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King's Café
Categories: Restaurants Chinese Restaurants Vegetarian Chinese, Vegetarian [Edit]
192 Augusta AveToronto, ON M5T 2L6
Neighbourhood: Kensington Market
(416) 591-1340
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:30 am - 9:30 pm
Sun 11:30 am - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
37 reviews for King's Café
Review Highlights
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"My favourite dish was their Teriyaki Mushroom Cutlets." In 3 reviews -
"...loving parents who insist the fake meat is real cuz its so..." In 3 reviews -
"The vegetarian dim sum steam BBQ bun my absolute favourite..." In 4 reviews
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37 reviews in English
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Review from Eleni L.
North York, ON
2/10/2012
Best vegetarian I've had in this city when it comes to taste and price.
The food here is so wonderful my boyfriend didn't even realise the 'chicken nuggets' he was eating wasn't even real chicken - he loves them more than McNuggets. :)
I always get the bento box here, if you haven't been here before, i strongly suggest you do! -
Review from U U.
Toronto, ON
5/10/2012
I want to give King's a great rating, I really do. But at the moment, they are a solid three in my mind. I went into Kensington hoping to find some good eats and have been going to Hot Beanz a little too often - I have frequently tried King's at the Vegetarian Food Festival (http://www.veg.ca) and they were always awesome, so I thought I would give their restaurant locationa try.
The service was friendly and fine. I had a good conversation with one of the employees about vegetarianism in Taiwan and how motives for vegetarianism there compared with other countries. He also gave me a sample of fake barbeque meat, which was delicious.
The restaurant itself was nicely decorated - clean and open, if a lacking in ambience. The food however, left something to be desired. I ordered the Szechuan Tofu with rice, to go. The dish had lots of tofu, submerged in a spicy, glutinous sauce, with peas, carrots, corn, and mushrooms. The mushroom bits were delicious, but the rest of the dish was lacking in veggies.
The price was $12, but I got a $1 discount because I had a vegetarian discount card (again, from TVA). Still, the price seemed a bit high for a dish that was relatively basic - I mean, in theory, I could get a similar dish on Spadina for much cheaper. Every other restaurant in China town offers lunch specials, after all.
I would like to try some of the other fake meat dishes - I realize that this is their speciality, so perhaps it is a bit unfair to judge based on a tofu dish.
Best,
U. -
Review from Aviva S.
3/11/2012
Atmosphere/decor: Very clean looking. Big open glass windows, very white and bright, cute tables, not much decor.
Service: The service was average. There's several staff that serve you with one taking the order and bringing in the food with others refilling water and bringing food when the other is busy. Efficient with some more friendly than others- it's not the warmest.
Food: I had
- Spring rolls: meh. I've had better.
- Soy drumsticks
- I can't remember what my main was (which says a lot) but I'm pretty sure it was the Veggie-Chicken with Ginger Sauce. The chicken pieces were just not tasty and the sauce was too viscous.
- Had one more item but honestly cannot remember it either. Something with a big green vegetable.
Overall the food is either bland, has a weird fake texture, and not great. I've had better fake meat vegetarian food.
Price: Reasonable and fitting.
My verdict is: skip it. There's better vegetarian restaurants in T.O. This isn't one of the better ones. -
Review from Steven G.
Toronto, ON
2/28/2012
King's Cafe is a gem of the Market. Everything on the menu is vegetarian and much of it is vegan, but I've yet to hear and omnivore complain. The food is delicious, but sometimes a bit bland. Easily the best veggie Hot and Sour soup in town is here. The cooking style is Buddhist, but you don't miss the garlic and onions much and as an added bonus, there is a refrigerated section where you can purchase frozen mock meats and other specialty items to bring home.
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Review from Nicole S.
Toronto, ON
3/1/2012
Best fake meat in the city. Their soy fritters and drum sticks are addictive. Their sweet and sour balls must all be devoured. This place is a treasure.
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Review from Zoe R.
6/9/2011
A 3 or 3.5 star place. Higher if you love mock meats.
I used to live in this neighbourhood, and enjoyed coming here every once in a while. My favourite dish was their Teriyaki Mushroom Cutlets...
Thing is, they've changed their cutlets since. Still edible, heck anything can be edible if you douse enough BBQ sauce on it... but I definitely miss their old version.
