Crudessence

The vegan/​raw/​gluten-​free revolution is upon us, and I have been sitting on the sidelines. I’m all for it, but not an active participant.
Predictably, Crudessence is right next to the university, right next to yet another green everything-​free joint (La Panthère verte). The décor is as welcoming as their staff. What their staff isn’t is prompt. You’ll get served if the place is empty around 11am, but come noon, you should have Candy Crush on your phone. It’s a rather frustrating experience since you can see the plates sitting on the counter, not being delivered to their respective tables. I can only watch the cooks flirting the kale away for so long man! Their menu is very tempting; they have a little brunch menu as well on week-​ends, and a lunch special which may or may not show up.
As much as I can rationalize the fact that I’m eating raw food, some things remained a suprise. For exemple, it’s only natural that if your food is raw, it should be cold. Unless you’re eating soup, it’s all cold. Cold pesto lasagna. Which was good, but not earth-​shattering; I think it could do without the tomatoes which add a weird texture. I waited about 10 mins for my plate to be prepared, but some 20 more for my desert to arrive, obviously because it had to thaw. My avocado-​lime pie was good. And that’s it. It’s okay. Another raw side-​effect is that unless you order tempeh or something with a paste in it, it’s not very filling, but ends up being maybe a bit pricey for the amount you get. I can’t say I’m convinced, but I’m curious to try more.

One of the best acai bowls I’ve had– great texture and really good toppings (granola, gogi berries, coconut flakes, banana, and cocoa nibs)!

This is an inspiring place for raw vegan food. Their aesthetic was clean, simple, modern and comfortable. I was awed when they served us our carafe filled with chlorophyl treated water. The chlorophyl dye danced and made a beautiful sea green color. As for their food, we ordered the cheese plate, japanese miso soup, and black bean noodle bowl. I loved all three. They had one «chedder» cheese, a specially made cheese, which was outstanding. So complex, a wonderful hard cheese that I’ve never experienced elsewhere. Considering I’ve tried countless vegan cheeses and shops in Brooklyn, there is no match to that cheese. I wish they would allow us to buy it in bulk. The miso soup was ok, I’ve had better. The noodle bowl was delicious. We ended up purchasing the raw cookbook, and I’ve made a couple of items so far which were pretty good.

Crudessence is THE authority in raw and vegan and gluten free food, this is serious bizness here!
Be ready for an adventure of the senses… Try the pad thai salad with raw zucchini spaghetti or the delicious lasagna with pistachio pesto…
Oh and please do indulge with the lemon tart made with avocado mousse… It will make you want to be raw vegan for the rest of your life.
They also have amazing fresh juices so if you need a pick me in in the middle of the afternoon, you know where to go!
Most of all I love how I feel after a meal at crudessence: full but light, energized and full of life!
We need more of «crudessence» like restaurant in Montréal!
That’s all you need to know.

Not my first choice for a meal on a cold day, but it was near the art gallery and I was craving something healthy-​ish. What luck that there is not one but there are TWO vegan restos in the area! I wanted to order one of their veggie burgers, but the server told me they did not receive their bread that day… So I was left to order chili and a side kale salad for something warming and more substantial than your standard raw food fare.
For a meal I can rather easily make at home, it was very expensive! I’m surprised because the quality was meh, the taste was meh, but the price was bloated. As for service, the waiter was nice/​attentive, but the hostess was borderline rude as she did not even acknowledge when we thanked her and said goodnight. How strange because she was polite when we walked in, but not so after we paid… I felt we should have gone to the Green Panther next door as it was actually full of people rather than empty like Crudessence was when we initially walked by.

So let me start by saying I am not a vegetarian, let alone a vegan. I was in the area seeing the art museum and chose to come here for lunch because it is a short walk. The café is a cute basement level area with living walls and recycled works of art. The service was friendly and helpful. I had the om burger based on recommendations on Unilocal.I was surprised that it was cold. I thought the flavor was good but it was difficult to eat. The «bun» is more of a grain flatbread that didn’t stay together completely. My husband had the bowel with black beans and sweet potatoes with fresh spinach– we both agreed that this was excellent. The table water is green and I’m not sure what it is flavored with, but it is delightful. Highly recommended for vegetarians and non-​vegetarians alike.

