Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen
1262 Danforth Avenue
416-778-1388
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and pot of tea: $38

My eating mates and I are not high-brow but we do have high expectations for vegetarian cuisine. Reviews on the website Chowhound allude to delicious grub at Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen. With comments such as, “the menu is more adventurous than before”, “awesome Thai”, or even, “The William Shatner of Toronto’s dining scene. Just when you think they’re gone for good, they pop up again in an even more delicious context”, reviews more or less glow. Many a vegetarian top-ten holds the name, Jean’s Veggie.

After eating there and after having my leftovers for lunch the next day, I am still not sure what I think. And maybe that is the point. The Thai-Malaysian mixed menu is definitely healthy - certifiably. It has a ton of variety, too, with five styles of rolls, lemon grass soups, salads, curries, noodles, rice dishes and six stir-fries. With $9.50 the highest price on the board, there is much value to be had here.

It’s a nice place. The walls are painted caramel, and are interrupted only by two paintings of Buddha. Sunday night is packed, but casual. Soft Asian music is often overpowered by the call of children. Clearly there is love for Jean’s Veggie.

Yet I wonder whether or not this just might be average fare. The deep fried tofu ($3) is bland and watery, and the peanut sauce doesn’t rescue it. The taro roll ($3) is a good, efficient spring roll; not so greasy, reasonably satisfying. The crispy curry triangles are, in fact, egg-roll samosas and are underwhelming by the measuring stick extended by most Middle Eastern varieties.

The mango salad ($7) is a bright spot: with slivers of onion and carrot, coconut and cashew, it is fresh and lively and I could probably eat it all night. The pad thai ($8) is also fresh and gave me no guilt or post-pad thai hangover like I sometimes get, should that be of any interest, yet it floats in that space between bland and fresh. That’s a space with no real kick, if you get my drift. The noodles are slick and glistening, and not too bad actually, while the mock-chicken and faux-shrimp are non-plentiful.

Spicy tofu with mixed vegetables & cashew nuts ($8.50) provided some flare in the main-dish department. It is outdone, however, by a similar dish at Thai Basil (tofu and green beans) over in the Annex. And as a result, I would imagine, outdone by many other similar dishes. The fried bananas with honey ($3.50) is a sweet and inexpensive cap to the meal and worth a go.

Jean and Harry Seow’s 35-seater is an “if you’re in the neighbourhood” healthy veggie option. In all, the causal and minimal nature of the décor may actually mirror many of the dishes. It is all very nice. Very familial. Very casual. But what it isn’t is the quality of Fresh or Urban Herbivore or Café 668 or King’s Café or Live or Hibiscus or even a bundle of good Thai places with a health dose of vegetable options. Still I wish it the best because every neighbourhood needs a nice place like this.