Recent social media posts
2026-05-27
I am deeply infatuated with endive. It is so elegant, bitter, yet tender. I wanted to create a dish where the endive was braised rather than raw. Cutting the endive in half exposes all of the gorgeous layers, making it perfect to absorb a braising liquid composed of fermented tomato brine and smoked corn broth. After a gentle and quick cook, I allow it to cool, then serve it in a bright cucumber and sweet pea broth. Dressing it up in a pea cream with chilis and pickled pioppino mushrooms creates incredible flavours and textures. This dish tastes like spring.
- chef leah :)
2026-05-21
Have you tried our endive yet?
Endive is newly launched at Hawker as part of our Spring menu. It grows similarly to forced rhubarb, ie, completely in the dark once it sprouts.
It was discovered by fluke- when a farmer returned from war and found their stored chicory roots had sprouted into something edible and yummy.
Here at Hawker, Leah is braising them, reducing a bit of their inherent bitterness, and serving up a delicious cold fresh bite with pickled pioppino mushrooms, pea and cucumber broth, and chili + sweet pea cream.
Enjoy the next piece in our aRt&D series!
Photos and design
2026-05-14
We at Hawker are so excited to be participating in the inaugural Sustainalicious!
While one could argue that everything served at a vegan restaurant is climate-smart, we’ve curated a three course tasting menu to highlight some of our most ✨Sustainalicious✨ options. 😉
Introducing asparagus, eggplant, and rhubarb - all featured in our new spring menu rolling out this week, and available as a three course dinner until June 14.
Why these dishes? Because right now, here in Ontario, these are grown fresh, foraged nearby or transported from local farms, and turned into something new and exciting.
We hope to see you for dinner soon :)
Kiss kiss
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2026-05-05
rhubarb
When you grow rhubarb in darkness, you get something very special. The bright and sour ingredient becomes more delicate and sweet in flavour. We call this “forced” rhubarb. For this dessert, I fermented the forced rhubarb under layers of sugar to create a sweet, candy-like ferment. This also leaves us with a super useful syrup for other dishes. This fermented rhubarb becomes the star of our dessert, served on a cedar whipped cream with sumac sprinkled on top to accent its acidity. We also decorate the top with chamomile pearls; rhubarb and flowers are a perfect combination.
This all gets nested into a super thin buckwheat pastry ring. The idea is that you can crack the pastry with your spoon and scoop up the components with it. Rhubarb and buckwheat is an ode to spring. Come try it for yourself.
2026-04-14
Spring is upon us! As we’re playing with R&D for our new dishes and menus, I wanted to bring you along and share more about our ingredients, our farms, our local partners. We want to let you in to our play and process a little too.
This week we’re experimenting with forced rhubarb from . Chef Leah fermented and stewed it, creating a new dessert you might just find on special this week.
2026-03-27
We had such a great time on Monday with all of you. A big thanks to Morgan for sharing knowledge and wine with us. It was an evening full of tastings, delicious bites and laughter.
We hope to see you at our next one.
2026-03-13
Join us on March 23rd at 6pm for another (Vegan) Wine with Friends!!
CRU Wine Merchant & Founder of A Little Drink Wine Club, Morgan Rock, will be guiding us through the evening alongside your favourite Sommelier Abi and Chef Leah. This evening will explore the question of “what makes a wine vegan?”!
Six courses paired with curated small bites from Leah, this intimate event is not one to miss. Limited seating remains, grab a ticket while you can!
More about Morgan: Morgan began her wine career working in several exceptional Italian restaurants in Toronto, where she honed her skills. Driven by her passion, she pursued wine courses to further her career. In 2018, she relocated to London, England, to join the wine industry. While completing her WSET Level Three exams, Morgan spent three years managing a wine bar in London. This international experience enriched her understanding and appreciation of wine. Upon her return to Toronto, she contributed to the establishment of a wine bar and bottleshop with a London-inspired concept. Morgan also worked in various wine-focused bars and bottle shops. Eventually, she transitioned into the wine sales industry, currently working for Cru Wine Merchants and hosting regular wine clubs throughout the city.
