Scarborough is home to the GTA's best Caribbean food — and Randy's is the one locals point you to first. Doubles, roti, oxtail stew, curried goat, and jerk chicken that's been marinated overnight and cooked over real pimento wood. The scotch bonnet heat is real.
Neighbourhood: Scarborough · Address: Morningside Ave, Scarborough, ON · Hours: Mon–Tue 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM | Wed–Sat 11:00 AM – 8:30 PM | Sun: Closed · Price Range: $ · Phone: (416) 724-9239 · Editorial status: Not yet verified
Randy's serves up Scarborough's most beloved roti and jerk, with deeply marinated meats and fiery homemade sauces locals swear by. It's the place to test your spice limits and finally understand why everyone’s obsessed with doubles.
What sets Randy's apart is the depth of flavour in the jerk chicken, which is marinated overnight and smoked over real pimento wood—something most places skip. Their doubles are made fresh and packed with more filling than most Trinidadian spots in Toronto. The staff don’t play with spice levels, so expect the real deal.
Scarborough's Caribbean food scene is the best in the GTA — better than downtown, better than any neighbourhood that's been gentrified into approximation. Randy's Roti & Jerk sits at the centre of this community, a spot that Trinidadian, Jamaican, and Guyanese families trust because the food reflects the real tradition.
The doubles are the entry point: two small bara (fried flatbreads) with curried chickpeas (channa), tamarind sauce, and cucumber. It's Trinidad's most beloved street food, and a good doubles tells you everything about a kitchen's care and proportion. Randy's version is the real thing. The roti — a full-size wrap with curried goat, curried chicken, or dhal and potatoes — is substantial and complexly spiced, the kind of lunch that sustains a long afternoon.
The jerk chicken is marinated overnight in scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, thyme, and a blend of aromatics that varies by cook but always produces a serious heat and a deep, charred flavour. The pimento wood smoke is the detail that separates real jerk from approximation — it's what gives the skin that mahogany colour and the meat that faintly sweet undercurrent beneath the heat.
Scarborough's food deserves more attention from Toronto's food media, which has spent decades focused on King West and Queen East while some of the city's most accomplished cooking has happened in strip malls off Morningside and Markham Road. Randy's is a compelling argument for the drive east.
Doubles is Trinidad's signature street food — two small fried flatbreads (bara) with curried chickpeas, tamarind sauce, and condiments. Yes, order it at Randy's — it's one of the best versions in the GTA.
The jerk chicken uses real scotch bonnet peppers, which are genuinely hot. Ask for sauce on the side if you want to control the heat level. The roti curries are well-spiced but more moderate.
Absolutely — Scarborough's Caribbean food is better than anything available in central Toronto, and Randy's is one of the best spots in that corridor. It's a must-visit for anyone who takes Toronto's food diversity seriously.
Start with doubles, then order the jerk chicken with festival (a slightly sweet fried dumpling) or a curried goat roti. The oxtail stew is worth ordering if it's available that day.
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