Chef & founder
Ralph Leroy.
Born in Cap-Haïtien, trained in Montréal, Ralph Leroy Prophète was first a menswear and jewellery designer. A man of material and detail, he showed his first collection in Montréal in 2009.
His passion for Haitian culture and cuisine took over. In 2023 he opened Makaya downtown: a generous, refined Haitian table, a café and a full bar, a few streets from Place-des-Arts.
01 · The journey
From design
to the table.
Born in Cap-Haïtien, based in Montréal. A designer who became a host, and made a home for Haitian cuisine downtown.
2009
First menswear collection
Autumn-winter, shown in Montréal. Known as well for his jewellery, a detail that says a great deal about the care he brings to everything he makes.
2009–15
The designer's craft
Runways, accessories, objects. The material, the gesture, the detail become his signature — the same eye he later brings to the plate.
2016
16 July · Makaya is born
A sleepless night looking for a name that would carry Haiti, his culture, his roots. Makaya kept coming back.
2023
September · the Montréal table
Makaya becomes a place you sit down: a Haitian table, a café and a bar, in the heart of downtown.
Today
The bistro, 1045 Côte du Beaver Hall
A new, larger address with a terrace. Weekend brunches, signature cocktails, piano evenings — and the same welcome.
02 · The name
Makaya came
in the night.
“I spent the night of 15 to 16 July 2016 looking for a name that would represent Haiti, my culture, my origins, and for one reason or another the word Makaya kept coming back into my head. In the middle of the night, I woke up, I started working, and I registered the name Makaya, which reflected exactly what I wanted.”Ralph Leroy · Juno7, 16 July 2020
What the word carries
In kikongo, makaya means leaves. The Makaya is also a rite of Haitian vodou inherited from the Bantu peoples, chiefly from the Congo, bound to nature and to plants, where the leaf is both remedy and protection. A name rooted in the land, like the cuisine it now serves.
At the table
Receiving, the Haitian way.
Generosity first: dishes that carry the names of towns, soups named after the women who made them, a full bar and a piano on Thursdays. A refined take on the flavours Ralph grew up with.
Come and see
Come and
sit down.
The bistro is open at 1045 Côte du Beaver Hall, downtown Montréal. Booking is strongly advised.