Through Oorja, we aim to create a restaurant inspired by the flavors of Hakka, primarily Indo Chinese cuisine, where the emphasis is placed on fresh ingredients and great service. We take pride in the food that we create, and it is our ambition to bring this vibrant and culturally rich cuisine to Montreal. As both a restaurant and a cocktail bar, our objective is to shape a fun and dynamic environment centered around a unique culinary experience. Our team will create dishes and cocktails made from quality seasonal ingredients sourced from local producers. Indo Chinese cuisine is surprisingly absent from Montreal, and we believe that its vibrance and imaginativeness will be very well received.
Oorja is described in reviews as a warm, stylish spot for Indo Chinese fusion tapas with bold, inventive flavors and craft cocktails. Dishes range from veg and vegan options to meaty fare, with favorites like momos, lollipop chicken, chili chicken, dumplings, fried rice and bao buns, while spice levels can be very high and portions vary by item. The atmosphere is intimate and cozy, sometimes enhanced by live music, making it a good pick for dates or casual meals with friends. Service is frequently praised for friendliness and helpful recommendations, though a few visits report slower pacing or occasional misses. Cocktails are widely admired for balance and creativity, with some off menu or unusual options noted as memorable, and many reviewers call Oorja one of the best Indo Chinese places in Montreal at good value for the quality. Overall the dining experience blends vibrant flavors, thoughtful presentation and a welcoming, energetic ambiance that draws people back for another round.
The food was really good but the service is lacking. Waiter was nice & sweet but forgot multiple times our requests & orders. For ex. forgot our mocktails, forgot to refill the water, forgot to give a receipt. Really no checkups. Would give a 5/5 if that is improved on.
Oorja is a neighborhood spot, & we love to come here. The cocktails are good, the puns are fine. We like a good goof. They used to have this really beautiful spicy chicken dish, it's still on the menu but recently they toned it down, the dish lost all it's edge & taste. Stick your guns Oorja! We will show up for your og recipes.
I came once & you had me fill out a paper survey at your bar, I wrote « keep your spicey chkn » & you must have lost my paper cause u took out the spice. I even drew u a picture. Damn.
Feb 28, 2026
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Typically when I have a bad experience at a restaurant, I will give the benefit of the doubt & I have NEVER given a negative review. However, so many things went wrong at our dinner the past weekend. To begin the evening, me & my 2 guests ordered drinks & shortly after placed our food order. The drinks took close to 45 minutes to arrive (I only ordered a coke, there were only 3 other tables filled at the time). The appetizers arrived another 10 minutes after our drinks. They were all pretty tasty, so we brushed off the wait & were looking forward to eating our main before we had to leave to catch a show (which was 2.5 hours after our reservation time, so we had assumed we would have plenty of time to eat & get there). When we ordered our food originally, we had asked for the duck wings. The server came back shortly after & said that they no longer offer them, & had us choose a different option. We were a bit disappointed because that was one of the dishes we saw that made us decide to try this restaurant. Less than an hour later, we see the table directly next to us receive an order of duck wings. We were getting a bit annoyed at this point, but again willing to overlook.
Eventually, we FINALLY received our main after almost 1.5 hours since we arrived. This is where things really took a turn for us. In the beginning, one of my friends specified to the server that she has a garlic allergy. Knowing that it is a common ingredient, she is VERY understanding when restaurants cannot accommodate. 5 minutes after we placed our order, the server returned to let us know that the dish she had chosen could not be prepared without garlic. She went on to provide a list of dishes that the kitchen told her COULD be made garlic free, & my friend happily chose a different option. After the extensive wait for our mains, they brought out only 2 plates for us, & plainly explained to our friend who had been waiting for her food that in the end they could not make that dish without garlic. Despite the fact that it was one of the options provided to her as garlic free. As I mentioned before, this was now over 1.5 hours into our dinner & we could not afford to wait for another dish to be prepared at this point. We couldn't believe that after all of that time waiting, nobody came to inform her earlier that her dish was not coming, & instead left her to sit completely empty handed while the 2 other people in the party had their main. She would've been happy if they had even offered her a serving of plain rice. However, she didn't even receive an apology.
We are all extremely understanding people, & absolutely are willing to look beyond a few mistakes & slow service. However, there were so many things that could have been handled differently (literally just a sincere apology would have sufficed). Even if they had told her earlier that they could not accommodate a garlic allergy, we would have understood & at least she could have gone to find food before we had to leave for our show. Overall, it completely spoiled a dinner meant to be a birthday celebration. As far as the food, the appetizers WERE good but the mains we did receive were not that great. Mine was missing a component & my friend's lamb had several pieces that were quite chewy.
