The Untold Truth Of The Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

For 20 seasons, we have watched Chef Gordon Ramsay bark snarky insults at a cast of wannabe chefs taking part in the TV reality show "Hell's Kitchen" (via IMDb). The primetime program, which first aired in 2005, is still a firm favorite with audiences. Since the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant opened in Las Vegas in 2018, Ramsay fans have been able to experience the electric atmosphere of the hit show firsthand, all while indulging in his signature dishes. Standing testament to its success, further two Hell's Kitchen restaurants have been opened since then — one in Lake Tahoe and the other in Dubai.

With over 50 restaurants across the U.S., U.K., Dubai, France, and Singapore, including three Hell's Kitchen locations, Ramsay is a powerhouse in the global culinary arena (via Gordon Ramsay Restaurants). And while the Michelin-starred chef isn't always on deck to chastise his kitchen staff, dining at one of his Hell's Kitchen restaurants is nothing short of a rite of passage for fans of the hit show. Thinking of making a reservation? Here's what to expect when dining at one of Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen outposts.

Since, as we've covered, you pretty much need to be related to somebody at FOX to get on the set of "Hell's Kitchen," dining at the restaurant of the same name might just be the next best thing. Just like the set of the popular TV cooking show, the Hell's Kitchen restaurant provides an immersive experience that sees diners thrown into the exhilarating world of the program. The experience is so true to the show that the design of Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas won the Eater Award for Design of the Year in 2018 (via Eater). "The producers had input with the contractors, and the designers had input with the contractors," Ramsay explained (via LA Times).

When entering a Hell's Kitchen restaurant, guests are greeted by the show's signature pitchfork and a life-size vertical video screen of Chef Ramsay himself. The massive dining room is modeled after the set of the show and features an open kitchen where cooks buzz around in red and blue jackets and bandanas in a nod to the red and blue teams on the show. To complete the experience, the restaurant serves several of the dishes featured on the show including lobster risotto, pan-seared scallops, and crispy skin salmon (via Caesars).

Whether before, after, or even during a meal, drinking a Hell's Kitchen cocktail is an event in itself. With the likes of the Meet Your Maker — a concoction of Maker's Mark Bourbon, Domaine de Canton, mint, apple, strawberry, and cinnamon — Ramsay's cocktail menu delivers a strong lineup of sippers (via Eater). One of the more visually appealing tipples on offer is Smoke on the Blvd. Infused with Woodford Rye, Aperol, Amaro Averna, and Vermouth, this creation arrives at the table in a glass box filled with cherry wood smoke (via Tahoe Quarterly).

Those dead set on getting their own personal insult from Chef Ramsay should order the Notes from Gordon cocktail. Composed of Plymouth Dry Gin, green tea, lemongrass, peach, and lemon, the cocktail comes complete with a scroll that delivers a signature Ramsay burn. One past note with the chef's profound words of wisdom read "What came first? The chicken or the egg? It doesn't matter because you can't cook either one" (via Las Vegas Magazine).

There's little doubt that the star of Hell's Kitchen menu is Ramsay's beef Wellington. The chef's signature dish is made with medium-rare beef wrapped in a flaky puff pastry with a layer of sautéed mushrooms in between. This pièce de résistance is served with potato purée, a red wine sauce, and assorted root vegetables (via Caesars).

Vegetarians needn't despair because according to the Las Vegas Magazine, Hell's Kitchen can also make a vegetarian version of the beef Wellington. The no-meat take on the popular dish comes with mushrooms, vegetables, and quinoa encased in wonderfully flaky pastry. However, despite the veggie version, semi-vegetarians (if there's such a thing) swear by the original. Curious Claire, a food writer who isn't big on meat, said "This beef Wellington was so good I actually uttered the phrase 'if meat always tasted this good, I'd eat it all the time.' That's probably the best compliment I could give a dish!"

One of the firm favorites on the Hell's Kitchen menu is the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream. A video of Gordon Ramsay's sticky toffee pudding posted by the chef on Instagram has proven irresistible to some gluttons who have raved about it on social media. The post depicts a slice of the pudding topped with a globe of vanilla ice cream that's being slowly covered with toffee sauce.

According to PopSugar, Ramsay has been making the British dessert for years, gradually customizing the dessert to perfection. "Every time I put a new version of my sticky toffee pudding, [the] thing just gets better and better. I don't know whether it's the salted caramel or the amount of toffee that we steep inside," Ramsay told the website. And dessert lovers concur. One reviewer on Pinterest said, "Just had the sticky toffee pudding in Las Vegas and I can attest to the fact that it is absolutely scrumptious!"

While Hell's Kitchen restaurants are definitely easier to get into than the studio where the television show is filmed, the dining experience still requires some preparation. Chef Ramsay has said that 12,000 people reserved tables within 10 days of the opening of the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant (via Los Angeles Times). With the space accommodating up to 300 guests, you can only imagine that booking well ahead is a good idea. "It is unprecedented. We've never seen this kind of demand," Ramsay said. The interest in the Lake Tahoe location has been just as strong, with the restaurant receiving 20,000 reservations in January 2020 alone (via Tahoe Quarterly).

Per the Los Angeles Times, Ramsay wanted a quiet opening of Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas, but things didn't quite work out that way. And the restaurant remains hugely popular. "I'm still sort of getting used to the fact that at 10:30 in the morning, there is a line outside the door," Ramsay told the Las Vegas Review-Journal a year after the restaurant's opening. While walk-ins are welcome, if you decide to go down that route, it's best to turn up for lunch or during off-peak times, according to Las Vegas Advisory. And if you need to wait, you can always hang out at the bar until your table becomes available.

