Chuchai restaurant offers friendly service, a relaxed ambiance, a personalized approach, and the ingenious culinary styling of Lily Sirikittikul, a chef whose talents and creativity make her one of the best in the business.
Reviews consistently praise ChuChai for a fully vegan Thai menu that delivers authentic flavors and textures, with crowd favorites such as the vegan crispy duck, Tom Yum, green and red curries, Panang, and dumplings with peanut sauce that satisfy both vegans and meat lovers. The atmosphere is described as cozy and minimal, and the staff are repeatedly described as friendly and attentive, though a few comments note slower service during busy times or moments when refills are missed. The menu is varied and creative, and many meals are described as well balanced and deeply flavorful, with soups and curries highlighted as standouts. Prices are generally viewed as reasonable, though some dishes feel a bit pricey to certain diners. Reservations are often advised during peak hours due to popularity. Overall ChuChai is regarded as one of the best vegan or vegan friendly Thai options in Montreal, offering a dependable, flavorful dining experience for groups and for diners who are not vegan.
Je suis venue plusieurs fois manger à chaque fois le même plat : Ped Palo - Crispy vegan duck. Incroyablement délicieux ! L'imitation du canard est très réussie !
We got the Thai Princess drink, dumplings in peanut sauce (Kiao satay), the vegan chicken skewers (Gai Satay), the vegan beef in 3 flavor sauce (Neua Sam Rod), the eggplant & vegan shrimp (koung pad makere). I would recommend the Gai Satay & the Neua Sam Rod, it was really flavorful & the vegan beef had a nice crispy texture. I'm personally not a fan of the shrimp texture, which was probably made with konjac jelly. I've been here before & tried the crispy vegan duck & would highly recommend it as well. The ambience is really cozy & chic. The staff is really friendly & explained all the dishes we were curious about. I would visit again!
Aug 25, 2024
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Really high-quality vegan Thai fusion cuisine just up the street from Momo. The duck is freaky good. The service is always good but can often be understaffed & slow at the times we've visited. Atmosphere is clean & nice but very tight & loud during busy hours. Chuchai should join the Christian Ventura empire.
Best vegetarian food ever & I am not a vegetarian. Food went beyond my expectations. Everything was delicious, the fried dumplings were amazing so was the pad thai & duck. I also found it fairly priced
Overall excellent dining experience for our first night in Montreal for the Jazz festival. My SO is a vegan & loved the duck which looked & tasted so good. The shrimp made from coconut was a surprise hit. The pad thai was made just right with a balanced taste. Will definitely return whenever we visit Montreal again.
Got a table on the patio for dinner on Saturday night. It was busy - without a reservation there were no tables inside. I can see why, this place was delicious. We started with tom kha soup, duck larb, & fresh rolls. Classic pad thai for the main. Everything was delicious. Will definitely return.
Jun 16, 2024
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Tasting menu was a little bit more expensive for what it was, but we still enjoyed everything. Vegan duck with green beans & vegan chicken with veggies, the tasting platter, chocolate cake, cheesecake, & tea. Our entrees were delicious. For two people, $110 total. In all, the servers were nice & the food is nice. Notes: The chocolate cake!! That stuff is so good.
10/10 across the board! We got the Kiao Satay (dumplings in peanut sauce), Waan Krob (crispy seaweed), Poe Pia Tod (Fried Imperial Rolls), Ped Palo (Crispy duck), & Neua Sam Rod (crispy beef). The peanut sauce was so delicious we could've drank it. The crispy seaweed was perfection. The crispy duck is something I thought I would never find but they have absolutely gotten it right, I'd say better than the real thing. & the beef was the favorite of the table, even better as leftovers the next day. The service was wonderful, & bonus points for mocktail options on their drinks. We're only visiting for a week but will surely be back at ChuChai!