On 13th of February, we came to celebrate my husband's birthday, i wanted to take him there for dine in & try the food aa we heard about it on internet.
I tried to call the restaurant about the information & reservations but nobody picked the call.
Later we just went in around 8:30pm, the Server told us they are having the customized menu for three days as it was valentine weekend. They showed this menu & told us to pick any two options from all the courses & it will be 96$ something. My husband asked if we could eat only 2-3 things but it will still be by the menu, because we didn't want to eat soup & all in the evening as we wanted something special. The guy went to the kitchen to ask if they could do it but The Evening MANAGER (VINAY) strictly told him NO, as they were serving all the 4 courses & it was so called mandatory menu what we had to ordered if we wanted to dine in there. My husband requested politely too, thats it our first time, its his birthday too, if they could do it but it was clearly a NO!!!
As we had lots of options around the area but we just wanted to try it out first time , Unfortunately it came out as our last time there.
No matter how good your food is, but manager or owner should know how to welcome the customers in any situation.
Resto bon rapport qualité prix. Les saveurs & la présentation des assiettes étaient très bien. C'était tranquille sur l'heure du lunch; l'ambiance était relaxe. Décor lumineux. Bon service.
Let's talk about the good before the bad…First, food & cocktails were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, from the moment we walked in, the service was probably the worst we've ever had, & this despite the restaurant being about one third full.
There is so much opportunity to train the staff better so the owner can reap better profit & the customers can have a better experience. First, when customers come in, a simple hello, smile or greeting, instead of making them wait for 5min without acknowledgment, would go a long way. Then, check in with your customers so that you can be aware of when they want to order. It took 20 min after being seated for someone to come to our table & light the candle, & take our order. & this was after we flagged the waiter down. Had the cocktails come sooner, we would either have had more or had wine with dinner. Had the waiter asked us if it was our first time here or advised us on how best to order, we likely would have ordered another entree. Had the service been pleasant, we would have stayed for dessert.
Overall, this experience really made me realize that no matter how good the food is, if the service is bad, the overall experience leaves a bad taste. Unfortunately, we will not be coming back.
Always impressed by their menu & drinks that change seasonally! Their indochinese cuisine is truly a first in the city & the staff is welcoming & professional, highly recommend.
Jan 25, 2026
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We chose this place after seeing a lot of glowing reviews on social media & decided to celebrate a birthday here. Despite the extremely cold weather & the restaurant being packed, we were seated within 10 minutes. The staff was polite, helpful, & welcoming - no complaints there.
The ambience & vibe are definitely a highlight & set the right expectations for a great dining experience. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended for us.
We ordered Chicken Lollipop & squid as appetizers, followed by fried rice, chilli chicken, & majestic chicken for the main course. The portion sizes were shockingly small & completely unexpected. The Chicken Lollipop had just four very small pieces, which felt unreasonable for the price being charged.
This seems to be a common misconception with fine-dining restaurants - smaller portions do not automatically mean premium dining. When customers are paying higher prices, a fair & satisfying portion should still be part of the experience.
Overall, while the service & ambience were good, the food portions left us disappointed & took away from what should have been a special occasion.
Had food delivered on 1st week it was open. Quality & taste were ok. Yesterday dined in. Food was exceptional. Chose duck wings, chicken lollipop, lamb spring rolls, & momo dumplings as apps & the chili/Manchurian chicken, braised pork as mains. Service was very good.
Love this restaurant! First time there with my wife & it hit every bite out of the park! Dima took care of us from the moment we walked in the door to the farewell just over an hour later. Great advice, which we really appreciated, as all the dishes were new to us. From the soup, mushrooms, vegan momos, my fish & my wife's vegi meatball dish, all outstanding! The cocktail helped all go down even easier. We have many more dishes to try next time, but we also would want to have all the ones we had again!
The food was absolutely delicious & the drinks were just as good! It's not a very busy place, which makes it perfect to relax & truly enjoy your time. The manager was incredibly kind & sweet enough to let us stay a little longer while we finished up. Definitely a must-try spot!
Called them 4 times to reserve, no one picks. Walked in, they say it's closed for the day as they have a private dinner. Basic sense to answer calls during business hours.
Cocktails, amazing! Food, even better! Service, superlative! I would love to say a personal thank you to my waiter but the cocktails were to good & I can't remember their names. Great dining experience. A gem!
