March is Nutrition Month, and we’re celebrating the spirit of well-being with a guide to some of Toronto’s top healthy restaurants. We all know that common sense choices like choosing smaller portions, skipping sugary drinks and alcohol, and eating mindfully can make a huge difference. These restaurants make it easy with enticing vegetable-focused menus, innovative alcohol-free cocktails and desserts so delicious you’ll forget they’re good for you!
Wheatless and meatless, this fast-casual eatery has gained cult status among the financial district crowd with locations in the First Canadian Place, the PATH and on Bay Street. (The Brookfield location is a 10-minute walk from the hotel.) Best known for its hearty bowls, Kupfert and Kim has options to fit every diet. Flavourful combinations like the sunflower pesto bowl (organic quinoa, lentil salad, pomegranate, roasted cashews, za’atar, basil sunflower pesto and house vinaigrette) prove that plant-based can satisfy all the senses. Don’t miss their sweet treats like the raw cacao vanilla energy ball and the supersonic cookie. What’s more, sustainability plays a huge part in their business model – you can bring your own container and receive a discount on your meal, or they’ll provide a compostable takeout box.
Putting a plant-based twist on traditional Mexican cuisine, Rosalinda’s menu offers fresh, delicious dishes like jicama and citrus salad, young coconut ceviche and roasted eggplant with peanuts, pomegranate and cashew crema. Vegetables take centre stage here, but it’s the unique use of traditional sauces and spices that give each dish a unique quality. If this doesn’t make you hungry, stop in for one of their Seedlip Spirits based placebo cocktails, like a strawberry and tonic – sweet and fresh with just a hint of bitterness, it’s a guilt-free after-work indulgence. Enjoy the bright, airy space and vibrant artwork while you’re there – celeb restaurateurs Grant van Gameren (Bar Isabel, Bar Raval), Max Rimaldi (Pizza Libretto) and Jamie Cook have left their mark with a truly inspired design aesthetic.
Mad Radish wants you to feel good about what’s on your plate. Crave-worthy salads and hearty, savoury soups have made the Toronto-based chain a favourite for lunch meetings and meals on the go. Here you’ll find internationally inspired flavours like the fajita barbacoa bowl with slow-cooked beef, chayote squash and crunchy plantains with a jalepeno cilantro vinaigrette, and buttery cauliflower curry with crunchy lentils and a tomato and coconut sauce. The menu proves that putting health first doesn’t mean sacrificing flavour, and a commitment to responsible sourcing means you’ll find plenty of local ingredients on every plate. Foodies should definitely check out them Mad
Radish blog for everything from a definitive explanation of umami to tips on preserving produce.
These restaurants have inspired a whole new class of creative, plant-based locales popping up all over the city, and we expect more to come. And if you’re ready to make even more healthy changes, you can check out upcoming events like Health Innovation Week and the Toronto Yoga Show.