Link in our bio. “wine with friends”
2026-02-03
Winterlicious is going strong at Hawker! Come join us until Feb 12th Wednesday to Sunday. We have a lunch/brunch menu and a dinner menu. Our dinner menu highlights our new seasonal menu, including Chef Leah’s new mole dish.
2026-01-28
We’re super excited to announce that we’re celebrating a Canadian Choice Award! Hawker’s ownership team shifted in June and the last 7 months have been packed with hard work, creativity, and dedication. We’re so proud of how far we’ve come- and are looking eagerly to a delicious future with all of you. Thanks for being a part of our journey.
2025-12-26
Hawker’s NEW YEAR’S EVE dinner is a vegan six course experience with wine pairings and specialty cocktails in partnership with and !
Our 7pm seating is now FULLY SOLD OUT! Grab tickets for our 5pm seating while you still can. We’re looking forward to hosting you. Link in our bio!
2025-12-22
We have a special announcement! Hawker has been chosen as a finalist in the 2026 Canadian Choice Awards!
Since Chef Leah has taken over the full kitchen operations and Abi, our sommelier, has really stepped into their role, we’ve seen an incredible growth in the vibrancy and efficacy of the food, drinks and service at Hawker.
We’re incredibly proud of how far we have come since May when the ownership changed hands and we had to figure out how to make it our own. Now, in light of that, we have found ourselves nominated for this award and we cannot be more grateful to have seen those efforts be recognized.
Chef’s passion behind her dishes is shown in the new menu and how Abi has paired those dishes with wine and innovative cocktails has really made our little place shine brighter than ever.
We hope to keep improving, creating, and making new and interesting dishes for you to try every season. Again thank you for this, and we’re looking forward to hosting you soon.
2025-12-15
As the year comes to a close, Chef Leah invites you to join us for a special meal to celebrate. We have a six course prix fixe focused on local produce and fermented preserves harvested throughout the seasons, perfect for ringing in the new year!
Each tasting includes a complimentary toast of bubbles. Our Sommelier Abi has three and six course wine pairings that complement the tasting perfectly. Don’t miss our specialty cocktail sponsored by our friends at Spirit of York for this menu!
2025-12-04
molé, oyster mushrooms, fermented tomato
I’ve always been fascinated by molé and variety of ingredients and flavors it can have. When I visited Guerrero last year, it was the salsa I was most excited to experience. Every stall in the market made molé slightly different. Different seeds, nuts, spice levels, colours. The depth of flavor you could achieve astounded me. The comforting richness and spice dimension made my molé obsession a perfect fit for our winter menu. Because of our focus on local ingredients we char an extensive list of Canadian produce and pair it with traditional Mexican spices to create a deep, dark salsa that is warmly spiced and chocolatey. To extend the tomato season, we serve it with sparkly fermented tomatoes and local oyster mushrooms. This dish is a nod to traditional Mexican comfort food with a Canadian twist.
Photos by
2025-11-26
My drinks, as a reflection of myself, are entirely relational.
The Fermentini is indicative of my love of gift giving. Every week, Leah gives me a lil gift and I get to give her something in return. It becomes a sort of conversation or exchange, but one that we share with our guests. I’ve been very inspired since I started working at Hawker, learning from Chef Leah, so its nice to have something as dynamic as a rotating Martini to offer back.
It’s quite a simple and elegant formula. A sweet, nutty, and buttery rye-based vodka that brings to life Chef Leah’s complex funky ferments, complimented by a savoury herbaceous Aquavit. Who doesn’t like a drink and a snack?
- Abi
Pictured is our Carrot Fermentini, and this week
we’re running the Tomato Fermentini. Come find new funky flavours to eat and drink at Hawker sometime soon.