I was a bit hesitant to try ChuChai, as what I really wanted was some Thai food with a lot of vegetables. I even considered going to an omnivorous Thai restaurant. But, I felt I could trust this restaurant, & hoped I'd be pleasantly surprised. Pleasant doesn't begin to describe my experience. It was a lovely warm, August evening, so I sat outside, on the cute-as deck. Gabriel was my primary server & was so friendly, helpful & accommodating! I ordered the Thai basil noodles with vegan duck. I also ordered a papaya salad. Because of some weird health issues, I'm avoiding coconut oil. I confirmed with Gabriel that there was no coconut oil in these noodles. Within minutes, Rachel dropped by my table. She said that she knew I'd ordered these noodles, & she knew there was a coconut oil issue. She wanted to let me know that the same pan is used for coconut dishes as for this one & there was a chance of cross-contamination. Was that okay? (It was & is. I just can't eat it in significant quantity.) I was blown away by that attention to detail. The papaya salad was loaded with enough green papaya & veggies to satisfy my needs & was fresh & delicious. Then, the noodles came... I used to eat duck. I kinda remember the texture... This was probably the most accurate vegan meat I've eaten outside of Boca Burgers! &, it was delicious. The entree was rich, but not overpowered by the vegan duck. There was just enough to get some in every bite, but not be overwhelmed. &, my water glass was never allowed to go empty. I think there was only one member of floor staff with whom I did not interact. This is such a cohesive, well-run team! & they still manage to provide just the kind of atmosphere you'd want, be it in solitude--like me-- or with a group. Even a date! I saw all of the above at other tables. I've already given a personal recommendation to strangers who are vegan & were headed up to Montreal. Yum. Yum. Yum. UPDATE: I was meeting up with friends in Montreal, early in April. I had already mentioned ChuChai. Why would I not? But, on Friday, they mentioned they'd not had "a fabulous meal, yet." So, I recommended ChuChai, again. We were one veganish, one veg, one pescatarian & one omnivore. Gabriel seated us 30 minutes before our reservation--& REMEMBERED ME--& we sat! We ordered a lot of food & Gabriel was in charge of our wine guidance. Success! We all moaned in ecstasy, with every bite. Once again, casually & effortlessly, every server took care of us in some way. On the way out, my friend decided she wanted a t-shirt. I was directed to Emily--the owner--who ALSO remembered me. I got a little bit of history about the place, & introduced to her mother, who was sitting at the bar. My friend got chatting with mom so intently, we missed our Uber! Well worth it. This place slays me! & how lovely to find that 8 months' was like 8 seconds in the fluid consistency. Can't wait to try the new, sister restaurant. Next time!
May 1, 2024
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My family & I had a wonderful experience here. The food was super good & the decor was nice. I had the vegan duck red curry with sticky rice & it was delicious! Would recommend the fried shrimp appetizer as well.
we tried several items (tom yum, tom kha, papaya salad, peanut butter dumplings, pad kee mao, ped palo & red curry). the majority of the dishes were ok but our favourite was the pad palo (vegan duck). i've never had a dish like it before but it was amazing!! the pad kee mao was very good too. the service was extremely slow despite the table being reserved only for 2 hours. there were only 2 or 3 waiters & the restaurant was fully packed so it's understandable. our waitress was very patient & kind. 4.5/5 would definitely come back!
The vegan duck is scarily reminiscent of the real thing. The texture is perfect, browned & chewy skin, tender & juicy inside. It isn't quite as fatty as real duck, but it is close. The bed of spinach it lays on was the most delicious spinach I have ever had. There is a little garnish of cabbage too. But order another side & maybe rice to fill out your meal. The cucumber salad was ok, tasty but not as flavorful as I was hoping. I also got sticky rice, which came in the tiniest takeout box I have ever seen, which was perfect for one person.
Mar 10, 2024
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My favorite vegan restaurant in Montreal. The food is amazing & the staff is very friendly. Every dish I had so far was excellent. A special mention to the crispy vegan duck (ped palo) that is a real delight.
Great service & so many options for food!!! You may get overwhelmed but I'm sure everything is delicious, you can't go wrong. The vegan duck was delicious. If you want to finish off with dessert, I recommend the fried banana 🍌🍌🍌
We love the restaurant & have been there several times. The food & the service are just excellent, there is no bad food choice because everything is delicious! That time we decided to take the menu (55$/person) & I honestly felt disappointed. I think it is very overpriced for the appetizers they give you (a small salad & just a tiny bite of the rest of them, just one dumpling, not even half a summer roll, a spoon of a vegan duck salad). So for this I don't think it's worth taking the menu. I would recommend either lowering the price (35-40$ seems reasonable) or giving a bigger quantity on the appetizers (really, the size was pretty ridiculous...). We will come back for sure, but we won't repeat the menu!
Our group had an awesome dining experience at ChuChai. The staff was super friendly & attentive. We highly recommend Ped Palo (Highly recommend the crispy vegan duck) & Mangue & riz collant. This place hits all of the vibes - the decor, food & drinks. We will definitely come back again! Looking forward to trying other dishes.