They opened at 11:30 am today (Thurs). Cyclists beware, someone will come out if you block the wheelchair ramp in any way. If you're there just for take out, they'll leave you be. (suggestion: they should install proper spots to park bikes; Kensington Market is too bike friendly to not provide bike spots).
While waiting the 10 or so minutes to get my lunch, I browsed their instore Health Food section... Lots of mock meats, frozen goods, and especially, a lot of tea. If I wasn't on a caffeine-free kick right now, I would have been tempted into trying their Dancong or some other "special" tea. Looked good.
The Combo ($12.99 reg, or -10% w/ a TVA discount; btw if you do a takeout of over $20 and pay in cash, you'll automatically get a discount of 10% as well), included: an XS soup of the day (my green watercress filled soup tasted better than it smelled); one spring roll; two soy nuggets; plus a side salad + main dish; and one XS container of purple rice. They forget to give me any plum sauce for the roll and nuggets. *sniff*
If you are a strict vegan, you need to know that vegan doesn't always mean "vegan" -- I had a friend once work there as a server and he shared with me that he found it hard to answer ingredient-related questions from an animal rights group that met up there from time to time. He's now left the restaurant.
Yummies include:
*wonton soup* (xs = really small; large = really large -- maybe consider the medium?;
*their fake chicken drumsticks* (6 for $5.99);
*their fake chicken/SOY nuggets (flavourful);
and their hefty *date square* (well worth the $2.15 if you're in the mood for one).
I will need to find a new favourite here. Their mushroom cutlets are just too different in texture from what I've enjoyed in the past.
Some time ago, I tried their mock chicken duck w/ sauce, but barely remember its taste. Might try that again, an avocado temaki roll, kung pao chicken (mock meats yet again).
I may be veg, but I'm not usually into mock-meats. Strikes me as being too fake and synthetic/processed to our systems... Still, once in a while, I'd be open to having it. Like 1-2 a month or once every 2-3 months.Listed in: My Old Stompin' Grounds:…
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Review from Aleyah S.
Toronto, ON
5/1/2011
I finally got a chance to check out the King's Cafe, and better yet, could bring along two meat eaters as well. My friend was quite hesitant to my vegetarian ways, and I was determined to show her vegetarian food can be quite good. Mission accomplished!
I ordered the assorted seitan platter and the avocado maki cone. I shared an order of fried dumplings with my friend and she ordered spring rolls and the mango sushi. Our other friend ordered a winter selection which was dumplings followed by 'chicken' and vegetables. We were all quite happy with our food. The taste was amazing and the staff were super friendly. I will definitely be coming back to try out more included their bbq drumsticks, and if I ever eat dairy again, the avocado milkshake is first on my list of things to try!!
All in all, a huge success and bonus, the waiter was kind of cute :) -
Review from Annie L.
1/7/2012 1 photo
Im not a vegetarian but this place was pretty good. I had spicy chicken (soy) with side of rice. Decent priced and definitely filling
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Review from Jenny B.
Toronto, ON
7/20/2011
Love this place!
The food is so great. They sell combos where you get to try a varity of things like a soup, rice, salad, spring rolls, "chicken nuggets" and a main of your choice. It's a great deal.
Another great thing is that there is a small market in the back where you can purchase the veggie meats that they cook with.
The service is pretty good too. -
Review from Eric F.
Calgary, AB
9/22/2010
Pretty mediocre experience overall.
I've eaten in many "fake meat Asian" places before and this was the least impressive of them. The menu sounds promising, but the atmosphere, service, and food itself are all lacking.
Our selection:
Won ton soup uses a mushroom mix to cleverly replace the won ton filling - not bad.
Fried oyster mushroom bites have a strange firm-yet-crunchy texture that was off-putting.
Purple fried rice with pine nuts is a mix of whole grain rice, fake ham, and pine nuts with surprisingly little flavour.
Kung pow chicken... well, I didn't really even remember eating it. The baby corn and celery underneath were nice, though.
BBQ seitan sushi was the highlight of an otherwise bland meal.
Some qualms about the general ambience. Why are all the windows open when it's freezing (by Toronto standards) outside? Who are the random kids running around the restaurant? Who was the guy who walked in asking us for his water bottle? Why did the waitress roll her eyes and sigh when we ordered tea? Why was my friend barfy afterwards?
Sadly more questions than answers.
$60 for three people with leftovers. -
Review from Yvette D.