Photos by
2025-11-19
I have a deep affection for parsnips- when I took one parsnip dish off of the menu, I couldn’t help myself replacing it with a new one. This dish feels like autumn in a nutshell. We unravel entire parsnips into long sheets and spread rich and spiced salsa macha across them. After rolling the sheets into pinwheels, they get cut into scallops, seared, and braised in smoked corn broth. The result? Crispy edges, and luxurious layers of salsa and parsnip. You’ll hardly recognize the humble parsnip in this dish. To top it off, we’ve dressed these gorgeous rolls up in a pine nut cream and local crab apple gel. Arthur and I basically bought all the crab apples we could get our hands on at the end of the season. The taste of this bright pink gel brought us back to our childhoods of growing up with apple trees in our backyard. This is a special one. Make sure you try Parsnip || at Hawker this winter.
- Chef Leah
Photos by
2025-11-06
We’re excited to launch our new fall drink menu tonight, with five new cocktails:
dinner club - savoury, spicy, numbing: this is a cocktail experience like never before.
ferment-ini - try leah’s weekly ferments in liquid form, served with vodka + aquavit
¿margarita? (pictured above) - clarified watermelon margarita, for those who can’t say goodbye to summer just yet.
yellow bear - a warm honey sipper with rye
esprit d’escalier - you wish you’d thought of trying this sooner
see you tonight
photography by
2025-10-10
After tomorrow, we’re closed for the weekend. We wish you and your loved ones a happy Thanksgiving, or otherwise a warm weekend full of loved ones and good food.
We will see you next week.
Photo by
2025-08-29
This weekend is Labour Day weekend, which is a great excuse to do what our little friend here is doing and touch some grass. One of us is moving, another is leaving to go to Turkey and hangout on a boat, a few of us are going camping and getting out of the city- all to make sure we can come back into the fall season strong with our new menu & bar items we’ve been developing for you to enjoy.
🌱🌞
If you want a dose of Hawker this weekend, it’s going to have to be tomorrow!
Open: Saturday, August 30th for Brunch & Dinner
Closed: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
Open again as normal for Wednesday September 3rd!
Grasshopper pic!!
Address
291 Augusta Avenue
Toronto, ON
M5T1N9
To reach the vegetarian/vegan restaurant on Augusta Avenue in Toronto, you can take the TTC streetcar to the Kensington Market stop and walk south towards Augusta Avenue. Alternatively, you can drive and park on any of the nearby streets or in a paid lot located near the restaurant.
Opening Hours
| Wednesday |
5:30pm - 10:30pm |
| Thursday |
5:30pm - 10:30pm |
| Friday |
5:30pm - 11pm |
| Saturday |
5:30pm - 11pm |
| Sunday |
11am - 4pm |
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What people say
Vegetarian and vegan restaurants have been gaining popularity in recent years, and for good reason. These establishments offer a variety of delicious plant-based dishes that are not only healthy but also environmentally friendly. Hawker Restaurant on Augusta Avenue in Toronto is one such restaurant that stands out from the rest.
Hawker Restaurant's naturalist cuisine is a breath of fresh air for those looking for a healthy and satisfying meal. Their small plates are perfect for sharing with friends or trying different dishes all on your own. The best part? Everything on their menu is plant-based, making it an excellent choice for vegetarians and vegans alike.
What started as a vegan food truck has now become a staple in the Toronto food scene. Hawker Restaurant's extremist lifestyle is reflected in their commitment to using only the freshest ingredients to create their dishes. Their vitality shines through in every bite, leaving you feeling energized and satisfied.
Their Hawker Walla lunch takeout and delivery menu offers old favorites alongside new plant-based thali featuring cashew biryani, yellow dal, sabzi (spiced veggies), cashew raita (yoghurt), achaar (pickled veggies), and fresh roti! The menu is updated regularly to keep things interesting, and they even offer discounts for takeout and pickup orders.
Hawker Restaurant's dedication to providing delicious and filling plant-based meals at reasonable prices has made them a favorite among Toronto locals. They're currently available on Uber Eats, Door Dash, and Ritual, making it easy to enjoy their tasty offerings from the comfort of your own home.
In conclusion, if you're looking for a vegetarian or vegan restaurant that offers naturalist cuisine with small plates bursting with flavor, look no further than Hawker Restaurant on Augusta Avenue in Toronto.
