Rise Above Pizza & Wings — Restaurant in Hamilton

On my only day off from the grueling federal campaign, I had my sights set on Rise Above for a few days. In the week leading up, I had explored some of the nearby vegan establishments on the Happy Cow app. I was delighted to discover the litany of plant-based options in the Hamilton area. It had seemed that Hamilton was perhaps in fact the vegan mecca of the golden Horseshoe. I did extensive research and was ultimately impressed by the offering of a plant-based substitute for the infamous wing. When the day finally came, I embarked on my journey in midafternoon. Being in dispossession of any motorized vehicle, the weather cooperated as I rode my bicycle 20 kilometres from my house at the top of Brant Street in Burlington. The entire journey a pedaled with a smile across my face, thinking about the delicious food I was going to have. I arrived minutes before they officially opened and was redeemed immediately. In all my years I have eaten countless vegan pizzas and vegan burgers, but the vegan wing had until this point escaped me. I ordered one order of seitan wings and waited outside while I read my book. By the time my food arrived, my previous thoughts were confirmed. There is simply nothing that plant-based can not do better than it’s animal counterpart. The seitan wings were delectable. I decided to follow up with a slice of Pizza. Again, I was reminded of the glorious future that awaits all of us, as we transition our food system to be wholly plant derived. For a moment I glanced around and realized that this had been the peak of my life, culminating over 26 years. The best part about that realization, was understanding that it will only get better. I have lived 26 years before I encountered seitan wings. Now I get to live an eternity with them. I returned home that day with a profound sense of belonging. A few weeks later there had been a mixup, where I was bestowed the custody of my sister’s CRV for one evening. Having ridden there by bicycle, I knew the way and travelled the same distance in a fraction of the time. I once again indulged in Seitan wings, Garlic bread and a slice of pizza. I have since been counting the days until...

TL;DR: The seitan wings are life changing.

I was visiting Hamilton for about seven weeks in February and March, and during that time, I must have ordered the wings at least 20 times (I'm limited to 8 pictures but I have 12 from that period; many others were eaten before I remembered to snap a picture).

They're crispy, crunchy, chewy, and sticky, all in the best possible ways. I would almost liken them to a General Tao's chicken in terms of texture.

The sauces are great. My top recommendations would be:

Classic BBQ. A bright red BBQ sauce with a little heat.

A combination (as in mixed together, not a split order) of classic BBQ and maple garlic. A perfect balance of heat and sweetness.

Sriracha lime. This is what I found to be the most classic wing sauce.

Unless you really like heat, I'd stay away from the ghost pepper buffalo and Nashville hot.

In addition to the wings, the rest of the menu is also great. All three of the pasta dishes are fantastic, and they come in generous portions.

The pizza is also really good. The Seitan Worshippers was my personal favourite, but I also really enjoyed the classic pepperoni, Killer Pineapples from Outer Space, and bacon triple cheeseburger.

Finally, the staff is great. To Alistair, Kieran, Brendan, and Alison: thank you all for the great service. You're running a fantastic restaurant, and your food frequently brought me comfort during what was otherwise a difficult period in my life. You'll definitely be seeing me again (though probably not three...

We visited often, whenever we are in Hamilton...Usually its incredible; great food, service and atmosphere. However, this visit, the service was a little challenging. The server came back to our table 3 times asking again what sides/sauces we wanted on the order. This was 15 mins after we ordered, which made me take pause as he probably didn't even ring in our order until after asking for the 3rd time. It took 45 mins to get our food, after sitting down and waiting for 20 mins to have the server take the order. We were about to eat our arm, we were so hungry! There was our group of 6, and one other couple in the restaurant at the time.

The food, as great as always. Great portions, a little pricey compared to any other pizza place, but expected as this is fully vegan. We always appreciate that it is fully vegan, and we never have to question the items on the menu or how its prepared. The dining experience is much more relaxed because we never have to question this. The Seiten wings (first time Ive tried them) we phenomenal, and also good as a take-home-reheat-later option. One day, I'll order dessert, but the main course is always so delicious.

Great job, Rise Above...just train your servers a little more to be more attentive and precise. We'll...