Gordon Ramsay has a global restaurant empire and a slew of Michelin stars to his name – but he's probably best known as the sweary chef from the riotous Fox TV favorite Kitchen Nightmares. On the show, Ramsay visits struggling restaurants and uses his years of expertise to try to turn them around. That normally means changing the décor, updating the menu, and giving the owners a much-needed dose of reality. Amazingly, some of these joints are still open – and thriving – today. We've found the best Kitchen Nightmares restaurants that are actually worth a visit.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the still-open spots featured on Kitchen Nightmares – counting down to the best of all.
Our selections are based on the restaurants included in the Fox show that are still open, as well as genuine user reviews, awards, and accolades. They're also regularly checked and updated.
Ramsay visited Simmer Down Cafe for 2025's season nine, and he found the restaurant in a sorry state. Owner Chris Marino was spending so much time in the kitchen trying to save his crumbling business that his wife had left him, and he was a ghost of a man. Ramsay tried to put systems and training in place to bring the café back to life, and the episode's triumphant climax warmed people's hearts. Hopefully, Simmer Down has a long future ahead of it.
When The Juicy Box Bar & Lounge featured on Kitchen Nightmares in 2023, Ramsay's biggest problem was getting the owner to understand that he couldn't prioritize partying over running a business. The joint doesn't seem to have taken all the advice on board – the juice bar still doesn't start serving until 10am (potentially too late for the morning juice crowd), and the lounge stays open until 2am. But The Juicy Box is doing well, so something must have clicked.
A standout moment in the opening episode of season nine (which aired in 2025) was when Ramsay was served dirty oysters at Iberville Cuisine. "I just recently had my sixth kid, Jesse James," Ramsay quipped. "I’d love to be around to celebrate his first birthday, so I’ll pass on that one." Needless to say, Ramsay had some harsh words for all involved, but the advice seems to have done wonders for the kitchen. Recent reviews from diners brought in by the episode have been glowing.
Chef Ramsay was shocked at how salty a pasta dish from Blake's Place tasted after he arrived at the joint in New Orleans. He was further dismayed by the owner's decision to focus on social media presence over the food and service at the restaurant, and he realized he had his work cut out for him. But the cute Italian diner has received some rave reviews since its episode of Kitchen Nightmares aired in March 2025, and it seems to be doing just fine.
Olde Hitching Post appeared in Kitchen Nightmares in 2012 – and in the episode, it became clear that there was a power struggle between owner Tom Kessaris and his daughter, Andrea. After Ramsay got the eatery into shape, Kessaris did eventually hand the keys over to his daughter in 2014, and she successfully ran the joint for eight years. In 2022, however, Olde Hitching Post changed hands again, coming under the ownership of restaurateurs Jason and Lori Cook. Reviews of the food are consistently positive.
The Spanish Pavillion claims to be the first Spanish restaurant in New Jersey, having opened its doors in 1963. Back then, Antonio and Estrella Martinez were in charge, and they later passed the restaurant on to daughter Balbina Fernandez and her two sons, Michael and Jerry. When chef Ramsay arrived for a season four episode of Kitchen Nightmares back in 2011, he had to reignite the family's passion for the restaurant. He must have done something right, because the Spanish Pavillion is still going strong.
Asking Gordon Ramsay to go to a joint with 'grumpy' in the name seemed too good to be true, and the chef certainly was bad tempered after he tasted the food at this traditional British pub. He was especially put out when the kitchen served him a vegetarian dish that had a hearty serving of bacon on top. The Kitchen Nightmares episode featuring The Grumpy George Pub & Grub aired in February 2025, and since then, new and returning customers have mostly been happy with the changes.
Gordon Ramsay brought his full arsenal of scathing wit to Yanni’s, a Greek restaurant in Seattle, during Kitchen Nightmares season six in 2013. Upon tasting the food, he delivered one of his trademark burns: “Moussaka? More like mous-sucka.” His opinion of the canned salmon caviar with mashed potatoes? Let’s just say his silence spoke volumes. Still, in the years since Ramsay’s visit, Yanni’s has enjoyed a resurgence, with reviews far kinder than the critique served by the fiery Scottish chef.
One of the most jaw-dropping moments in El Cantito Cafe’s 2023 Kitchen Nightmares episode came when Gordon Ramsay uncovered a serious fire hazard in the kitchen – a hood canopy so caked with grease that it was literally dripping onto the floor where food was being prepped. Ramsay had his work cut out for him, tackling that and a laundry list of other issues to get the Puerto Rican eatery back on track. Fortunately, it seems the wake-up call worked; as of 2025, El Cantito Cafe is still going strong.
