~~Authentic South Indian cuisine from Tamil Nadu.
››› Menu includes: Masala Dosa, Paper Dosa, Rava Masala Dosa, Mini and Regular Idlis, Vadais and the popular Madras Filter Coffee along with the famous Saravana Special Meals – a taste bud tour of all the vegetarian curries of Chennai. Open since Sept. 10, 2005 in unit 153 at Woodside Square.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Mon-Fri 11:30am-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm.

Tanya Restaurant
3452 Kingston Rd (w. of Markham Rd), 416-266-1456
~~Vietnamese cuisine. Several meat-free items but ask about fish sauce.
~~Tracy writes: "Usually I find Vietnamese is too meaty for vegetarians but there were 5 complete meals that I could choose from. The place is very clean and although it was chilly when we first arrived they quickly put on the heat. We were on a lunch hour and found we had lots of time to eat. I had the lemongrass tofu on a bed of vermicelli and found it very light. The price was $6.99. Our meal also came with free green tea. All in all a positive experience." Located in the plaza just west of Q-ssis Banquet Halls.
     One warning: the veggie meals contain fish sauce. They will gladly do them without, but you have to mention it!
~~Hours (9/17/2009): daily 11am-10pm.

Village of Punjab: Sweet and Restaurant
1515 Birchmount Rd. (s. of Ellesmere), 416-757-1997
~~Eat-in and take-out, 100% vegetarian, only a few vegan items.
~~"$7.99 lunch and dinner. Open until 10 pm. Large selection of salads, about 8 hot entrees, majority of them have paneer or are yogurt-based and includes nan bread and half a dozen types of ice-cream." writes Min Min.

Chialee Mfg Co Ltd.
Milliken Blvd Unit B19 (n. of Finch), 416-754-0985
~~Large selection of Asian style vegetarian mock meats. They also specialize in Bubble Tea supplies.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.

The Natural Food Depot – O d
2075 Lawrence Ave E (at Warden), 416-640-0234
www.thenaturalfooddepot.com
~~Bulk and packaged foods, dairy-free products, and organic produce. Many items are discounted.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Mon-Thu 10am-7:30pm, Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.

Nelakee Vegetarian Food –
200 Silver Star Blvd, #330, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 416-335-4388
www.nlkveggiemart.com
~~Large selection of frozen or dry vegetarian foods. Veggie burgers, veggie dogs, “chicken”, tofu, dim-sum etc.
››› Wholesale dealers welcome.
~~They have a counter area where you can buy a snack, drink, or meal items.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Mon-Sun 11:30am-7:30pm.

Surati Sweet Mart –
26 Camforth Rd, 416-752-3366
www.suratisweetmart.com/
~~Retail factory location for an Indian snacks and sweets business. Hot take-out food also available Fri-Sun 10am-7pm.
~~Gujarati-owned business known for their snacks and sweets. Over 70 items are made and distributed to various stores across North America, including Loblaws. They also operate two counter-service restaurants.

Birchcliff Village Farmers’ Market – O
St Nicholas Church Garden, 1512 Kingston Rd (near the Scarborough Bluffs), 416-686-6528
www.marketsbythebluffs.com
~~Highlights: fresh organic fruits and vegetables picked daily from Ontario organic farms, organic dairy, prepared fresh foods, perennials and cut flowers, all natural handmade soaps, soy candles, organic fresh breads and baked goods, organic hand blended teas, artisans, music and more! It all takes place in a beautiful garden setting.
~~Hours (9/17/2009): Friday 3pm-7pm, mid-June to mid-Oct.

The Whole Grain – v
1171 Victoria Park Av (n. of St. Clair), 416-553-7276
thewholegrain.ca
~~All vegan baking – No Dairy or Eggs!Muffins, cookies & breads!
~~Dec 2009. Store front is closed, operating by order only.