One Love Vegetarian
854 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON
(Photo borrowed from Blog TO)
I’ve been hearing about One Love Vegetarian and their famous corn soup for YEARS. Every year they have a stand at Harbourfront and sell a ton of SOUP during the humid Toronto summers. I don’t make it down to Harbourfront very often and as a result have never tried the stuff. But I always knew that I should. Then just under a year ago I heard that the folks behind the corn soup opened up a takeout spot at Bathurst and Bloor. Now that I could get down with!
One Love Vegetarian is a vegan Jamaican-fusion place run by Ras Iville and Ikeila Wright with the help of their children. The restaurant is on the small side with about 5 or 6 tables but it is very bright and open feeling. They pump old school reggae and soul music which really sets the mood. When I was there Ikeila Wright was behind the counter taking orders and doing the serving. She has the sunniest personality and just radiates happiness. I knew before sitting down that my food would be filled with love.
The menu is short. It consists of their famous corn soup, a riff on pizza, a few stirfrys and vegetarian “bowls” and rotis. Going into this I knew exactly what I wanted: corn soup and a roti. What I loved is that the soup comes in two sizes as do the rotis! I ordered a small soup and a small roti. The day I went there were a few options for roti filling including pumpkin, chickpeas and one other one that I don’t recall. You also get to choose what kind of wrapper. I chose dhalpouri.
The soup was fantastic. It’s a mix of pumpkin, coconut milk, split peas, vegetables, of course corn and pepper. This is the type of soup to cure what ails you. It feels like a warm hug. I don’t use cheesy language like that normally but trust me, it does. The small wasn’t particularly small which is fine since I was considering how I could acquire a vat of the soup for later.
The roti was also on the large side, but no complaints here. The pumpkin filling was delicious and a bit on the mild side. Luckily Ikeila brought over some hot sauce which brought up the spice level nicely. This was definitely a filling meal. Then I noticed that they have vegan desserts! I picked up a oatmeal chocolate chip for later on. Later on turned into 10 minutes later. The cookie was really good. My meal came to about $12 and I was thrilled.
I’ve been craving some One Love Vegetarian ever since I paid my first visit. I will be back for sure. I’m not usually in that part of town but it’s worth a detour for sure. In the meantime I might just have to use this recipe for my corn soup needs.
Here’s what others have to say about One Love Vegetarian…
Blog TO
Eye Weekly
NOW Magazine
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One Love Veg is one of Toronto’s low-key gems. I’ve only been once but I, too, ordered the small corn soup and the small pumpkin roti. Though I chose the whole wheat roti, I can agree with you that the pumpkin filling was quite mild. I wish it was kicked up a notch somehow… spicier? Perhaps the addition of small chunks of pumpkin within the pureed filling? I will need to try one of their cookies on my next visit.