LOV looks like your typical vegan hipster restaurant –
sparkling white everything with hints of greens and natural contrasts. Just looking
at the dining room makes you feel healthier. For a moment, you wonder if you should
skip the wine and order kombucha instead… then you remember how terrible it
tastes and order a bottle of Prosecco instead. They’re both carbonated - same
same, but different.
Once you start with the wine, it goes downhill from there.
Somehow, two orders of fries end up at the table. The LOV poutine ($11) looks
great smothered with plenty of miso gravy and vegan mozzarella but tastes like
fries covered with a flavourless thick sauce. Stick with the kimchi fries ($8)
instead, which at least has the fermented cabbage and a creamy sesame dressing
for interest.
Perhaps an order of Brussel sprouts ($9) to keep everything
healthy? They’re deep fried and smothered with way too much of that tangy
buffalo sauce.
And then the Zen salad ($16) arrives and the guilt
momentarily washes away. It’s a tasty combination of konjac noodles, shredded vegetables
(cabbage, lettuce, daikon, carrots), and the extras thrown in for flavour and
contrast (chilis and cashew). Maybe healthier options are better at LOV as this
was the best of the starters. I thoroughly enjoyed the refreshing cilantro and
mint elements. What? Am I a secret healthy eater?
Then I take a bite of the mushroom risotto ($19) and taste
my favourite dish of the night. Done traditionally, the creamy rice and peas
would have been good, but is made even better with the roasted oyster
mushrooms. Okay, so perhaps I haven’t turned into nutritionist.
Yet, the LOV lasagna ($19) didn’t really excite. While the
pasta looked delicious smothered with the vegan mozzarella and cashew cream, it
tasted bland. The best part of the plate was perhaps the Caesar salad.
The gnocchi di casa ($20) was an interesting take on
the classic Italian dish, except at LOV it’s made with sweet potato and buckwheat
so there’s antioxidant and fibre strewn throughout the dish. The sweetness did
help balance the hemp, basil and arugula pesto, which by itself could have been
too strong.
Aside from the risotto, it’s the coconut curry ($18) that impressed.
Who would have thought cubes of squash and carrots with a blanched kale could
be so delicious when smothered in a cashew and coconut milk curry?
You should definitely heed the advice of those working at
LOV, they know what’s tasty. Our choice of desserts, the crème brûlée ($8) and
cheesecake ($7) were both good, for vegan alternatives, but run-of-the-mill.
Our waitress highly suggested the chocolate carmelita ($5),
a dessert I didn’t think I’d enjoy, but had me reaching for another bite. It’s
like having a chocolate butter tart bar but with the texture (and lack of
stickiness) of a date square. Our table can certainly sing it praises.
For a place that looks so healthy, LOV’s menu does have its
fair share of comfort foods. But perhaps what’s most surprising is how much I enjoyed
and even preferred the “healthier” options. Maybe the surroundings were rubbing
off on me. Could it be, one day I may actually order kombucha?
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 620 King Street West
Address: 620 King Street West
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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