Toronto, ON
8/19/2010
One of the very best vegetarian restos in Toronto, and my personal favourite, no question. I often take my carnivorous friends and family there, and it never disappoints. We always order 'chinese style' and get several dishes for everyone to share, including a good mix of sweet and savoury/spicy flavours. BEST: teriyaki mushroom cutlets...it's a bad description, so expect more of a rich asian BBQ taste, and the little cutlets (they're bite-sized) are more like meat than mushroom.
I also love to order a bunch of items from the dim sum part of the menu, like BBQ 'pork' steamed buns, little 'chicken' drumsticks, pan fried dumplings, and sticky rice stuffed with delicious, mysterious things and wrapped in banana leaf.
TIP: if you want starters, YOU MUST ORDER THEM FIRST, and nothing else until they arrive at your table!!!! if you order everything at once, I promise you, you WILL receive your food all at the same time, or the apps last.
Also, the vegan bacon available for purchase in the frozen section of the grocery area is to die for. -
Review from Laz C.
Toronto, ON
2/13/2011
I used to love King's Cafe back in my University days (long before the renovation). Back then I can't remember ever having eaten a meal there that didn't amaze and delight my taste buds.
Having just returned there after a seven year hiatus I fear that things have really gone downhill, but I'm hoping that it might have been an off night.
I order the tom yang vermicelli soup, a dish I usually love even when it isn't quite authentic or spicy enough. The broth at King's was greasy and bland, and while I was anticipating tofu as described on the menu, there was also some mysterious soy-meat that I had not expected. Worst of all, the mushrooms in the soup were nearly rotten! Spotted and slimy mushrooms are inexcusable and made it hard for me to continue with the meal.
However, since the food is served family style (which I like) I did try a number of other dishes that my dining companions had ordered. The soy fritters were pretty good, if not a little too sweet but I was just grateful to have something to overpower the after-effects of the soup. I can't remember the names of the rest of the orders but none of them were real stand-outs. All six of us felt ill afterward and my partner even refused to eat the leftovers that he brought home --it's very rare for us ever to even have leftovers, let alone not eat them!
I may try them again to offer a chance for redemption but I will be steering clear of the soup! -
Review from Marie M.
10/7/2010
Last night I went to dinner with a friend before salsa dancing in Richmond Hill. After checking out all the vegetarian options in Kensington Market, we settled on King's Cafe.
The ambiance was peaceful with soft melodic music in the background. The interior was dim, spacious, and clean, but a tad boring. The menu was detailed, clear, and concise. Everything on the menu was vegan friendly, except for the ones that contains milk ingredients and eggs -but they're clearly marked for you, so there's no room for ordering something that's vegetarian, opposed to vegan. It look me awhile to figure out what I wanted for dinner because mostly everything was vegan and everything looked good.... I never thought there would be a downside to having too many options.
After a long time, I finally decided on the curry vermicelli -singapore style with faux meat. My friend ordered a veggie fried rice with faux ham and we shared an appetizer: soy fried fritters.
The fritters, accompanied by fried bell peppers, were fried, salty, but tasty and had a good texture. My vermicelli was yummy, light tasting, spicy (extra hot was tolerable), and very satisfying -I wish it had more veggies and had more sauce, but it was still good. My friend's fried rice was ok, the faux ham was interesting.
Overall, I really enjoyed this place and I look forward to coming back to try all the other vegan items on the menu! -
Review from Termina F.
Toronto, ON
2/6/2012
Their Wonton Soup is magical. When I am sick it is the thing that nurses me back to health. Loaded with wontons, carrots, mushrooms and beancurd.
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Review from Eric L.
7/25/2010 1 Check-in Here
This was my first time at a vegetarian restaurant. The decor is simplistic and clean. The menu is quite varied with all sorts of "weird" dishes.
I ordered the mango sushi rolls. They were alright, but missing something. Maybe I am too much of a meatatarian to truly enjoy it, but our vegetarian friend thinks this place is great.
3 stars because I think the menu is a little too expensive. 8.99 for a mango roll with no meat :(.. I can get the same elsewhere for 4.99 at other restaurants.
Nevertheless, if you are looking for a clean and vegetarian place in Kensington market, you should check it out. -
Review from Min Min T.
Scarborough, ON
7/26/2009 1 photo
King's Cafe has been a staple in Kensington Market, and I visited recently after their long-awaited re-opening. The interior is beautifully done, and very chic now.