Wow and wow
Loved the OM burger!
Lentil soup was amazing!!!
Chocolate mousse was fabulous

Expérience incomparable ! C’est la meilleure façon de savoir apprécier la cuisine Végétalienne à son apogée!

Descending upon meaty Montréal, I never thought I would be able to find a veggie haven. This location is the original and gorgeous.
We ate here for dinner one of the evenings and it blew me away:
–Discovery Plate, a collection of their starters, fantastic, highly recommend, only available after 5PM, but they allowed us the 30 minute lead time
–Crudessence salad, beautiful greens, sprouts, sauerkraut and sprouted hummus
–Hippocrate juice, cukes, celery, pea sprouts, coriander, lemon
–even their water, FREE, a revelation, so much so I ran out to the grocery store to pick up chlorophyll to recreate at home
Skip: Caesar salad, overdressed and flavor was not our favorite
Of course I had to return for take out:
–almond milk, $ 14 for the large size, if you bring back the bottle, $ 1 off, great version, not overly sweet from dates, so pure
–om burger, super satisfying
–blt, eggplant bacon, what!?! Love
–exceptional wrap, so filling from the quinoa and millet, nods to Vietnamese and Japanese
–cheesecake, made with cashews and coconut oil, crust from brazil nuts and figs, so good
Check out snacks: biscotti and gold rush.
A lot of raw vegan food can be overly salted, but C manages their levels of sodium very well. All organic and vegan. This brought me through the times during the trip where I needed fresh and nourishing food — including for lunch and dinner at the airport and on the flight back home.
The cookbook Raw Essence is currently on it’s way to me. Yay!

Excellent vegetarian food makes you realize how tasteful vegetarian dishes are, the falafel sandwich and dishes of all sorts are not to miss, the desserts made from natural ingredients makes u crave for more, I will come back soon

Creative, tasty, vegan and gluten free. Excellent!!!
A truly healthy meal and great experience.
Near McGill University off Sherbrooke.

Best place EVER! I recently went totally vegan, and I am always satisfied with th food and even full after! I looove the tacos I usually get two and It’s perfect. Recently they were packed with a convention and gave us kale chips and a free desert each because of the wait! Wow! Amazing service! I highly recommend this place to non-​vegans too and vegans! Soooo tasty and goooood!

This is hands down my favorite vegan spot in the city. I’ve brought many skeptics here and the verdicts have ranged from reluctant admittance of ‘it’s not bad’ to ‘I really liked it, considering it’s raw vegan food’. Warning: the service can take a bit long.
Good: The Discovery Plate (appetizer, suffice as a small meal for two), the perfect sampler dish if you have no idea what you’re doing. My personal favorites are the Fujiyama and BLT sandwiches… and 10% student discount!
Bad: I’ve once waited 35 minutes for a take out order… for one Sandwich. It was a bit much considering the food didn’t required cooking in the first place. Another time I ordered a sandwich for take out at the counter (I don’t get the packaged ones because I prefer it freshly made). Good news: it was ready in one minute after I ordered! Bad news: It must’ve been sitting on the counter because the tomato made the sandwich really soggy. These two bad experiences cost them one star.
Bottom line: You can still eat dessert and not be bloated.

I had lunch on the patio of this restaurant, and really liked it! The server was kind and made excellent recommendations when I asked. I had the Fujiyama sandwich, which was SO flavourful! From the house made bread to the tempeh to the aioli, it was perfectly flavoured. I also ordered Mango Raspberry Lassi, which was fruity and creamy and just the right amount of sweet. I finished off with the Blueberry Un-​Cheesecake, which was filling and tasty – dense and creamy with a perfect nutty crust.
Everything is carefully and thoughtfully house-​made, and I highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a fresh dining experience!

Beautiful good! Feels alive and nourishing.
There certainly is passion here.
I appreciate how clean the restaurant is and how the presentation is always a work of art!
There deserts are also incredible.
It’s a shame the staff can be pretentious!

Excellent food and service. First real meal since we arrived in Montréal. Pad Thai to die for. Tacos and daily special with pesto soup were great.

After spending a few years in Vancouver, my wish was to find as great raw + veggie restaurants in Montréal. The Crudessence on Mackay doesn’t disappoint. I went there with my boyfriend and was happy to find a cozy and romantic ambiance for our dinner that was not overly expensive. It’s not everyone who likes eating raw, so you need to go to this place knowing that food will just not taste the same way it usually does. We enjoyed their food so much, we even got the cookbook! We ate lasagna (⁵⁄₅), BLT (⁴⁄₅) and ate tiramisu and cheesecake. We’re already fans. Plus, they have good wine.

