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.
I LOVE Oorja! The forty birds cocktail is a must! Plus the food, staff & atmosphere are all wonderful. A great spot to catch up with friends, or to come alone & chill at the bar with Corey. Definitely worth checking out.
WOW. I live near this restaurant & always wanted to try it, & last night my friends & I walked by & decided to go. We were blown away. Cocktails were 10/10. Food was 12/10. The asian salad, lollipop chicken, dumplings, & main dishes we had (chicken something & braised pork) were literally all to die for. Our server was absolutely lovely, & we soon after found out he was the owner as well. The restaurant is also beautiful. Seriously mad at myself for not trying this place sooner, but we will be back 100%!!! Finally, a really good & reasonably priced restaurant in St Henri!!! Lastly I want to say they were very good about my severe allergies to nuts & fish. Thank you Oorja!
Sep 30, 2024
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It's a wonderful place, tastefully done up. The music was amazing & not too loud. You could have proper conversations & hear people across the table. The cocktails surprised us, & we loved the drinks! They were delicious! The food was so tasty, that one is bound to overeat! They menu is limited, but each item is finger-lickin' good! The food is on the spicier side, but they accommodate spice level requests. It's perfect for a date night or even after work meetup. Definitely recommend this place!
Excellent place to share appetizers with friends. The main meals were also decent portions, so good value there. The lamb spring rolls were amazing, as well as the lollipop chicken. The only big downside is the dessert. They had only a red bean ice cream, no other options. The menu can be expanded a little bit. The drinks were definitely swanky, but not worth 17$ for cocktails. Cider & beer were 8 to 10$. Service was fast & efficient. Our server was attentive & relatable. He made the night really fun. The atmosphere was cool & posh, but still warm & welcoming. Good location as several places have closed previously at this spot. Hope it prospers
Ate here late last Sunday nite & was pleasantly surprised. The momos were fantastic & the cocktails were top notch, as well as my mussels served with curry. But this review is not about the food, it's about Dima. He was the absolute hero of our night. Amazing banter, amazing hospitality. Introduced us to some great new drinks, really sold the menu, & took care of us in so many ways. Thank you so much, Dima, from the bottom of my heart. I hope you go far in this life.
Food 4.5/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 4.5/5 Repeat & Recommend :Yes Went to Oorja Saturday night party of 3 for my first time. Atmosphere is very chill, the staff was genuinely helpful & friendly & the music was eclectic ranging from Frank Sinatra to country. There is also a terrace outisde in summer as a nice option. The menu isn't extensive which I like, better to do 5 things with careful & expertise than 50 items mediocre. We ordered cocktails to start all were visually & tastewise excellent. We ordered apps to start & went for the lamb spring rolls, Momo chili dumplings, Chicken Lollipops & Duck wings. All were quite good though my standouts were the Lollipops & the spring rolls. On to the mains my party has the Curried mussels, Chili Chicken & Manchurian chicken. We all enjoyed our mains, had trouble finishing them but that was more a result of overindulging in the apps. For the same reason we didn't try any desserts but thats just someting to look forward to next time. Overall I was really looking for anything to assign as a negative but I had no complaints. It's not cheap but it's also not expensive, I think its very fairly priced for the quality & service.
Not bad & amazing cocktails & service. I do find the dishes are quite fashion & interesting mixes of flavors from Asia (dumpling shad curry in them for example), however I'm not sure if it was enough for a second trip back.
May 18, 2024
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I loved my night out with the fam. The food was delicious, the staff was AMAZING, cocktails were the best I've had in awhile- highly recommend their passionfruit cocktail, & the red bean dessert was incredible! My favourite part was all the hidden little birds throughout the restaurant... there is a special prize if anyone that finds all of them. Made for a great night!
Amazing food & great cocktails! We had a great time eating at Oorja, we ordered the chili dumplings, the duck wings, & lamb rolls for the entrees & everything was delicious! The most outstanding being the dumplings with the delicious sauce 🔥 followed very closely by the duck wings. but don't be fooled, both dishes are spicy! We love spicy food & this felt super authentic to the Indochinese flavours so we greatly appreciate the chefs effort to showcase the true spice of the cuisine. We also ordered the fried chicken with hokka noodles as main & it was amazing. For the dessert we had the red bean ice cream & it was 10/10. The cocktails were good. We had the passion fruit & the cashews all around & both were good.