Eating at popular restaurants can be tough on the wallet. Celebrity restaurants in particular aren't always worth the hype and the cash. If you're going to visit a celebrity restaurant, however, Hell's Kitchen should be on the top of your list. With a 4.5-star rating on Yelp, there's little doubt that Hell's Kitchen delivers quality fare — after all, it's been vetted by the man who makes chefs cry on television. And the prices are pretty average, at least when compared to other upscale restaurants.

So what's on offer and more importantly how much is it going to set you back? A prix fixe three-course dinner at the Las Vegas restaurant ranges between $75.95 and $85.96 without wine pairings and between $115.95 and $135.95 with wine pairings. Meanwhile, a three-course prix fixe lunch costs $65.95 without wine pairings and $115.95 with wine pairings (via Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas). When it comes to the à la carte menu, some items are more expensive than others so you can order in line with your budget. The most expensive item on the menu is Ramsay's famous beef Wellington at $63.95 while some of the cheaper options include quinoa salad at $19.95 and jidori chicken scallopini at $32.95.

When Ramsay made a speech at the one-year anniversary party of the opening of Hell's Kitchen at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, many were quick to jump to the conclusion that the "Hell's Kitchen" TV show would be filmed at his restaurant. And it's not difficult to see why. "We're very much looking forward to having the show here. We're going to be creative with the challenges, the rewards, the punishments, and how to present the show in this atmosphere. We are absolutely going to promote this restaurant, and also Las Vegas," Ramsay said at the event (via Las Vegas Review-Journal).

In reality, while the show's production was moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, both seasons were filmed at the Caesars Entertainment Studios. In the end, it was only some additional scenes of the show that were shot at the Hell's Kitchen restaurant. The program's showrunner Kenny Rosen said that considering its popularity, shutting down Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas for filming wasn't an option. "Caesars has a big, large entertainment tent that they have been doing a lot of producing in, and so we used that space," he told Reality Blurred.

Bluewaters Dubai was Ramsay's second Hell's Kitchen restaurant. And just like the other two current locations, it's decked out in the style of the popular television show. The themed restaurant seats 260 both indoors and on the terrace that overlooks the city's striking skyline (via The National News). The menu is a combination of the dishes served at the Hell's Kitchen restaurants in the U.S. with a few additions such as Côte de Boeuf and Roasted Cod. Plus, unlike the U.S locations, the menu features a special vegetarian section, which includes Saffron Risotto, Wild Mushroom Pizza, and Pan-Seared Herb Gnocchi.

While diners seem generally happy with the quality of the fare at Hell's Kitchen Dubai, this can't be said for the service. In fact, we noticed numerous complaints about the waiters. Z409NQanar vented her disappointment on TripAdvisor. "[The] service is behind expectations. Very slow. Not engaged. Employees are not committed to clients' experience. Not friendly." While generally satisfied with her dining experience, the FooDiva was quick to point out her three issues with the restaurant's servers — some of which seem to us more valid than others. Firstly, she didn't like the fact that the server repeated her order. Secondly, the diva wasn't happy that two different servers tried to clear her plate before her companions finished their meals. Finally, she complained that her server didn't know whether the restaurant served grain- or grass-fed beef.

Other than dodging Chef Ramsay's sharp remarks, "Hell's Kitchen" hopefuls compete for a $250,000 cash prize and the position of head chef at one of his restaurants (via Parade). Thus far, three "Hell's Kitchen" champs have been offered positions at a Hell's Kitchen restaurant. The winner of season 17, Michelle Tribble worked as the head chef at Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas until she was made redundant when the pandemic hit in 2020, according to GoldDerby. Only 26 at the time, Michelle decided to go back to university to study nutrition.

After losing season 6 of "Hell's Kitchen," Ariel Contreras returned to win season 18 in 2019. As one of the prizes, the New Yorker was offered the position of executive chef at Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas, which she declined. Instead, Ariel decided to return to Dos Caminos — a Mexican restaurant she worked at before entering the competition. She now works for the Del Frisco's Restaurant Group (via Screen Rant). Last but not least, the winner of "Hell's Kitchen" season 19, Kori Sutton is currently employed as the head chef at Hell's Kitchen Lake Tahoe (via People). 

With the exceptional popularity of its three locations, Chef Ramsay is planning to bring the Hell's Kitchen experience to Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, and California. The first Hell's Kitchen along the east coast, Hell's Kitchen D.C., is slated to open in a two-story building along Wharf Street SW by October (via Eater). Also scheduled to open towards the end of 2022 is the Miami outpost of Hell's Kitchen. According to the Miami Herald, the restaurant will be located at the Met Square in the new Metropolitan Miami Development.

Billing itself as the largest Hall's Kitchen yet, Hell's Kitchen California, which will seat 332 guests, is set to open at Harrah's Resort Southern California in the spring of 2022. While the restaurant will serve a lot of Ramsay's signature dishes, guests can also expect some new culinary offerings exclusive to the location. "We're still developing dishes but we're going to be bringing Cuban and South American influences into some of the new dishes," Ramsay told Time Out. Finally, slated for a 2023 opening, Hell's Kitchen Chicago will bring Ramsay's dishes to the River North neighborhood of the city, according to NBC Chicago.