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.
Overall, reviews of Oorja describe a vibrant Indo Chinese fusion spot with inventive cocktails, playful tapas style dishes, and a warm, stylish ambiance that can range from relaxed lunch vibes to lively evenings with live music. The food frequently earns praise for bold flavors and presentation, with favorites including momos, chicken lollipops, chilli chicken, duck wings and other tapas style plates, while some diners note portions can be small for the price and spice levels may be very high. Cocktails are repeatedly highlighted as well balanced and creative, with several guests enjoying standout options and seasonal changes. Service is a common point, with many experiences described as friendly, attentive and professional, though others recount slow or inconsistent service, missed items, or long waits. The setting is often praised as chic and cozy, with attractive presentation and a welcoming atmosphere suited for dates, gatherings, or casual bites. Overall, Oorja comes across as a notable destination for Indo Chinese fusion in the area, delivering memorable drinks and interesting dishes, but with uneven service and portion consistency that may vary by visit.
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.
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.
Jan 25, 2026
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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!
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!
Very beautiful ambiance with really tasty food & amazing cocktails. The service was kind & informed. Big shoutout to Dima for amazing handcrafted off menu cocktails & Finn who was kind & attentive.
Nov 26, 2025
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Visiting Montreal & a colleague brought me here . Great cocktails & I had the super spicy fish Apollo & fried rice ...best meal I've had in a while. Highly recommend
Nous n'avons malheureusement pas eu un bon service, on a été vraiment patient car c'était les débuts du serveur. Cependant il avait oublié d'envoyer notre commande, la table derrière nous avait terminé son repas alors qu'ils sont arrivés après nous. Nous n'avons pas eu les plats en même temps donc nous étions 4 & n'avons pas mangés'ensemble'. La nourriture était correct mais spicy! Les cocktails sont délicieux!!!
On a du attendre 20 minutes après pour avoir les factures (20 minutes au comptoir à attendre après la demande).
Ça nous a gâché l'expérience malheureusement + aucun geste de leur part, c'est dommage
Sep 21, 2025
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So I was hungover & strolling for a comfort spot with spicy chow to soothe the demons.
I stumbled across oorja, it had a refined aesthetic while simultaneously providing an inviting, warm atmosphere. Perfect.
I was immediatley greeted by Naba, the lone bartender on duty, she is a literal walking ray of sunshine.
She made quick apologies for food service having finished after lunch but took the initiative to speak to the kitchen staff to see if they could make an exception & accomodate me, which they did without hesitation. Hospitality at its finest.
Great conversation & perfect recommendations followed with balanced dishes & expert crafted cocktails. I was blown away. Best culinary experience so far in montreal.
Dima is also a total stud, ask him to whip something up & you wont be disappointed.
Nice experience at Oorja. Really enjoyed the live music. Cocktails were amazing! Well presented & nicely balanced. Appetizers were diverse, fresh & tasty. We had the cauliflower, oyster mushrooms, corn, salad & others. Really good.
The main dishes were disappointing. Most tasted the same with different looks. Dumplings were dry & bland, noodles over seasoned, duck chewy. Too bad.
Service was decent albeit a little slow & some staff misinformed.
I hope more people come to this restaurant because I had a fantastic experience! It was fairly empty on a Wednesday evening (6pm). I ordered the chilli momos, fried oyster mushrooms & the pear cocktail drink. The batter on the mushrooms was flavorful, crispy & well spiced while the momos were in the most delicious savoury, tangy, spicy sauce. Both hit it out of the park for me. Cocktails are inventive & well balanced as well.
Oorja is a perfect place for a date night or catching up with friends. The ambience is warm & pretty. The food is tapas & flavourful. We ordered manchow soup, majestic chicken, schezwan noodles, chilly momos & couple of cocktails & i must say all are highly recommended. This food is a bit spicy palate which we really loved. Looking forward to try other items in the menu as well.
May 11, 2025
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Great service, tasty food & many tapas options on the menu. The drinks were also delicious we had the mezcal cocktail. We enjoyed our dinner here, good vibes & a good addition to Saint-Henri. We'll definitely be coming back.
Cute place. The food was pretty tasty & the portions were a good size. The cocktails felt a little watered down & could use improvement. Great vibes for a date night spot. However, the service was very slow & our food took about 45 minutes to come out.
On a commandé 5 affaires & toutes étaient absolument parfaites. Le service était excellent & la place est très cute pis confortable. Il y aura un groupe de jazz live aussi. J'ai hâte de retourner & de essayer les autres affaires & les cocktails :) PS plusieurs options veggie aussi
The food was tasty though the flavour profiles of most dishes we tried were pretty similar. The momos, both fried & steamed were a little on the tough side. Cocktails were excellent & the atmosphere was nice. Though the staff were super friendly, the service was quite slow & could be more attentive. Overall, we enjoyed our time there but not sure we'd run back.
Hakka food is a very unique fusion of asian flavours & this place executes it very well along with wonderful presentation. The max heat on the dishes is just right & only enhances the blend of flavours. Whenever you can eat all the plates with hakka noodles instead of rice. The cocktails are fun & inventive. The homemade red bean ice cream is a perfect way to end the night. I will say the place is small & the ambience doesn't really stand out. Service was attentive but food was a bit slow but they acknowledged that & gave us a free dessert to thank us for our patience. The wait was well worth it 👌.
