Restaurant Hindusthali — Restaurant in Montreal

At last, our search for super amazing vegan "Thali" ended here. "Thali" is an integral part of Indian cuisine with super nutritious food covering all nutritional elements to make it a wholesome meal. But, even if vegetarian, it involves a lot of dairy and with the poor understanding of what vegan food shouldn't involve, Indian restaurants, generally, fail big time in creating good vegan dishes - but not this one. We came across Hindusthali about 1.5 years ago when it was vegetarian but then gave up the idea considering that it would involve a lot of dairy. But recently, thanks to Risa's review, when we came to know that they have fully veganized the menu - we just couldn't resist the temptation. And this is probably the best meal we have had at any restaurant in Montreal, not just Indian. We went for two Thali A that have a salad, a lentil curry (Dal), Baigan Bhartha, two vegetable curries, Rice, Papadum and a Naan/Chapati. The owner, Hakim, a very kind man, was amazed to know that we are Indians too and, in fact, his family roots traced to the same state in India where we are from. He suggested some very non-traditional vegetable curries like Karela (bitter gourd) and Bhinda (Okra) since he knew our palate would be ready for that. So, in the first thali, we went for Mixed Beans and Bhinda while, in the second thali, we went for Karela and Korma. We shared the curries and loved them all. The food was very homely (and I really really mean it) with the balance of spices and minimal usage of oil. The smokiness of the Baigan Bhartha was super. The Karela sabzi was great - have started liking it since adulthood :D (hardly any child in India loves bitter gourd since, obviously, it is a bitter curry). Dal was amazing and so was rice. Hakim also provided us with his special green chilli chutney which was a great supplement with the bite of Naan-Curry. We also went for a Salted Lassi which was good. With the thickness, it was closer to buttermilk than Lassi but for Gujarati food lovers, that's even better. The ambiance of the place is great with some beautiful paintings on the wall and some instruments placed next to the entrance. It's a small space with just about 12-13 tables and the service is quite good. Reservations would be recommended if you're going on a weekend. The first time we called, they were full so we couldn't go. The food takes some time to arrive but it is definitely worth more than the wait. Overall, a big thumbs up. Definitely...

7 Stars for service 4 Stars for food A small family run restaurant in Bayview, Toronto. Their original restaurant was in Montreal before Covid. Post covid the family opened the same Hindusthali in Toronto. Serving vegan plant based Indian cuisine, they dish out some delicious and freshly prepared food. They use the finest ingredients and spices and one can’t get enough of the rich finger licking creamy gravies. For me, I found the food catering more to the Canadian palate, lacking the depth in flavours of spices. Run by husband and wife team, Hakim & Shaleena along with their sons, Shan & Irahad who help out in their free time it’s a wonderful place to indulge in Indian curries and thalis. The dal tadka is a mix of a few lentils made with spices, a little different in the regular style of cooking but good. The Palak tofu was rich and heavy full of cashew cream, delicious but little too heavy for my palate. The korma was sweetish but tasty. I found the size of the naan bread very small and a little underdone.( when I told the server they immediately corrected and got us properly cooked naan) They don’t keep any appetisers which is a tad bit disappointing. The vegan mango lassi was sinfully delicious. The masala Lassi was tasty too. I absolutely loved the Sevai kheer for dessert, just amazing. The kulfi was frozen rock solid( he explained that they don’t use any preservatives) but despite that it was tasty.

The service and the hosts, owners of the restaurant are warm, welcoming and trying their best to serve out good wholesome healthy food. Overall good Indian vegan food Value for money I would say a little steep. Specially the individual Thali, thus we ordered separate...

Amazing food, service and atmosphere. The food was warm, homely, and delicious! The staff was so kind and the service was so quick. I got Thali B with korma and aloo matar, chai and pista kulfi. I appreciated everything here. The chai was how proper chai would be, the food was so filling and the pista kulfi tasted like a dream. And to add to all of this, the food is so reasonably priced! I'd wanted to try proper Indian vegan food at a restaurant (not having to thrive on one vegan dish like aubergine and not having to worry about cross-contamination) for such a long time and I am grateful for each morsel of food I had the privilege of eating here. This was my first time visiting an Indian vegan restaurant in my 7 years of being vegan and I feel sad that I don't live in Montreal to savor this deliciousness more often. Thank you for being awesome!

This is the kind of place you'd want to bring all your loved ones along for a celebration. I will definitely be here the next time I...