If you’re looking for an intimate, quiet and inexpensive dining experience, then Gordon Ramsay’s new Hell’s Kitchen restaurant at Harrah’s Resort Southern California is not for you.
But if you’re a superfan of the fiery British chef’s long-running Fox television cooking series of the same name, stepping inside Hell’s Kitchen is like walking into his TV world. In fact, right inside the lobby doors, a life-size Ramsay appears in continuous videos where he faces the screen and utters some of his signature lines at the customer’s eye level, like “What are you? Idiot sandwich!”
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The nearly 400-seat restaurant’s kitchen has been designed to look just like the show’s TV set. The chefs wear competition uniforms. Framed photos of Ramsay and past “Hell’s Kitchen” season winners are on the lobby walls. Clips from the TV show play on a continuous loop over the bar. There’s “Hell’s Kitchen” merchandise for sale (a “Putting the Sin in Cuisine” T-shirt is $52). And Ramsay’s signature dishes — the same ones TV contestants try and fail to cook properly on the 17-year-old show — can be found on the menu.
Fortunately, unlike the TV series, the scallops at Hell’s Kitchen restaurant aren’t served raw, the beef Wellington isn’t cold and the risotto doesn’t taste like what Ramsay once called “Glue! Glue! Glue!” Prices are on the high side, but the food is actually quite tasty with a few minor exceptions, and dining there is definitely an experience.
Located at the edge of the casino floor, Hell’s Kitchen opened last month with a two-month waiting listing for tables. Managers say they’re capping nightly dining room reservations for now at 200, with no walk-ins accepted except at the bar, until the cooks and servers are fully trained. But after some renovations to expand the dining room of the former buffet restaurant location, Hell’s Kitchen could serve as many 600 to 800 diners a night.
Besides the main dining room, there’s a large bar and two chef’s tables, one with eight seats and one with 11, for omakase-style dining. There’s also a 2,000-bottle glass-walled wine room chilled to 53 degrees that diners can ask to be taken inside for some quick selfies. Thanks to the restaurant’s tile floor and cavernous size, the noise level isn’t much quieter than the slot machine floor outside. But Ramsay told the Union-Tribune in August that he believes this aural buzz adds to the excitement of the meal.
On my visit, two of the servers asked me excitedly if I watched “Hell’s Kitchen” and said that most of the diners in the early weeks had responded affirmatively. Around me, many diners were couples on date nights spending big on $19 cocktails and multiple dishes. Appetizers, soups and salads range from $17 to $31, and entrees are $40 to $80 apiece. The best bet is a a three-course, $99 prix-fixe menu of Ramsay’s most famous dishes, with optional wine pairings for $50 more.
I opted for the prix-fixe and wasn’t disappointed. The pan-seared scallops were thin but well-cooked and seasoned just right, served with a delightfully crisp and acidic salad of celery root and green apples. The beef Wellington would’ve made Ramsay smile. A tender, not-overcooked filet was wrapped with mushroom duxelles and prosciutto, baked inside a crisply pastry shell, and served with rich red wine demi-glace and mashed potatoes. And the sticky toffee pudding, a warm and tender date cake topped with dulce de leche ice cream and served in a pool of toffee sauce was one of the best desserts I’ve had all year. I also ordered the lobster risotto appetizer, which was creamy and flavorful, but the extra-large lobster tail was slightly overcooked.
Like at many casino restaurants, servers are trained to keep the dishes coming quickly enough that you can be in and back out on the casino floor within an hour. But fortunately, there’s zero pressure to hurry. Hell’s Kitchen is definitely worth a visit. Whether fans and non-fans alike will make it a regular dining destination remains to be seen. Perhaps the proof will be in the sticky toffee pudding.
Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Where: Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 S. Resort Drive, Valley Center
Online: harrahssocal.com/dining/hells-kitchen
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