The Greek at the Harbor Kitchen Nightmares Update – Still Open in 2023?

Is The Greek at the Harbor still open?

The Greek at the Harbor Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the The Greek Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Ventura, CA.

Due to the helpful interference by Chef Gordon Ramsay, The Greek restaurant seems to have gotten back its old charm.

Aris was in-charge of the reopening ceremony of this restaurant.

At the check-in from the Kitchen Nightmares producers, Aris seemed to be doing a good job of managing the kitchen at The Greek.

The restaurant also seemed to be full of new customers.

At the time, the producers hinted that Makis was considering retiring from the restaurant.

This wouldn’t happen, though – Makis seems to still be involved in the restaurant as of 2023, which I’ll cover below.

I’ll also share updates for what Aris is doing in 2024, as well as some example reviews for the restaurant.

But first, let’s get to the most important question on your mind…

Is The Greek at the Harbor still open in 2024?

As of 2023, The Greek at the Harbor is still open and serving customers in Ventura, CA.

It’s doing business as The Greek Mediterranean Steak and Seafood and still occupies the original Ventura Harbor location.

Reviews for the restaurant are pretty good but not amazing.

It has a 3.5 star rating on Yelp and a 4.4 star rating on Google – I’ll share some real The Greek reviews below to give you some examples.

There’s also an official website for The Greek Ventura restaurant.

Here’s a screenshot of part of The Greek dinner menu to give you an idea of what it looks like in 2023:

Unfortunately, I can’t show you the Greek Ventura Harbor location on Google Maps because street view doesn’t go to where The Greek is.

But I will embed the street view map of the entrance to the harbor so that you can explore the area:

 

The Greek at the Harbor reviews after Kitchen Nightmares

As I mentioned above, the Greek at the Harbor has an overall 3.5 star rating on Yelp and a 4.4 star rating on Google.

That includes reviews from both before and after Gordon’s visit, but mostly after.

In general, I would say that most of the reviews are positive. But there are some negative ones mixed in.

One common complaint is issues with the service, which is disappointing.

However, this doesn’t seem to be universal.

Some regulars also complained about the new menu from Gordon Ramsay – it seems like The Greek did later bring back some older menu items to please these people.

In terms of the food, people mostly seem to like it, which is good to see.

Here’s a sampling of a few The Greek at the Harbor reviews that were written after the visit from Gordon Ramsay…

5 star Yelp review from January 2021:

This spot is great if you want to feel like you’re in Greece.

A Harbor view and santorini pasta brings me back to when I was 6 and my grandmother would tell me to come inside for hummus and pita.

The hostesses are so friendly and kind.

They definitely deserve time and a half for their customer service.

I also love their Instagram, where they post some delish dishes that make me want to drop everything I’m doing and dine here!

Don’t go to nick the Greek.

Go here, this place has always been the local spot.

Sure this place has been on kitchen nightmares in the past, but they’ve really cleaned it up since then.

Kitchen nightmare? More like kitchen go-here! Yum yum!

3 star Yelp review from December 2011:

Ever since I saw the Kitchen Nightmares I wanted to try this place.

They have the new decor but we were seated outside apparently that’s all they had open.

The server was prompt on bringing our water and bread but he waited a little long to take our order.

And it took almost 30 minutes to get the food.

My wife had a Gyro and my mother in law had a fish sandwich that was dry.

I enjoyed the Mezze platter.

It was fantastic, I really enjoyed the spanakopita and the hummus.

I usually do not like hummus but this was good.

The olives were not pitted and the grilled artichoke hearts were served cold.

I will go back maybe at night to see the show the son puts on which was featured on Kitchen nightmares.

5 star Yelp review from February 2023:

The food is awesome, the service superb.

Every server treats you like family.

First time was New Years eve, food, service, was great had a blast!

Came tonight because a friend was playing, once again great service and food

2 star Yelp review from November 2011:

I’ve dined here since Kitchen Nightmares came through hoping that Chef Ramsey helped bring something a little more transcendent to the mediocre ventura Harbor scene.

I looked forward to a new look, whittled down menu, and fresh take on Greek food.

Unfortunately, the service was severely lacking.

Servers, though plentiful, seemed to be avoiding the dining area like the plague; management seemed non-existent.

I had to ask the host for us to be taken care of.

Food came out after 25 minutes and either stale or lukewarm.

Quite the bummer.

And then here’s a review where someone initially complained about the new menu but was then happier when The Greek brought back some old menu items:

What happened to Makis from the Greek at the Harbor

As of 2023, Makis Mikelatos is still the owner at The Greek at the Harbor and highly involved in the restaurant.

While the Kitchen Nightmares producers hinted that he was considering retirement at the end of the episode, I don’t see any indication that he’s fully retired from The Greek at the Harbor.

According to his LinkedIn, he’s the President at The Greek at the Harbor.

Many reviews also mention seeing Makis at the restaurant.

I’m glad he was able to regain his passion and stay involved with the restaurant.

If you want to see Makis today, this 2022 video from popular YouTuber Brennen Taylor includes an interview with Makis at The Greek.

I’ve configured the video embed to start at the part where they talk with Makis:

What happened to Aris after Kitchen Nightmares?

Soon after the Kitchen Nightmares episode, Aris Mikelatos seemed like he was more involved with The Greek at the Harbor.

As of 2023, Aris’ LinkedIn Page still lists him as the Entertainer/Manager/Server/Bartender/Expeditor at The Greek at the Harbor.

However, I don’t believe that Aris is actually involved in the restaurant anymore – I think he just hasn’t updated his LinkedIn page.

Why do I say this?

Well, in the interview with Makis that I embedded above, Makis says that Aris is no longer involved with The Greek at the Harbor.

Instead, Aris is working in “cryptocurrency”.

After digging around a bit, it seems like Aris might be an NFT artist.

I found this Medium post that references him as a “Twerpz Master Artist”.

That’s all I’ve got – but yeah, it seems like Aris is more interested in crypto than working at The Greek.

With that being said, The Greek Ventura website “About” page does say that Aris “is a bartender, server and weekend dancer with his three tables and double wine dance”.

I’m not sure how up to date that is, but maybe Aris is still involved sometimes.

Final thoughts on The Greek at the Harbor Ventura

Overall, The Greek at the Harbor seems to be a real Kitchen Nightmares success story.

It’s been over 12 years since The Greek Gordon Ramsay visit and it’s still going strong in the same location at Ventura Harbor.

While the reviews aren’t amazing, they are generally quite good.

Beyond that, it seems to be a very succesful business and Makis seems to have his passion back.

It’s great to see and congratulations to all involved.

If you’re in the area, check out the Greek at the Harbor Ventura CA location and let me know how it goes in the comments section.

If you want to see some other nearby California Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you also might want to check out my updates for Mama Rita’s in Newbury Park, Sushi Ko in Thousand Oaks, and The Secret Garden in Moorpark.

Thanks for reading!

More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-greek-mediterranean-steak-and-seafood-ventura
https://www.facebook.com/TheGreekVentura/



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Last updated: 2023-04-09 08:39