This was my 2^nd visit here. I went for an early dinner on Sunday with a friend. When we arrived, the restaurant was dead and we got seated next to the washroom in the back. She had the pad thai and miso soup. I had the dhal soup and OM burger. From the reviews I had high expectations for the burger, but was not satisfied in the end. There were too many sprouts, dry and not much flavor. Although I liked the dhal soup it was full of flavor, but was not served warm. Overall the service was good, friendly staff. The prices seem high for the quality of food.

My husband was really skeptical of a raw restaurant, but after he said it was the best place we ate at in Montréal.
I got the Majestic wrap and it was very tasty and unique. He got some couscous dish and loved it.
I also thought the green mint water was a great touch.
Go to this place for a healthy, guilt-​free, unique & tasty dining experience!

Dear Crudessence, I didn’t come with huge expectations, but I left hugely disappointed anyway.
I was with a large lunch party, and I had just finished eating not too long before, so I ordered a chai latté and a cookie from the menu. The rest of the table ordered full lunches (salads and stuff, which looked tasty). You’d think that with just a hot drink and a cookie, I’d have received my dish in a timely manner, no? NO. Everyone got their food first, before the obviously frazzled server threw a packaged cookie in front of me on the table — no plate, no napkin, no nothing. Not only was the package basically impossible to open, other than with my teeth, but my latté was rapidly cooling to an unsatisfying lukewarm before I managed to dip a cookie in it. Ooooof. Truly an awkward, unpleasant experience. Like… even a plate to catch my cookie crumbs would have been nice… tiny cookie, too — certainly not what I’d qualify as a menu item… it was really a cookie afterthought… seriously, don’t mess with my cookie.

I love vegetarian food, I make very good ones. But crudescence doesn’t have a clue how to make it. No taste, no gourmet experience… I tried to eat a pizza made with buckwheat flour, awful. I would have needed a chainsaw to cut the «dough». And for the rest, I had to bring myself to ask for salt and pepper to make it taste something. After the meal, I went home and ordered a pizza.

My wife and two friends decided to drive from Washington, DC to Montréal (only 9 hour drive!) for a little summer vacation. We had made no real plans in Montréal except to wander the city and experience the best it had to offer.
On Day 1, we walked up Mount Royal (great view of the city) a little passed lunchtime so we were quite hungry by the time we came down from Mount Royal. Since we were near Little Lisbon, a Portugese place sounded great until we walked by this place. The little shop is very inviting with a small room off to the side with the wall open to experience the summer breeze. We changed our plans and ate here.
We all loved it! I do not usually eat «living food» (what the heck does that even mean), but this place was amazing. My wife and friend got the pesto lasagna and loved it (it comes with the best ceasar salad you’ll ever eat). I ordered the FujiYumu sandwich with a salad. The salad was so fresh and had the best dressing I’ve ever had. The sandwich was great too!
My other friend ordered the dessert plate and said it was «just fine» (vegan desserts are yet to find their place in the dessert word, but the chai icecream was great!).
Definitely go here! The water is even cool (they put clorafil in it and it turns green).

Ça faisait longtemps que je voulais essayer le Crudessence. Je n’ai pas été déçue par cette succursale près de l’université Concordia.
Le décor est simple et élégant. Le service était très aimable.
J’ai pris le wrap au quinoa chipotle avec la salade du jour (kale et sésame). Côté portion, le wrap est largement suffisant, même pour un gros appétit. Pas besoin de commander la salade en plus (qui était plutôt ordinaire, à mon avis). Le wrap, quant à lui, était excellent! J’ai bien aimé la combinaison nori et feuille de riz (il faut dire que j’ai un faible pour le goût du nori).
Mon copain a pris la lasagne. Bien qu’en y goûtant, j’ai été surprise que ça soit froid (duh! on est au CRUdessence!), elle était vraiment bonne!
Pour dessert on a partagé un banana split, qui renfermait tous les ingrédients idéals d’un dessert: brownies, crème glacée, fruit! Le tout était excellent! La crème glacée chocolat/​menthe (mon parfum favori) était délicieuse, ainsi que les brownies.
Seul bémol: le prix un peu élevé.