What Happened to Royal Caribbean After Restaurant Takeover? (Toronto, ON)

Royal Caribbean was the eighth restaurant on Restaurant Takeover (Food Network Canada), in an episode that aired on 2012-10-18. TVmaze's synopsis describes chef Ainsley as easygoing and experienced, and says that while construction in the area disrupted the neighborhood, he watched his business dwindle. The show sent chef Andrea Nicholson and designer Montana Burnett. TV Guide's season listing describes a relaxed chef's Caribbean-style restaurant that needed a refresh to attract new diners.

No page I read names the show alongside a particular address. The match to Royal Caribbean Cafe at 1127 St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto rests on two details: a byblacks.com business directory entry lists Ainsley Palmer as the executive chef and owner of that cafe, which it says was established in 1998 and serves Jamaican and fusion dishes, and the synopsis refers to construction in the area. The directory entry is undated and lists hours of noon to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. blogTO's undated page for the cafe places it in the Corso Italia neighborhood and praises its ackee and saltfish plate, priced at $15 on that page.

The pages I read do not describe what changed in the menu, decor, staff or name during the episode, or how the relaunch went, so this entry does not describe them. Neither the directory entry nor the blogTO page mentions the television program.

A Google Maps listing for Royal Caribbean Cafe at 1127 St. Clair Avenue West was marked permanently closed when checked on 2026-10-19. That listing is the only dated source I found on the cafe's later history, and it gives no closing date. A public listing's status is not a closure date, so this entry does not say when the cafe stopped serving. No page I read says what occupies the space now.