My partner and I shared a lunch combination for $14 which, after you choose the main entree (e.g. coconut curried vegetables and 'meat' ), is complimented with a salad with fruit dressing, two soy nuggets, one spring roll and purple rice. The gluten plate isn't bad either, but I eat enough of it as a vegetarian that I don't see why I should pay so much more at King's.
For Asian cuisine, it's considered pricey for the amount of food you get. However, the cooks here take care to craft their food and present it in a mouth-watering manner.
Fantastic food but crappy prices.Listed in: Herbivore Heaven
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Review from Michelle G.
Toronto, ON
10/8/2010 1 photo
I finally went to King's Cafe after it was recommended to me by a lot of other people.
I had sampled some of their very delicious appetizers at the Vegetarian Food Fair last month, so I was excited to try an entree. Well... I had the Soy Fritters with Curry Rice, and I don't know if it was just the wrong dish to order or what, but I didn't think it was very good. Fried tofu gluten fritters with carrots, potatoes, beans and cauliflower sounded so yummy but it wasn't.
The only thing I really enjoyed the flavour of was the potatoes, because they seemed to have taken on the most of the curry flavour, the veggies and soy/gluten stuff weren't very flavourful. I needed some hot sauce for sure.
At least it was on the Special Order menu so it was only 5.99, some of the other items were 10-13.
They also wouldn't let me plug in my laptop and were generally kindof rude. so, eh. Not very enthused. -
Review from Carla D.
Toronto, ON
8/22/2010
I had passed this restaurant a myriad of times while making my way towards other businesses in Kensington Market. In all those times I never even took the time to look inside the window to get a sense of what the type of cuisine they served as suggested by the interiors. Therefore when a friend recently suggested we meet there for a late afternoon snack, I wasn't quite sure what to expect after she had attempted to describe it as vegetarian "Asian Fusion".
After I gave the menu a good scan, it occurred to me that perhaps my friend's "Asian Fusion" description was in reference to the many processed tofu / simulated meat products on offer. Not sure that's a valid connection, but I digress.
My friend had been looking forward to the Hot and Sour soup - it was after all a damp, rainy day. At the time I wasn't into ordering a full entree so I ordered some pan-friend dumplings. My friend also ordered the Kung Pao "Chicken" with the intention of trying some of it out and wrapping up the rest to enjoy at home.
The soup arrived and was your standard, thick and tasty Hot and Sour soup, which did not disappoint (I've had watery, near-flavourless ones in the past). The pan friend dumplings, though a tad oily on the outside, had a tasty filling and the accompanying dipping sauce was well-suited (not exactly sure what it could have been made of but it had a kind of tangyness and sweetness along with the usual soy sauce base). The Kung Pao chicken however was absolutely delicious - it was not coated in a mass-produced sweet sauce, there was some heat and other flavours abounded. The chicken chunks were simply to me deep fried pieces of tofu, which were delightful and I personally prefer these to the processed simulated meat version. All of this was washed down with some lovely chrysanthemum tea.
It's rare that I am ever in the company of enough vegetarians and vegans to warrant seeking an exclusively vegetarian / vegan restaurant, but next time I am, I will definitely be heading back here. -
Review from Nicole H.
Toronto, ON
I've found King's to have gone slowly downhill since I wrote my original review. Service is lacklustre, and the price of food just isn't worth it for the amount/quality anymore. And it seems like every time I go something new on the menu is handmarked that it now contains egg or milk products - has it always been this way and they're just now bothering to make the effort to reflect that in the menu? It's disappointing.
One thing that's still okay is their grocery section, but you still have to be vigilant in reading the ingredients on most of the frozen products for milk/egg products if you're vegan.
Overall I think they need to step up their game, be clearer with their ingredients/menu listings, and put a little care back into their dishes. What went wrong, King's? I miss your bentos!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/21/2010
King's Cafe is definitely your best option in downtown Toronto if you're after delicious, affordable… Read more »
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Review from Rich S.
Toronto, ON
8/20/2008
One of the better Chinese vegetarian restaurants in Toronto. The food is pretty tasty on the whole, though be forewarned that the menu is a bit on the heavy side with its share of mock meat and deep-fried items. A big plus for King's Cafe is that it may be the only place where you can get vegetarian Dim Sum in the downtown core.
