The 10 Most Disgusting Restaurants To Ever Appear On 'Kitchen Nightmares'

We have all enjoyed the footage of Chef Gordon Ramsay screaming at cooks on Hell's Kitchen, and his appearances on Kitchen Nightmares have been no different. Giving failing restaurant owners a swift kick in the pants has been his specialty both in the United States and the United Kingdom, and unfortunately not all restaurants have been shining beacons of sanitary food practice.

While most businesses understand cleanliness is essential in food service, not every restaurant keeps a clean back of house - or even front of house. Here is a run down of the most disgusting restaurants to ever appear on Kitchen Nightmares. From revolting bathrooms to rotten food to bug infestations, these restaurants have shown it all.

Don't forget, Kitchen Nightmares is returning! After ending in 2014, Fox and Studio Ramsay announced that Gordon would be returning for a revival of Kitchen Nightmares. We don't have many details yet, but the revival is likely to air sometime in 2024.

10. J Willy's

Gordon Ramsay is known for the dramatics of Kitchen Nightmares, and J Willy's didn't disappoint. Kickstarting his trip with asking a priest to bless his food before consumption, Gordon is displeased with how dirty the dining room appears. After seeing the negative response to the food, he discovers that almost the entire menu relies on canned and frozen product, but that isn't the worst offense. Along with finding the lack of actual cooking, Gordon sees the restaurant's refrigeration is not working properly along with boxes of moldy vegetables and rotten meat.

Is J Willy's still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2009.

9. Trobiano's

Trobiano's was a rather confrontational episode, and a lot of it had to do with the state of the kitchen. In addition to serving lackluster dishes, Gordon finds unhygienic food practices and storage. Not only does he discover rodent droppings, but he finds grime and filth on the walls, plates stored close to the floor, and unsafe food storage.

Is Trobiano's still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2008.

8. Casa Roma

It's an unfortunate reality that when your bar is doing better than the restaurant, the dining room is probably going to be lackluster. Immediately after settling into Casa Roma, Gordon finds old bits of food and used tissues in his booth. Along with a filthy carpet, he takes a UV light to the restroom and discovers bodily fluids everywhere - including the walls, floor, and ceiling.

After inspecting the dining room, Gordon finds even more trouble in the kitchen. Expecting nothing less, he finds refrigerators full of moldy vegetables, rotten meat, unidentifiable pre-cooked items, and baby back ribs that were three months old.

Is Casa Roma still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2017.

7. Seascape Inn

Seacape Inn showcased not just one of the dirtiest restaurants in the show's history, but it also showed some of the most careless chefs. Open since 1962, Gordon immediately notices that the dining room smells of raw sewage and has concerns about the state of the kitchen. This is for good reason!

Upon inspecting the kitchen, Gordon finds old food and grease coating the walls and suspects the grime is contributing to the foul smell in the dining room. He also discovers moldy vegetables, rotten meat, moldy/separated sauces, and raw meat being stored with cooked meat. Not only that, but the pesto Gordon ate during lunch was moldy. He forces the staff to shut down the kitchen and refuses to move forward with the relaunch until the kitchen is properly cleaned.

Is Seascape Inn still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2007.

6. Yanni's Greek Cuisine

Originally opened in 1984, Yanni's had a lot of history and had been owned by the same family. With this history comes a lot of... wear and tear in the kitchen and with the staff.

After tasting food that was too salty, garlicky, and weird, Gordon decides to do his usual kitchen inspection and he is not impressed. Along with food not being dated or properly stored, he finds raw meat stored next to cooked meat along with rotten meat and moldy, pre-cooked items.

Is Yanni's still open? Yes! The restaurant turned things around and remains open for business in Seattle, WA.

5. Sushi Ko

You know it's going to be a good episode when the restaurant doesn't have working refrigerators.

Sushi Ko was an emotional episode, with a family really suffering to stay afloat and re-ignite passion in the father/owner, Akira. Unfortunately, Gordon found quite a bit of trouble and a majority of the problems were found in the restaurant's kitchen. In addition to finding open jars of mayonnaise unrefrigerated, Gordon tasted a rancid "sushi pizza," and noticed the deep fryers were not heating to the right temperature. He also discovers that the restaurant is operating without working refrigeration, and all food was being chilled using trays of ice. We also can't forget the kitchen staff working without hats or hairnets.

Is Sushi Ko still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2009.

4. Spanish Pavilion

For a long-standing seafood restaurant claiming to be experts, you'd expect the staff to be in control of the products leaving the kitche. Unfortunately for the Spanish Pavilion, Gordon finds that the restaurant is not operating properly. Not only that, the kitchen leaves a lot to be desired regarding food safety.

Taking the cake is Gordon finding that the chefs were not only cooking dead lobsters, but the staff was not removing dead lobsters from the display tanks. In addition to contaminated seafood, Gordon discovers chicken soaking in warm water, rotten meat, more dead lobsters, and enough food to last through the apocalypse. The best part is none of the food was dated and there was a live pigeon in the kitchen at one point.

Is Spanish Pavilion still open? Yes! The restaurant turned things around and remains open for business in Harrison, NJ.

3. The Secret Garden

This episode prompted Gordon to refer to the head chef, Michel, as a "filthy pig." Upon tasting the food, he notices the dishes are coated in grease and had a weird taste to them. When he decides to inspect the kitchen, he finds the only fresh non-canned items are moldy and rotten. He also finds mold growing in the refrigerators, complete with maggots. This is one of the few restaurants where Gordon has vomited after eating or inspecting a restaurant.

Is The Secret Garden still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2010.

2. Fiesta Sunrise

Fiesta Sunrise is one of those experiences you think about when you hear people talk about the aftermath of bad Mexican food on the internet. In addition to Gordon finding nothing but containers and containers of old, precooked food, he also discovers an abundance of moldy vegetables and rotten meat. After witnessing a server put a basket of leftover chips that was just taken from a table back into the collection, Gordon discovers the kitchen infested with cockroaches.

This is probably one of the more confrontational kitchen shutdowns as Gordon directly confronts the restaurant patrons with containers of old, rotten food and encourages them to not eat another bite.

Is Fiesta Sunrise still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2008.

1. Dillon's

Dillon's (which was renamed Purnima) easily takes the cake for having the most unhygienic restaurant. First of all, the cooks not understand basic food safety principles - which included them storing food on the floor during meal services. But in addition to this, Gordon discovered things like cockroaches, rodent droppings, sticky paper covered in dead flies, moldy vegetables, rotten meat, raw/cooked products stored together, and much more.

The worst offense perhaps was the moldy tomato rose that was served to a customer right after Gordon inspected the kitchen, as well as the "green burger" that was discovered in the refrigerator. Needless to say, this was another episode where Gordon immediately shut down the kitchen and gave Dillon's staff a brash hit of reality.

Is Dillon's still open? No, the restaurant closed in 2009.