Aux Vivres

alarmingkate - Dec 4 07

Aux Vivre is, quite likely, my favorite place to eat in the world. I go there every time I visit Montreal, and I try as best I can to replicate some of their signature dishes at home. I think their BLT (with coconut bacon) on chapati is amazing, as is the Dragon Bowl. All orders come with huge amounts of fresh veggies, and if you come in the right season you can eat nasturtium leaves right out of their garden on the patio! You really have to be trying hard in order to find fault with this place, since the food can't be beat and the desserts are equally unparalleled.

In response to SDB's review stating that this establishment is unclean and gave her/him gastroenteritis, I'd like to politely suggest that that seems highly unlikely. Gastroenteritis is most commonly picked up in developing countries (when I contracted it, I was in a rural area in India). We've all had bouts of the stomach flu, but I wouldn't go so far as to blame it on a restaurant and suggest that they have fecal matter in their food (which is very improbable). Especially when, in this case, the restaurant is excellent and staffed by people who seem to care about their work.

Cheers, and hope you enjoy the restaurant if you choose to visit.

SDB - Mar 14 07

I used to really like Aux Vivres. Vegan restaurants are rare and vegan restaurants with great tasting food - like at Aux Vivres - are even rarer. I tried a lot of the dishes (and especially enjoyed a recent trip that just happened to be on Robbie Burns Day: the dish of the night was "vegan haggis." It was a delicious meat loaf-type thing with nuts. Mmmm.) and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I have a huge aversion to the taste of onions, so an extra thing that I enjoyed is that - unlike a lot of vegan/vegetarian places- Aux Vivres' food isn't heavy on onions.

HOWEVER, last time I went to Aux Vivres (in mid-February,) I got very sick afterwards. I'm guessing it was gastroenteritis. For several days afterward I could taste the remnants/aftertaste of my BLT on chipati as I vomited it up.

What makes me especially angry about getting sick from eating Aux Vivres' food is that I am very careful about food hygiene (washing hands, using clean utensils/surfaces, etc,) and try to eat at restaurants that espouse similar philosophies and practices: from previous visits, I had though Aux Vivres to be relatively clean.

The thing about gastro, however, is that it is a food-borne disease that is passed mainly through fecal matter. That means that someone involved in the food preparation process that night had not properly washed their hands after defecating. Their fecal matter was transferred into my sandwich. I ate the sandwich and got sick. Yum! That same night, I saw the guy behind the counter (where the juices/smoothies are made,) rub his hand on the sole of his shoe, then continue (without stopping to wash his hands,) to unload glasses from the dishwasher, then make a smoothie. I also saw one of the servers sneezing onto his hands, wiping the hands on his pants, then continuing to go about his business. Yuck.

I will never go to Aux Vivres again and I have told other people about why.

The staff doesn't seem to be too concerned about food safety or basic hygiene.

auxvivres - Aug 23 06

Aux Vivres is the best restaurant I know of. Their food is super fresh, delicious and always satisfying. I eat there whenever I can afford to. It isn't cheap but is always worth it. They have amazing chefs. I know their pastry chef and his apple chocolate cake is the best money can buy. Service was fine as far as I'm concerned. Full recommendation with five stars.

Dawn Ressel - Jun 26 05

I wish I could give this restaurant two ratings - one for service and one for food. Instead, I'm averaging the two. The food was great. I had the brunch plate, which consisted of about five samples of dishes - all delicious. The service, on the other hand, was offensive. I stood at the counter for five minutes and no one acknowledged me - even a guy who stood a foot away from me. When they finally got around to helping customers, they helped the person who was behind me in line. I had to interrupt and ASK where to sit and if I could have a menu. They messed up my take-out order, and by the time I noticed it was a few hours later. I called back to see if I could stop by to have it fixed. The person answering the phone was unapologetic and even rude, saying, "it's a new shift now. I don't know anything about it." When asked for the manager's name, he said there isn't a manager. It's a wonder they can make food that tastes so good, but I won't be back.

david schalliol - Apr 14 05

delicious and very much open.
it moved some time ago.
the address listed here is current.
i highly recommend.

Phil Campeau - Dec 19 04

I could go on and on about this vegan restaurant. Not a single animal ingredient to be found in the whole shop. Let's start with the entrees. Cashew-buttered chipatee (also available with maple syrup) makes a great opener, as does their hearty whole-grain dough pizza, which has different toppings every day. Coffees, teas, soy lattes, juices, all delicious.

Then you get to the main dish. For under $8, you can get any of their very hearty sandwiches. There's the Veggie Pate, which is the crowd favorite; the Lebanese; the Vietnamese (ginger overload, delicious); the Veggie Lox, which does an uncredible job of imitating lox using shredded carrots and creamy tofu; and the incredible BLT, which substitutes smoked coconut for the bacon, yet still has the right taste.

There's also a wide variety of main plates, including a daily special that never fails to look wonderful.

And if after all that you're still hungry, they've got a variety of cakes, brownies, cookies, and other desserts, which also vary daily.

I can't recommend this place highly enough.