Montreal’s New Vegan Sushi: Bloom and Ohana

First, I should say that I’m a huge fan of Sushi Momo, the first vegan sushi restaurant in Montreal. It’s actually my favourite vegan or non-vegan sushi restaurant in Montreal, mostly from a quality/price perspective because we just don’t get the same standard and breadth of sashimi-grade fish that Toronto, Vancouver, New York, etc. get. And what we do get is astronomically priced.

The poor selection of fish in Montreal isn’t a horrible thing, though, because sustainability is also a huge issue for sushi. Your favourite restaurant should think twice about serving much of that salmon, tuna, shrimp and a lot of, well, everything else (read Sushi Chef Sukiyabashi Jiro to hear it from the master and check out Oceanwise.org to learn about specific species).

All that to say, I think Sushi Momo is beautiful, delicious and affordable sushi and when I eat there I don’t miss the fish one bit. I feel great walking out of there, ethically and physically.

After my positive experience at Sushi Momo, I figured vegan sushi must always be awesome. But then I went to New York and realized how not great vegan sushi can be. So when two new vegan sushi places opened in Montreal, I was curious and a bit more hesitant. Would it be ex-employees of Sushi Momo copying what Montrealers have come to love? (You need a reservation well in advance to get a seat most nights at the busy Plateau restaurant.) Or was it going to be something completely different? And cross my fingers it’d at least be better than what I’d had in New York.

New Vegan Sushi Place #1: Ohana

I went to this new vegan sushi place on Mont-Royal for my birthday. Turns out it doesn’t exactly have the romantic atmosphere of Sushi Momo, and certainly not of Sushi Bloom (but more on that to come).

Instead, it’s a small storefront that seems to do mostly takeout. There are a handful of tables with table service, but it’s not the kind of place that makes you want to stay awhile. There’s also no alcohol license at the moment, but one is coming, says co-owner Minh Tran (“We don’t know why the city makes us waiting so long to provide us with this license for more than two months, but we know that sooner or later we will have it.”)

But I came for the food, so that business about no alcohol was all fine. Except Sushi Ohana doesn’t have much in the way of gluten free options. Or, it didn’t when I went, though co-owner Minh Tran later let me know that they’re launching a completely gluten free menu soon, to go with their regular menu, based on a lot of customer demand. She also mentioned that some of their Chef’s Specialty items are gluten free (e.g. the Black Angel, Geiko or the Black Dragon), but I’m not sure if these were on the menu when I went, because I didn’t try them.

So I found at the time that it there was enough selection on the menu for the average eater, just not me. What I love about Sushi Momo is there’s a gluten free menu with at bunch of rolls I can eat and they’re all delicious. Ohana had just a couple. So I ordered all the dishes I could and found the flavours a bit monotonous. Black truffle this, sweet potato and avocado that.

It all looked pretty, and it was filling, but the sauces didn’t have much punch (maybe because I couldn’t have the more interesting sauces). So I feel like I can’t give a fair review of the place other than to say staff was generally friendly, the food came fairly quickly (the restaurant was empty since most people were ordering takeout or delivery), it was better than Sushi Shop, and I wish there had been more options for me.

I should say the one thing that sets this place apart from Momo is the black rice they use in a number of rolls. It makes for pretty maki. But I also felt the seasoning of the sushi rice was not great. Each grain felt a bit too clumpy, rather than being gently coated in the rice vinegar dressing and handled delicately while rolling.

And the spicy cajun tofu in my poke bowl (there’s a broad menu) was incredibly bitter. I wish I could have had the mushroom or grilled tempeh version, but those had gluten. (Tran says the mushroom poke bowl now is gluten free.)

New Vegan Sushi Place #2: Sushi Bloom

But redemption came at Sushi Bloom, officially known as “Bloom Plant Based Sushi.” The restaurant offspring of the owners of Sushi Momo and Montreal’s other upscale-ish vegetarian restaurant, LOV, opened Sept. 12, 2019, in a gorgeous spot on St-Paul West in the Old Port. Dominic Bujold, LOV’s founder, is also the founder of Sushi Shop, I found interesting. He fell in “LOV” with Christian Manuel Ventura’s vegan sushi at Sushi Momo. And while he’s not selling his stake in the Sushi Shop franchise anytime soon (or making them 100% sustainable, I doubt), he’s got the marketing right on Sushi Bloom to take advantage of the plant-based buzz that’s happening across the restaurant industry in North America.

The menu at Sushi Bloom is made up of a bunch of reinvented classic rolls (Kamikaze and Dragon Eye rolls), hosomaki (simple rolls, like avocado and mayo; tempura shisito pepper; oyster mushroom and truffle sauce; and the trademarked tunato with tomato, green onion and vegan Japanese mayo, all ranging from $5 to $8), plus nigiri (either enoki mushrooms for $5 or the trademarked tunato for $9), specialty creations and appetizers. They all get illustrations in the menu, so you know what you’re getting.

What really sells the space is the decor, which comes courtesy of LOV Designer and Artistic Director, Jacinthe Piotte, in collaboration with interior design firm Provencher Roy. There’s a long bar and a quasi separate dining room, making for a multifunctional space. The decor is inspired by Zen Buddhist principles, which makes it feels romantic, sleek and balanced. You walk in and you want to take a deep breath. Everything slows down.

And then the food comes.

I started with the soba mango salad without the soba (yes, soba means buckwheat noodles, but most versions are made with a little wheat flour for consistency, so they’re not gluten free):

The salad was great. A nice balance of sweet and sour and crunchy and savoury. The maki were all in the creamy-squishy, savoury-sweet category. The Bollywood had a little curry powder, the Fiesta a little bit of jalapeño and salsa verde, but nothing to get your spice-averse knickers in a knot about. I could had used more heat, but everything was satisfyingly pleasant.

The Mr. Crunch was a treat for me as a gluten free person because it was the only dish with a crunchy texture thanks to those little crispy rice balls. I’m not a fan of truffle, which seems to be a vegan sushi mainstay along with sweet potato and avocado in pretty much everything, but at least these rolls weren’t just savoury mush. If I wanted that, I’d just make it at home…and I have.

Seems as though Sushi Bloom is going with heart of palm instead of jackfruit as the vegan meat sub. There’s also a Beyond Meat maki roll option.

Sushi Momo vs. Sushi Bloom

So which of these two places do you go for a date night or when you want a little ambiance with your vegan sushi? It depends on location (Plateau or Old Port), price (Bloom is a bit more expensive if you order à la carte), food selection (Momo’s menu of rolls is much bigger, and there are more gluten free options) and drinks selection. I’d like to see more private import sakes at both Bloom and Momo, but the cocktail list at Bloom seems a bit more refined.

I wish there were some sake by-the-glass options at both, too. $20 for a small carafe at Sushi Bloom, which is probably about the same quantity as a glass, is a bit steep, but that’s unfortunately the going Old Port rate for sake these days. Hopefully, more competition will drive prices down.

Still, I’m happy to now have two stellar vegan sushi options in Montreal and a third one where Plateau-ers can grab some affordable sushi takeout that doesn’t involve unsustainable fish.

Sushi Bloom
368 St-Paul W.
Hours: Tues-Sat 5-10pm

Sushi Momo
3609 St-Denis
Hours: Tues-Thurs 5-10pm, Fri-Sat 3-10:30pm, Sun 3-10pm

Ohana Sushi
330 Mont-Royal E.
Hours: Tues-Wed 11am-9pm, Thurs-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 2-10pm, Sun 2-9pm