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 widely praised for its Indo-Chinese fusion tapas, inventive cocktails, and a warm, stylish vibe that makes it a popular neighborhood spot. The flavors are often described as bold and delicious, with standout items like ghee garlic shrimp, momo dumplings, and spicy chicken dishes, though some guests note the spice can be very strong and portions can feel small for the price. Service is a mixed bag across visits, ranging from friendly, attentive moments to slower service with missed requests and longer gaps between courses. Overall, the restaurant is celebrated for its innovative menu and welcoming atmosphere, with guests eager to return to try more dishes and cocktails.
We visited Oorja on May 17th for dinner. We were visiting Montreal & went there after reading the reviews online. The food was such a disappointment. It was no where close to Indo-Chinese or Hakka.
The Gobi bites were very salty & oily. The sides portion was way too less & we were told that mains are shareable so we ordered only a few mains to share & very highly disappointed. The veg manchurian was undercooked & the side fried rice with it was too oily. The only dish that was okay was Majestic chicken but it had regional Indian flavours rather than being Hakka. The food took a long time to arrive. Overall not a good experience.
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.
Jan 24, 2026
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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
Place is nice & cozy , food flavour is amazing 10/10 . We had the chilli chicken , chicken momo, & two kinds of fried rice . Everything was delicious BUT the portions are VERY small . You may have to order doubles if you're super hungry .
They have 3 variation of Vegan momo (fried, chili, steamed). The Vegan chili momo are wok tossed in a spicy chili sauce (ginger, garlic, bell peppers, onions). The sauce is quite spicy! There's a lot of sauce leftover, so I'm gonna save it to eat with rice. :D
Jan 25, 2025
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The menu has unique dishes. Loved the asian salad, steamed momo with the sauce & thr chili paneer. The hakka noddles & fried rice were average. If you can't handle spicy, beware cause level 1 spice was really really spicy (& I have a really good spice tolerance). The prices are reasonable with generous portions.
Underrated restaurant! If you like spicy food, this is the place! They serve great food & all the flavors are great. The szechuan fried rice was very spicy, & I loved it. With all the spicy food, the servers are quick to react to fill your water glass.
Indo-Hakka is actually Indian-style Chinese food. The so-called Indian Hakka cuisine is Indian ingredients & spices + Chinese seasoning cooking techniques. It is a "copycat version of Chinese cuisine" made by Chinese people far away from their hometown. "Manchurian Chicken" is the signature dish of Indian Hakka cuisine. It is similar to General Tso's Chicken. It is a kind of chicken nuggets fried in sweet & sour sauce. I didn't order it! But I ordered fried chicken buns with spicy sauce (chicken chili momo by wok ). Of course, the name doesn't matter. Deliciousness is the king. It's still a good taste. Paired with white rice, it's very delicious! The fried oyster mushrooms are also perfect. The big oyster mushrooms are crispy ,& paired with a special sauce, it's more delicious than meat! Personally, I think this is the first Chinese restaurant in Montreal that doesn't have wonton soup/hot & sour soup. The duck soup has a strong pepper flavor, which is very heartwarming in this cold winter. "Indian Hakka cuisine" is the product of Hakka immigrants. The Chinese who first arrived in India were the same as the Chinese who went to Southeast Asia. They were poor people in coastal areas of China. They crossed the ocean to avoid war or seek better life . From 1772 to 1911, the capital of British India was Kolkata, where the Chinese mainly lived. Food allows people to glimpse the history & culture of different countries & ethnic groups. The food on the plate reveals the secrets of human past & present. I often learn about the world at the table.
I went there on Friday & i was kind of disappointed. It was my second time, & i only went there again because i really enjoyed the food. On Friday, the restaurant was busy. We waited 20 minutes in order to be seated. Once we were seated, we ordered right away. Our food took very long to arrive. It took around 40 minutes & we were just 2 people. So i could say overall the service was really slow & bad. After our food has arrived we ordered spicy mayo which arrived 10 minutes later. But the food was good. We got the majestic chicken, fried rice, paneer chilli & shrimp. Not sure if we would go again.
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.
Very good food. Chicken dish with fried rice was only slightly too sweet for my tastes but was too ultra hot spicy. Perhaps reduce a bit? Braised pork very tasty but too much fatty pieces. Chicken dumpling were delicious.
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.
Dec 7, 2023
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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.
Delicious food, quality was good. Paneer chilli had that spicy tangy taste loved it. Veg Manchurian was spicy & tasty. But not satisfied with the quantity for the amount we pay. Especially the appetizer just had five small fried momos, also would appreciate more fried rice & noddles.
Service was good.
Amazing food. The starters (Lamb spring rolls, Fried Momos, Manchow Soup) were really well made, especially the dips & the chutneys. Plating was superb. Tried the Chicken Manchurian with fried rice. The gravy was so close to indo chinese but the chicken was not as succulent & tender. Waiting staff were quick & delight to interact with. Everything was served really fast. Restaurant was a bit smaller & seating was not very comfortable as the tables are laid out very close to each other. Lighting was a little dim so could not read the menu. But overall a very nice ambience & is on the rustic side & the place was packed with people.
My friends & I were really excited to try out this new spot but unfortunately it didn't live up to expectations.
Although the drinks were good & so were some of the appetizers (lamb spring rolls & duck wings) - the mains were not very good.
They have the same sauce for several plates, & to be honest it's seems like it's store bought or something. Two of us at the table had fried rice & it tasted funny, almost freezer burnt.
The servers were very kind an attentive & they even took one of the dishes off the bill because we weren't satisfied with it.
I won't be returning, but hope that as this restaurant grows, the food will improve!