As for the ambiance, the decor is simple and the restaurant is roomy - I've enjoyed my visits to King's Cafe. The location is good as well, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Dundas+Spadina. A bonus for me is a small supermarket in the back, which provides an opportunity to load up on a wide selection of vegetarian specialty items such as frozen dumplings, vegetarian pork buns, and fake meat products.Listed in: Top Restaurants
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Review from Tong J.
6/8/2010
We went twice with friends, one is vegetarian, another is vegan. It is a challenge to find a restaurant where there is a good selection of tasty, satisfying food. This restaurant delivers on both counts.
The soy fritters were tasty and not oily, despite being pan fried. The spicy eggplant dish was great, spicy with a good selection of vegetables. The vegetable curry was smooth and silky, if a bit bland. The enoki mushroom balls had a bit of a strong taste which we assumed was due to the seafood, which most of us didn't care for.
Service was friendly, a bit slow although the restaurant was busy both times with large tables. -
Review from Anfernee C.
Toronto, ON
5/31/2010
I went there today with some friends and I was not impressed at all.
1. Not enough servers on Pedestrian Sunday, a super busy day in Kensington.
2. Friend ordered a zen salad with the dressing on the side (and the waitress said "the dressing is always on the side anyway"). When the dish came out the dressing was not on the side. They were nice enough to take it back and get her a new one though.
3. They forgot to give another friend his soup which was part of the combination box.
4. For another friend, they forgot to bring out his ice-cream until he asked for it.
5. One friend waited 30+ mins for her "Tom Yang" soup. it's spelled "Tom Yum" people.
6. I waited even longer for my sweet & sour soup. Eventually the waitress came over to check my order. Judging by the look on their face the original order had been forgotten completely.
7. Waited 30+ mins for my sweet & sour soup. They forgot my order of purple rice.
Now I understand it was a hectic day and time but that's not an excuse for poor service. Add to that the prices could be better (for a similar soup, of similar size i.e. medium, I could have bought it at Buddha's for less).
The food itself, once I finally got it, was decent. Location-wise it's a great spot and there aren't too many restaurants catering to the veg crowd so on a good day it's not bad. -
Review from Val G.
I love King's Cafe. It's easily my favourite all vegetarian asian restaurant in the city.
I've been enjoying meals at King's through it's various incarnations (anyone remember the huge photo menu the size of a phone book from 8 years ago?) and it only gets better. The menu is much smaller these days but all the best menu items are still there.
The vegetarian dim sum steam BBQ bun my absolute favourite item. I got hooked on them at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair last year and now I have to buy a pack of frozen buns to bring home ever time I eat there.
I really like the purple rice that accompanies most dishes and if you're looking for a warm up on a cold winter night, their soups are excellent.
I always get a blooming tea, usually the angel of lotus.
There's also a little grocery store in the back of the restaurant where you can purchase a lot of frozen food that is made in Taiwan(it's a chain) and the teas they have on the menu and other items. Everything is very affordable the service is very friendly.Listed in: Vegenomics
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Review from angela k.
Toronto, ON
10/21/2009
One of the best vegetarian restaurants in the city for their food and my favourite Chinese vegetarian restaurant so far.
It is a tiny bit more expensive than restaurants with similar menus but the difference is almost negligible and unlike most of them it's well decorated and spacious inside with consistent service (the service being good but not spectacular). In fact, it's probably one of the most spacious vegetarian restaurants I've ever been to which is a nice perk.
The dishes I've had are all subtly flavoured but delicious. I recommend the veggie duck and burdock balls. I can't recall the name but there's a noodle dish with black fungus and tofu that is also quite good.
Even my meat-eater friends enjoy their food there.Listed in: Best Vegetarian in Toronto
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Review from Anna V.
Toronto, ON
10/22/2008 4 photos
It's not the best vegetarian in the city. It can be overpriced and bland, BUT, the little takeaway area in the back makes up for any over priced, over cooked dumpling you might eat in the diner.
The soy drumsticks are my favourite! You buy them by the bag load and it works out to be like 20 cents each or something. Warm those suckers up in the microwave and instant afternoon snack.
They also sell a whole bunch of condiments and other frozen fun. And the prices on that stuff are great. -
Review from Arcady G.
Toronto, ON
6/12/2010
This cafe is one of my favourites. The food is delicious every time, and the variety of vegetarian dishes is stunning. I have taken my meat-eating friends to this restaurant just so that they could see how diverse vegetarian food can be. My favourite dishes are the teryaki mushroom stems and enoki mushrooms in seaweed. The steamed dumplings are also very good, but they are quite traditional.
