Rideau Street restaurant that replaced 'world's worst' McDonald's now closed
The upscale Chinese restaurant 99 VIP Seafood has shut down after less than seven months, owing more than $80,000 in rent.
By Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
Published Mar 30, 2026 | Last updated 1 hour ago
The upscale Chinese restaurant that opened last September across from the Rideau Centre in the long-vacant location of Ottawa’s notorious McDonald’s has closed.
Opened by chef-owner Kevin Tan, 99 VIP Seafood at 99 Rideau St. closed some time in March. The restaurant was more than $83,000 in arrears, according to a bailiff’s notice posted on March 26. Landlord Colonnade BridgePort terminated the restaurant’s lease and changed the locks on its doors, said the notice.
Tan, who moved from Guangzhou, China to Canada 35 years ago and worked in restaurants in Montreal and Toronto before moving to Ottawa, could not be reached for comment. Last fall, he told the Citizen he was confident about his 120-seat restaurant’s location despite security concerns on Rideau Street and in the ByWard Market.
Tan said last fall through a translator that he wanted his dim sum and seafood restaurant, which featured modern furniture imported from China, to be close to Parliament Hill. “This is the heart of Ottawa,” Tan said. He chose his Rideau Street location over another one in Kanata, as well as a third location deeper into the Market, he added.
The previous tenant at 99 Rideau St. was once dubbed the “World’s Worst McDonald’s,” in large part due to a 2014 video that documented a late-night brawl during which a bystander pulled a baby raccoon out from under his sweater.
The closure of 99 VIP Seafood is part of the ongoing churn of businesses in the ByWard Market. In recent years, the historic Ottawa neighbourhood and commercial sector has struggled with the setbacks of pandemic lockdowns and remote work emptying downtown office buildings, as well as the stigmas of crime, violence and homelessness.
In January, Ottawa restaurateur Stephen Beckta closed his ByWard Market restaurant Play Food & Wine, which he opened in 2009 on York Street, about two blocks from 99 Rideau St. Beckta said in a recent interview that a new tenant has yet to be found for Play’s turnkey space, although there have been quite a few showings.
Other nearby restaurants that closed in the past 16 months include Blue Cactus Bar and Grill, which was quickly replaced by Grey’s Social Eatery, and the plant-based eatery Pure Kitchen, a few doors east of 99 VIP Seafood on Rideau Street, which was replaced by Barrio, a casual Latin American restaurant.
Lizardo Becerra, the award-winning chef-owner of Barrio and of Raphael Peruvian Cuisine, said he was sad to see that his neighbour had closed. “It’s definitely a loss for the Market,” said Becerra.
Becerra added that business at Barrio is finally picking up after a tough winter due to construction on William Street and ongoing issues on Rideau Street due to people who are homeless and dealing with addictions.
Ottawa’s fourth homicide of 2026 occurred on February 19 when Gilles Comtois, a 58-year-old known to many in Ottawa’s vulnerable community in the Rideau Street area, was stabbed on Rideau Street near the intersection with Colonel By Drive, a block west of 99 VIP Seafood.
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