Popular Toronto Vegan and Gluten-Free Import Opens in Old Montreal

A new vegan eatery enters the Montreal market on Monday (October 1), as Toronto chainlet Kupfert & Kim opens near Square Victoria in Old Montreal.

Kupfert & Kim has six locations in Toronto, many of which draw line-ups (particularly at lunch hour) and has received generally positive reviews for its all-vegan and gluten-free offerings.

The restaurant has billed itself as “wheatless and meatless” (as opposed to branding itself as a vegan restaurant), with co-founder Mark Kupfert telling Eater that he aims to appeal to a more general crowd beyond just vegan eaters. His approach comes from an environmental perspective — he and founder Daniel Suss wanted to offer a menu that’s light on heavily-processed food, and free of factory-farmed meat in particular. The company reports that its restaurants generate little to no food waste and uses compostable containers for take-out food.

Scott Usheroff/Kupfert & Kim

Kupfert & Kim is going all-out for its first expansion outside Toronto, with a 40-seat space in a high-ceilinged historic space on Notre-Dame West — while many of the Toronto locations are squarely lunch spots, this one will cover more bases.

“It’s a coffee to cocktails idea, in the morning have your granola, then by night if you want to have a cold-pressed juice cocktail, you’re also welcome,” says Kupfert.

Scott Usheroff/Kupfert & Kim

Weekday breakfasts, starting next week, will keep things simple with espresso, tea, café-style sweets like banana bread, then smoothie bowls and breakfast dishes such as granola, a coconut yogurt parfait, and a veggie-laden congee (rice porridge). Lunches are mostly grain and rice bowls, priced around $12 — pesto quinoa, tempeh with bean chili, and a curry bowl, to name a few, as well as a “burger on a bed”, a hybrid patty-bowl combo. It’s a relatively casual addition to Old Montreal, with a mix of counter and table service.

But stretching Kupfert & Kim beyond its grab and go lunch roots, alcoholic options will also be on offer, and a brand new weekend brunch (also starting in a week) will kick things up a notch, with options like almond French toast and a vegan “omelette”.

Scott Usheroff/Kupfert & Kim

STATUS — Kupfert & Kim is open every day at 407 Notre-Dame West from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. this week, with full hours (including breakfast, weekend brunch, and dinner) starting next week.

• Kupfert & Kim [Official]
• ‘Wheatless and Meatless’ Toronto Mini-Chain Sets Sights on Montreal [EMTL]