The cafe has been renovated recently, and, personally, I don't care for the new look at all, although some find it good. I think that the old look had more personality, while the new decor is trying to present the restaurant as something it is not (and never will be).
Service is quite friendly, but can be very slow. Make sure you have enough time when you go there.
A big regret is that you can't order a beer - they don't serve alcoholic beverages at King's Cafe.
You get a discount if you phone-in a take out and pay for it by cash. -
Review from Sarah Y.
Vancouver, BC
7/21/2010 4 photos
Enroute to Urban Herbivore on a Wednesday night (and realizing that it closes "at sunset....despite the fact that the sun set at about 9:30PM and I arrived at about 8:20PM), I discovered King's Cafe.
It was late-ish so not that many patrons were inside, but nonetheless, I dragged my reluctant carnivore Fiance into this place.
First impression -- gee, it sure feels like a Western Chinese restaurant ala one-off cafe,Vancouver-style.
We get seated and I cozy up to a menu and find out that King's Cafe has its own factory and several other cafes spread out across Toronto/GTA (sorry, I'm still new here so I don't quite know how to refer to the rest of this city!).
Majorly craving something sweet and sour, I ordered an appy starter plate of seitan, asking the waitress if she could give me more of the sweet and sour than the curry variety (it comes with a selection of four flavours). I kid you not, it took a full seven minutes for the waitress to even somewhat understand what I was trying to say. And no, it wasn't me -- English is definitely not her second language.
So I gave up and proceeded to order siu mai (appy), a dish of sweet and sour "chicken" and my fiance ordered a bento box (with the kung po "chicken").
Food arrives....no, not the appies but my sweet and sour chicken and the bento box. Ten minutes later, the appies arrive.
My only knock against creative vegetarian food (and this place is creative - there are sooo many dishes of "seafood" and "meat" to choose from) is that, most of the stuff is deep-fried and super processed.
My sweet and sour "chicken" was good. Deep fried, airy pieces of seitan with not-fake-red-looking sweet and sour sauce....really skimped a tad on the veggies.
The bento box was interesting. The kung po "chicken" was really good, it's all about the sauce and fixins sometimes. The best thing about my experience here was the (at first, to me) three mysterious little nuggets accompanying the spring roll.
Seriously, I bit into it, it tasted like chicken, it looked like chicken and it *felt* like chicken (in my mouth, that is). But it wasn't chicken! I was so impressed, I pulled our waitress aside to ask her what it was made of. And she had a look of terror in her eyes and immediately sent the manager over (possibly the owner).
Unsure of what type of meat it was, I asked her if this was vegetarian chicken.
"Yes, yes it is," she replied wearily and continued, "do not worry, we do not serve meat here, it is real vegetarian chicken, all seitan."
"Oh! I'm not worried! I was just really impressed that it tastes just like meat! So it's chicken?"
Manager/owner nods and points to the back of the restaurant where a little shop was tucked away.
"You can buy these chicken nuggets in the store," she informed me.
I was astonished. A store in the very back! I got up from my seat to poke around the store and found freezers full of all the stuff they served in the restaurant including an impressive wall of various loose teas. A huge bag of the chicken nuggets go for $20.
Anyhoo. Would I go back? Probably not, unless I'm in the area again and Urban Herbivore is closed and all the other places are as well.
Not that it sucked or anything, but this city is so huge that I'd rather spend my money at another veggie resto that I haven't been to just so that I can write more reviews and boast about how many people actually read them.
=) -
Review from Arti S.
12/28/2009
Vegetarian food with real options for vegetarians! Huh!
Everything we ordered was perfectly flavoured and seasoned. Fresh & tasty with prices that were just right.
The only thing I didn't enjoy was the Avocado shake. But my friend loved it, so I guess it's subjective. -
Review from Payal D.
Brampton, ON
11/29/2010 1 photo
oh-so-glad I found you! it was a chilly and windy sunday afternoon but the minute i sunk my teeth into your dumplings I knew the drive, then the hop on my broken ankle and freezing walk was worth it!
The ambience is really serene and peaceful what surprized me was the lack of clientelle around noon but I guess maybe since it was a sunday? in either case I'd sampled some of their fare @ Toronto Veg food fair this past summer and decided to check out the full menu.