Being of Southeast Asian descent, I've always wanted to try Hakka which technically is cuisine from a region of China. However, it gets more complicated than that because Chinese from that region migrated to Southeast Asia, India, & the Caribbean, merging their cuisine with that of their host country. Oorja is a sophisticated spot to enjoy Hakka, which I consider fusion cuisine before there was fusion cuisine. It's an intimate place with a relatively small number of tables, & a significant part of the place devoted to a lovely cocktail bar. I sometimes like to eat & drink at a bar, so that's a bonus. This time there were three of us. Our cocktails were amazing. We were served by very helpful & competent staff. The best dish by far was the Momo appetizer. So many layers of flavors which I found familiar, but mixed together in a unique way that I hadn't tasted before. My companions had the Chili chicken with fried rice & noodles on the side. They loved it. The fried rice had that typical wok hei aroma & so was well prepared. As were the noodles. I had the braised pork belly. This in my opinion was the weakest of the dishes, but I'm willing to give Oorja the benefit of the doubt on this one. Unlike the Momo with its multiple layers of flavors, the dish lacked complexity. I've had several versions of Southeast Asian pork belly which involves pan frying it with the usual Asian aromatics plus lemongrass, with umami provided by fish sauce. So I guess I was expecting something of those flavors. I do know that Hakka involves braising, rather than the other techniques I usually associate with pork belly preparation. So it might just be me having preconceived notions. Nevertheless I still enjoyed my meal. All in all, my experience in Oorja was thoroughly enjoyable.
Loved the place. Loved their food. The perfect indo Chinese cuisine that I have been looking for! I had the cocktail (Forty Birds or fifty? Forgot the exact name) it was a little too sour, so go for it if you like this taste. Place is a little smaller & it is hard to bring in a big gang. Service was very good. Will definitely recommend this place to all my friends
Feb 15, 2024
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Good place, worth trying. Pros: -Flavourful plates. The lamb spring rolls & the dumplings were delicious. Notes: -There's more cocktails options than main dishes -Most main dishes are spicy, even after asking to reduce the strength at the order.
I will be going back for the Minced Lamb Spring Rolls & the Braised Pork Belly - I totally forgot to order the Red Bean Bao Buns for dessert; I can't wait to try it! The appies are the main event, the mains are a bit too sweet & lacked complexity, but for $20 they're great & on the small side. My friends loved the wine, & The Last Word cocktail recommendation was surprising & herbacious. Great space, a nice addition to the neighbourhood!
This is a nice Indo Chinese spot in St Henri. We ordered the mango cocktail, chili baby corn, braised pork & chili chicken. The menu is small but good. The chili chicken with chowmein tasted very much like the street side chili chicken I've grown up eating in Kolkata. The braised pork was delicious. The crispy babycorn came with a nice sauce. The portions are quite filling. The atmosphere is very pleasant, with soft music playing in the background. This is a really cute spot for dinner.
The food is fire! The flavours & the presentation are outstanding. The cocktails... amazing!
The staff are super friendly , excellent service!
This is a fantastic quaint restaurant with a great vibe! Thank you for making my daughters birthday extra special!
See you again 😀
Dec 24, 2023
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We had dinner here on a Wednesday with some friends, the menu is very limited & most of our table was vegetarian, we had: Paneer Manchurian w fried rice - very good, probably the best thing we ordered Chili Paneer, Chili Momos, Baby corn - all came with the same sauce, sweet & spicy very similar to General Tao sauce. It was fine but got a little boring having the same sauce with multiple things Fried Vegan Momos - good but nothing to write home about. Hakka noodles - a little over cooked, not so flavorful Fried rice - quite good, I'd recommend over the noodles. For the (very high) price, this place is not one I'd recommend. Maybe the bartender is different on a Wednesday but the $18 cocktails tasted like juice & the cheapest glass of wine was also $18.
A 5 for the expertly crafted cocktails. WoW! All were exceedingly delicious. Being an Indian/Asian fusion I'm undecided whether I like this combination. The lamb spring rolls were better, with two dipping sauces that were excellent. The duck wings while good were too sweet overall. Pork Braisé was plentiful yet again too sweet. Chicken & also Veg Manchurian's were ok. Opt for the fried rice, which did have delicious smoky flavor. Wait staff was very nice, however needs a bit more training. (Don't reach in front of a guest to deliver food to another. Ask if the meal is finished before removing sauce plates.) Would definitely return & enjoy cocktails & an appetizer or two.
Loved the cocktails, lamb spring rolls & five spice porc, but the paneer chilii had some next level heat, a notch too spicy for me & I'm a chilli lover! Overall great experience!