Owner Lisa Hemmat made the Lido Di Manhattan Ristorante & Bar episode of Kitchen Nightmares in 2010 memorable because she was an unusually young proprietor. She bought the business in 2004 when she was just 23 years old, and she still operates the restaurant today. Chef Ramsay wasn't impressed with the food at first taste, but Lido Di Manhattan has gone from strength to strength since his visit. Hemmat now also oversees the nearby Playa Hermosa Fish & Oyster Co.
Chef Ramsay headed to Diwan in Port Washington, New York for a season eight episode of Kitchen Nightmares in 2023. He faced the usual obstacles of a kitchen in disarray, a stubborn owner, and a restaurant in need of a new lease of life. Diwan is still serving up delicious Indian food today but, according to some internet detectives, the owners reverted to their old way of doing things shortly after Ramsay left. Whatever the case, diners tend to leave surprisingly happy, at least according to online reviews.
Pantaleone's once claimed to serve the best pizza in Denver – though chef Gordon Ramsay strongly disagreed during a 2014 episode of Kitchen Nightmares. The restaurant, however, took his criticism to heart and has since overhauled its approach, now proudly preparing all its food fresh in-house each day. As of March 2025, Pantaleone's is still serving up its signature pizzas, though they're currently available for takeaway and delivery only.
The Oceana Grill episode of Kitchen Nightmares is probably the most famous of all. After Ramsay visited the restaurant in 2011, the owners sued the show for misrepresentation and tried to stop the episode from airing. They eventually reached a settlement with the producers, but they couldn't stop the show from making it to our screens. The restaurant sued again in 2018 after it alleged that the company broke the deal of the settlement and again claimed misrepresentation and defamation. Despite all this, the joint is still open and proving popular with guests.
Do you remember Bobby 'The Culinary Gangster' Fortunato from season eight of Kitchen Nightmares? How could you forget, right? Fortunato made for an exceptional pantomime villain on the show, and he was shown the door by the end of the episode. The bar where he worked, Bask 46, has managed to move on without him, and reviews of the joint in early 2025 suggest the food is great.
"Why would you cook in a dirty pan?" Ramsay asked the chef at Leo's Italian Grill in a March 2025 episode of Kitchen Nightmares. Ramsay wasn't satisfied with the answer – or pretty much anything else he saw in the kitchen of this Texas-based Italian grill. As always, though, he left Leo's in much better shape than when he arrived. The reviews since have been mixed, but it's early days, and Leo's menu of Italian classics seems to hit the spot for most.
Le Bistro was in dire need of Ramsay's help when it appeared on the show in 2010. The famously foul-mouthed chef called the eatery 'depressing,' with 'grisly' food and an 'arrogant, stubborn mule' of an owner. Yet the restaurant continues to serve diners 15 years later, something that isn't true of most of the places featured on Kitchen Nightmares over the years. Reviewers seem to be delighted with the food on offer.
Luigi's D'Italia is still open, but the location seen in the 2011 episode of Kitchen Nightmares is closed. The restaurant was reportedly forced to move from its original building because of a family dispute. But after the Italian diner relocated, still under the ownership of Luigi and his family, it managed to pick up where it left off. The menu remains extensive, though not nearly as overwhelming as the 126-item version that Ramsay insisted had to be trimmed down!
Voleo's was the second restaurant featured on Season nine of Kitchen Nightmares in January 2025, and the show revealed a memorable confrontation between Ramsay and the chef/owner of the joint. Chef Voleo was unwilling to change his 100-item menu because it had served him so well in a previous location, but Ramsay was convinced it needed to be cut down because the new site was losing money. Whatever Ramsay did, it worked; Voleo's has had rave reviews since appearing on the show.
3 Southern Girls popped up on the ninth season of Kitchen Nightmares in early 2025, and the story behind the struggling restaurant pulled at the heartstrings of viewers. It turned out that the diner had been forced to close for a month after suffering a family tragedy and was now having trouble getting back to what it once was. Ramsay remarked that the food tasted like it'd been cooked 'with no love,' which isn't ideal for a soul food restaurant. However, reviews since the episode aired have been ecstatic.
In The Verdict's episode of Kitchen Nightmares from early 2025, chef Ramsay memorably had to send a steak back to the kitchen because he couldn't cut into it with his plastic cutlery. But the owners and the kitchen staff gave as good as they got, until they finally ended on the same page as Ramsay. Recently reviews have been very positive, with the New Orleans spot praised for its good vibes.
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