Our order included dumplings, buns, kung pao soy chicken, and soy chicken skewers. My only wish was the skewers were grilled instead of being fried, but oh well it was tasty regardless.
I definitely plan on repeating this again - especially the kung pao part! must visit. -
Review from Downtown D.
Toronto, ON
3/13/2010
I haven't been to this place in ages - simple decor and clean - a decent place to bring your date. Pumpkin with "meat" and coconut milk and a bean curd dish that tasted "fishy". Both were good.
Food was well presented and tasty but portions you can get bigger at other Asian restaurants. -
Review from Mika D.
Toronto, ON
5/4/2011
The food wasn't tasty, and pricey
We had a bad stomach ache afterwards.
Would not recommend it. -
Review from Lindsay D.
Toronto, ON
I'm very impressed with King's Cafe. I'm never sure what to expect with vegetarian restaurants, but this one did not let me down.
The service was one of the best things about our experience there. Our waiter was patient, prompt, and took the time to answer all of our questions, to explain dishes to us, and to warn us of non-vegan friendly ingredients in some things. He also made GREAT recommendations, right down to dessert.
I began my meal with a vegetarian fish ball soup (carrot, cauliflower, veggie broth, and sliced fish ball). It was perfectly seasoned and light. I ordered the "combination" bento box with Kung Po "Chicken". It came with a salad, spring roll, "chicken nuggets", purple rice, & plum dipping sauce. The salad was nicely done, with a halved strawberry & red grape, sliced orange, kiwi & apple, served on mixed greens. The spring roll was pretty standard, but the chicken nuggets were incredible! The seasoning was more than perfect, and they tasted so fresh, they just melt in your mouth. On my next visit, I plan to get a big order of the nuggets as my meal. The purple rice was also very well done, and beautifully laid out and garnished. So few restaurants take the time to garnish their rice, but it's always a great touch. And the main part, the Kung Po chicken was just fabulous. I bit spicy, but really, really good.
I also tasted the enoki mushroom balls, which I highly recommend. For dessert, we shared the Skor bar, and the Magic bar; two dessert squares. The Skor bar was less caramel, more chocolate chip shortbread, but still delicious. The Magic bar included 3 kinds of chocolate, and coconut. I preferred the Magic bar, but it was a lot harder to bite into because of a hard chocolate foundation.
My only criticism, is that there is a draft every time the door is opened if you sit by the front window because there is a gap between the glass wall by the entry and the dining area. They also play very soothing Japanese flute music, but often I felt like passing out at the table because of it. Reminded me of the music I meditate to, or the sort they play at the spa. Otherwise, great decor, & it was very clean & wonderful for groups. -
Review from Kate R.
York, ON
8/29/2010
even though i'm not a vegetarian anymore (i was for 6 years) this is STILL one of my favorite restaurants. my non-veggie friends always enjoy it, even my friends conservative chinese meat loving parents who insist the fake meat is real cuz its so good!
my faves are the hand rolled sushi wraps, chicken nuggets (better than mcdonalds!), kung pao chicken, teriyaki mushroom cutlets and the dumplings. -
Review from MC J.
Toronto, ON
8/22/2010
Very good food!
My friend and I had a fish and chicken plate, very tasty. -
Review from Matty K.
Toronto, ON
8/15/2008
Simple vegetarian oriental plates in a spacious and comfortable setting emphasized by their large windows looking out at the cultured Augusta Avenue. A specialty for both summer lunches and wintery blizzards is the $8 "King's Wonton Noodle Soup" - a hearty broth with deep green bok-choy, sliced mushroom, thin noodles and plenty of wonton. Some things look wierd but it all tastes remarkable, and I go there not because I am a vegetarian.
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Review from Sonja Elen K.
Toronto, ON
3/22/2010
I've been going to King's Cafe for many years now. They have the best "chicken" nuggets I've ever had, even better than real chicken. It's always a pleasure to buy bulk frozen foods from Meibou at the back. If you're interested in storytelling, ask Elsa for a tea ceremony.
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Review from Yvonne H.
SCARBOROUGH, ON
8/25/2010
The food is not spectacular, u can find food like that anywhere in scarborough or in chinatown for a much cheaper price. the only difference is that this place is entirely vegetarian so for the asian meat dishes, they substitute with mock meat. the price is a bit high for food thats not organic.
