What Happened to Kensington's After Restaurant Makeover? (Toronto, ON)
Current status
As of October 2026, Kensington's has closed per the business's own notice (January 29, 2015), reviewed by our team on October 19, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact with the business.
Last verified
What the source shows: City of Toronto licence records show Kensingtons Diner & Coffee Bar at 79 Kensington Ave licensed until 2015-01-29, followed by The Dirty Bird.
- Season / episode Season 4, Episode 20
- Original air date
- Address 79 Kensington Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2J9
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What happened after Restaurant Makeover?
Restaurant Makeover (HGTV Canada / Food Network Canada) featured Kensington's, a Toronto restaurant, in an episode that aired on 2008-05-12. The Rotten Tomatoes episode description says only that the restaurant gets a makeover; it names no owner, describes no problems and gives no plans. Wikipedia's Restaurant Makeover table credits chef Brad Long and designer Glen Peloso with the episode, lists the location as Toronto and shows no earlier name. The episode is the 20th of 26 in the season 4 listing on Rotten Tomatoes, which shows broadcast dates from 2007-10-01 to 2008-10-06, and Wikipedia's page lists seven chefs and nine designers who worked on the series across its run.
Nothing that was found describes the restaurant's problems, the menu, decor or staffing changes made during the rescue, or the relaunch, and no street address could be established. The table and the episode listing are the only sources read that mention the restaurant.
For the years since, only a lead exists. Wikipedia's table marks Kensington's as still open but gives no date, address or source. A Google Places lookup for the name returned the Kensington Market BIA at 160 Baldwin St, Toronto, which is a business improvement area organization rather than a restaurant, so it was not used. A search combining the name with the show and the chef returned pages about the series, about other restaurants and about Kensington Market in general; none described a restaurant called Kensington's. A second search aimed at a street address turned up only the series page, other makeover episodes and unrelated listings.
Because a match on the name alone would be unreliable, no location or coordinates are recorded for this entry. Wikipedia's table is a lead rather than a dated source, and the Rotten Tomatoes listing gives no address, cuisine or owner details for the restaurant.
City of Toronto business licence records list Kensingtons Diner & Coffee Bar at 79 Kensington Avenue in Kensington Market, licensed from 2009-04-22 until the licence was cancelled on 2015-01-29. It is the only restaurant of that name in the city's records. According to the same records, the fried-chicken shop The Dirty Bird was licensed at the address from that day until 2025.
Featured on Restaurant Makeover
- Show
- Restaurant Makeover
- Season / episode
- Season 4, Episode 20
- Original air date
- Episode title
- Kensington's
- What was featured
- Toronto restaurant makeover; episode listing gives no further detail
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- Kensington's
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Visit info
- Address
- 79 Kensington Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2J9
- Venue type
- restaurant
- Official website
- None found
- State hub
- TV restaurants in Ontario
Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources
- rottentomatoes.com — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/restaurant_makeover/s04
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_Makeover
- open.toronto.ca — https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/municipal-licensing-and-standards-business-licences-and-permits/
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Record rmk-071 · last verified .