Chiarella’s Kitchen Nightmares Update – Still Open in 2023?

Episode Recap

Chiarella’s Ristorante was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania restaurant featured on Season 5 of Kitchen Nightmares.

Though the Chiarella’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in March 2012, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place earlier in November 2011.

It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 5 Episode 14.

In this episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Chef Gordon Ramsay takes us to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Gordan is heading to Chiarella’s restaurant, owned by Tommy and Dina Delphino.

Dina’s maiden name is Dina Chiarella, which is where the restaurant’s name comes from.

Chiarella’s Ristorante, previously owned by Dina’s parents, was extremely popular and successful in Wildwood, New Jersey.

Thinking they’d have the same luck in Philadelphia, Tommy and Dina decided to open a Chiarella’s Philadelphia location after the New Jersey location closed.

However, they quickly realized they were wrong about the restaurant being able to achieve the same success in the City of Brotherly Love, which is a big part of why the Chiarella’s Kitchen Nightmares episode exists.

Tommy and Dina believe the food is delicious but staff members beg to differ.

Food quality isn’t the only issue at Chiarella’s restaurant…

Staff members also agree that when there is a problem, Tommy disappears into the basement to lift weights.

While he’s lifting weights, he leaves his staff to handle his problems.

That’s kind of weird, but I guess you gotta do whatever helps you deal with stress.

Not very fair to the staff, though…

Upon arrival, Gordon Ramsay is impressed with the quaint atmosphere of the restaurant.

Both the owners admit to there being inconsistencies with how they run their business, but both stand behind the fact that their food is delicious.

The couple do not agree with each other on how the business should be handled, however.

Tommy claims he is at the restaurant working 7 days a week.

However, Dina reveals that Tommy is only there 2-3 days a week, and spends most of that time lifting weights in the basement.

Back to the weightlifting again…

Things seem fishy, but maybe the food will deliver and everything will work out.

Gordon Ramsay sits down to order food to see if Tommy and Dina are right about the quality.

Gordon orders the veal sinatra, steak sarah ann, and the land and sea sheree.

Unfortunately, the server comes back and says the restaurant is out of filets and offers Gordon a cheaper cut as a substitute.

Gordon then needs to use the restroom and to his horror discovers that it is in the basement.

Gordon’s food arrives – he first samples the steak dish, which has a messy appearance and is raw and covered in mozzarella cheese.

Gordon describes it as looking like it “just gave birth”.

Gordon samples the veal and discovers it is chewy and lacks texture due to the chef heavily pounding the meat too much.

Last to be sampled is the land and sea sheree, which is overcooked, bland, and chewy, and is served with a cheap crayfish as opposed to the advertised lobster.

So, despite what Tommy and Dina believe, the food ain’t all that great.

Afterwards, Gordon meets the head chef, Felipe, who has been cooking at Chiarella’s for five years.

Chef Felipe claims that the owners do not allow him to do his job properly because they do not allow him to change anything with respect to the menu.

Gordon returns to observe the dinner rush and is horrified to find Tommy waiting on tables.

Once the service has started, Gordon observes that the kitchen lacks a system to expedite the orders.

He later learns from Chef Felipe that the kitchen has no system whatsoever.

Despite this major flaw, the food still leaves the kitchen in a timely manner.

However, the food is also sent back just as quickly, which definitely isn’t what you want to se.

As complaints from irate customers come pouring in, a frustrated Tommy once again disappears into the basement to lift weights.

This leaves Dina to handle the mess on her own.

Once the dinner rush is over, Gordon tries to talk to Dina.

However, she refuses to admit that the food is subpar and disgusting.

A frustrated Gordon tries to talk to Dina once more at her home the following day, but Dina still refuses to admit that the problem with the restaurant resides in how disgusting the menu items are, resulting in an even more frustrated Gordon.

Things are so bad that Gordon Ramsay threatens to leave Chiarella’s restaurant and just ditch the rescue.

To help get things back on track, Gordon addresses Tommy’s apparent depression and inspires Tommy to find his love for the restaurant once more.

Gordon wants Tommy to be involved in the kitchen so Gordon gives Tommy a cooking lesson.

That night, Gordon’s team transform Chiarella’s, making it brighter and more open with new white linens and white china.

Gordon has also taken most of the veal and chicken menu items off the menu.

What’s more, Gordon has an expert chef, Mike Trout, come and train Felipe and Tommy.

The night of relaunch, the orders start coming in and Tommy is leading the kitchen.

The food is leaving the kitchen at a good pace but this time the customers aren’t sending it back as they are happy with what they are served.

Despite one minor mistake that Tommy found the strength to push through and correct, the relaunch night was a success.

When Gordon Ramsay leaves Chiarella’s, he calls it “the biggest transformation of any Italian restaurant he’s ever done”.

Gordon believed the restaurant could turn it around, but he wasn’t 100% confident that Tommy and Dina would maintain the standards that Gordon put in place.

So was the Kitchen Nightmares Chiarella’s episode a long-term success?

Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Philadelphia, PA restaurant is open or closed in 2023 and beyond.