(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: March 6, 2019
SOCIAL Address: 512 W 19th St Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Episode Recap
SOCIAL was a Costa Mesa, California restaurant featured on Season 2 of Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.
Though the SOCIAL 24 Hours to Hell and Back episode aired in March 2019, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place earlier in 2018. It was Season 2 Episode 9 of 24 Hours to Hell and Back.
SOCIAL is owned by Andrew Dorsey and his wife, Raquel.
The restaurant has been open for four years and is located in Costa Mesa, CA.
Costa Mesa is located in Orange County right by Los Angeles. It’s right near Newport Beach, home of the best TV show ever (Arrested Development).
At first, SOCIAL was a trendy and hip spot, but now they are struggling to fill tables.
The restaurant has recently hired a new chef, Jayro.
However, the other cooks in the kitchen will not listen to him. Too many cooks in the kitchen, maybe?
The previous chef, Jose, has returned to the restaurant but was given a lower-status job. That’s awkward lol.
Gordon sends in an impersonator of himself as the real Gordon Ramsay pretends to be a hipster.
It’s super funny – here’s “real” Gordon next to the fake Gordon Ramsay impersonator:
Can you tell who’s real and who’s fake? Spoiler – the one on the right is the fake Gordon Ramsay impersonator.
The fake Gordon’s table is provided excellent service as the real Gordon’s table is ignored.
There are edible flowers on each dish that Gordon is not impressed with.
Gordon then reveals himself as the real Gordon Ramsay. Will the real Gordon Ramsay please stand up? Please stand up.
He then takes the staff and customers to the Hell on Wheel Truck.
The hidden camera shows staff drinking on the clock and a dirty kitchen.
There is also an employee who was caught sneezing and coughing on the food. This is super gross, especially since the episode was filmed just before Covid-19 hit.
Gordon meets with the kitchen staff and finds out they don’t respect their executive chef.
Gordon asks the staff who has considered quitting before most of them raise their hands.
He thinks SOCIAL is one of the worst establishments he has visited.
The executive chefs and Gordon have a meeting.
He gives them the challenge to cook a perfect dish, and the winner will be made the new chef, and the loser will be going home.
Jayro’s dish is seasoned nicely. Jose’s salmon is new and exciting but is also bland.
Overall, Jose wins and is named the executive chef.
Gordon tells the owner Raquel that she needs to separate her personal life from her business life.
Once he’s dished out that dose of reality, it’s time for the staff to level up their kitchen skills.
The kitchen staff joins Gordon in the Hell on Wheels Truck to learn the new menu.
During the cooking demonstration, Jose tells Gordon that he has been cooking since the age of 15 when other children his age were getting involved in gangs and drugs.
It’s nice to see that he was able to follow a better path.
Drew and Gordon discuss the way the restaurant is managed.
Gordon doesn’t take Drew seriously, but Drew says he wants to get his staff to follow him.
All the while, the 24 Hours to Hell and Back crew are hard at work renovating the restaurant and making other improvements.
When the changes are revealed, the team loves the new look of the restaurant. The colors are warm and cozy.
After a quick pep-talk, Gordon and the team are ready for the relaunch.
The customers enjoy the new food, but there is a wait for it to come out, and the hungry customers are getting annoyed.
A food critic has waited for her food for over an hour, but once she receives it, she is pleased.
The kitchen staff come together as a team and work to get the wait time down.
The night is a success with the customers leaving full and happy.
SOCIAL Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the SOCIAL Gordon Ramsay visit, let’s talk about what happened to this Costa Mesa restaurant after the Hell on Wheels truck left town.
Things at SOCIAL started off well.
Three months later and SOCIAL is doing great.
In an update with the 24 Hours to Hell and Back producers, we learn that Drew is becoming more of a leader and Jose is now the lead in the kitchen.
Is SOCIAL from 24 Hours to Hell and Back still open?
As of 2022, SOCIAL Costa Mesa is still open and serving customers in Costa Mesa, CA. Reviews for the restaurant are generally quite good as it has a 4 star rating on Yelp and a 4.3 star rating on Google reviews.
Business is so good, in fact, that the SOCIAL owners have expanded.
Around six months after the SOCIAL 24 Hours to Hell and Back episode on TV, the owners opened another location in Huntington Beach, CA.
Unsurprisingly, it’s named SOCIAL Huntington Beach.
Both SOCIAL Costa Mesa and SOCIAL Huntington Beach are still open at this time.
Because there are now multiple locations, the restaurant officially goes by SOCIAL Costa Mesa on its websites and profiles, rather than just “SOCIAL”.
Overall, this one seems like a real 24 Hours to Hell and Back success story – at least so far.
If anything changes, we’ll be sure to update this post with the new details.
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/social-costa-mesa-4https://www.facebook.com/socialcostamesa/
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And don't forget to check out the full 24 Hours to Hell and Back open and closed list.
Last updated: 2022-02-19 04:29