The Kitchen Nightmares restaurants that made Gordon Ramsay throw in the towel

There have only been a few times in Kitchen Nightmares history where Gordon Ramsay walked out in the middle of an episode.

Tensions are usually high when Chef Gordon Ramsay and his Kitchen Nightmares team show up to a failing restaurant.

So it is really no wonder that the occasional family-troubles and disgruntled employee(s) often end up rearing their heads during this chef’s last-ditch attempts to turn these businesses around.

The moments that made Gordon Ramsay reconsider it all

However, while Kitchen Nightmares has certainly never shied away from a melodramatic squabble or shouting match, there have only been a handful of occasions throughout the history of Kitchen Nightmares’ now eight season-run on television that Ramsay himself had to walk away from a project.

And whether it was because of a particularly stubborn owner, an arrogant chef, or simply a disastrous service that drove Ramsay to this point, these low points undoubtedly make for incredibly entertaining television.

All the Kitchen Nightmares episodes where Gordon Ramsay left

An honorable mention

We cannot discuss Kitchen Nightmares restaurants that had Gordon Ramsay pulling out his hair without mentioning Ramsay’s now-infamous attempts to revamp the Black Pearl.

Technically, Ramsay did not storm out of this restaurant until after its re-launch, which is why it did not quite make the list above. But this restaurant certainly still qualifies as one of Ramsay’s most frustrating makeovers to date.

The “Black Pearl” episode ended with the celebrity chef recommending to Greg that he should buy out his fellow partners and take full control of the restaurant, if it is to have any hope of succeeding.

The time that Gordon Ramsay kicked Peter out of his restaurant

While it is apparently quite rare for the struggling Kitchen Nightmares restaurants to drive Ramsay to the point of giving up, there is one trope on the show that is even rarer.

If you watched the “Peter’s Italian Restaurant” episode from Kitchen Nightmares’ first season, you are in luck, as you have witnessed the only instance in the show’s history (so far, at least) that Ramsay chased a restaurant’s namesake from his own kitchen.

Ramsay, who had challenged Peter and his father to try to run their own kitchen for a service, got so fed up with his bad attitude, that he told Peter to leave about an hour in.

This was before the dishes had even started arriving at most of the patrons’ tables.

Are any of these restaurants still open?

Ramsay may not be known for his sugar-coating or the subtle art of softening a critique, but there is no denying that his instincts are spot-on.

As of 2023, not a single one of the restaurants that Ramsay almost walked out on (or the one that he completely walked out on) are still in business.

In fact, most of these businesses closed down within months of Ramsay’s visit, as outlined below: