King’s Café
192 Augusta Avenue
416-591-1340
Dinner for two with all taxes and tip: $35 (Note: No liquor sold)

There are burrito joints, Middle Eastern take-away restaurants, seafood stores, bakeries, nut-and-seeds houses, cheese shops, and corner markets. But nothing stands out from the scene in the heart of Kensington – right there at the corner of Augusta and Baldwin – more than King’s Café.

At the back of this spacious, open restaurant is a shop beneath the sign “Perfect Vegetarian.” Uniqueness begins there. You can find all manner of meat in the freezers, shrink-wrapped and ready to take home. Except it isn’t meat at all, but surprisingly sly vegetarian fare posing as their meat counterparts.

Amid the bounty sit ham that isn’t ham, tuna salad without tuna, veggie fish chunks, veggie tuna steak, and all manners of chicken that have never seen a farm. Surrounding them are items including mushroom balls, “Zen tempura” bars, and sticky rice squares filled with mushroom and wrapped in a leaf.

Yes, yes but how do they taste? The fake meat varieties are, fair to say, legendary amongst the vegetarian community in Toronto. Each with their own distinct flavour, they can be steamed or fried at home, with fake flesh that is surprisingly not dry. Standouts include chicken drumsticks, chicken nuggets, mushroom balls, and the sticky rice packages, all under $8 for the most part.

Then, of course, there is the restaurant. Service is friendly and attentive, occasionally awkward. But what’s of real consequence is the food. King’s is well known for its generous bowls of soup, and its fried bean curd, lathered in a brown sesame sauce and layered atop bok choy. It’s tasty, but can be difficult to manage (from a biting standpoint).

The menu is extensive and I’m going to roll through it to three standouts, gleaned from my many visits. (And which by no coincidence are photographed here.)

1. Soy drumsticks ($6): Strapped to a wooden stick, this soy creation is crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Dipped in King’s own sweet-and-sour sauce, it is alive with taste.

2. California roll ($7.50): Sounds boring but these pieces of sushi defy the name “California.” The avocado is the centrepiece while a hidden crunch adds surprise.

3. Kung-Po soy chicken ($9): Spoon this over brown rice ($1.25). It has a mildly fiery aftermath, so long as you don’t eat one of the hot peppers (goodbye “mild”). It serves as a hearty main with a colourful array of vegetables mixed with meaty seitan and soft tofu.

Do not consult the menu by skimming over titles. If anything, they are chosen poorly. Read the ingredients to fully understand the dish. The atmosphere is unique as well, lodged somewhere between a cafeteria and a café. There is a small patio outside. King’s is a leisurely, entirely unpretentious place to find vegetarian and vegan dishes that are carefully considered.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy King’s. I once brought my parents, hard-wired to eating meat, who have since asked to go back. It is an equally fine locale for lunch and dinner, particularly when the air is warm and the glass doors in front are pulled back revealing the sounds and sights of the market. When hungry and wandering through the area on a weekend, it is a colossally better choice than the dim Thai place next door.

And most likely the best-tasting restaurant in Kensington. Score one for vegetables.