Lido di Manhattan Kitchen Nightmares Update – Still Open in 2023?

Episode Recap

Lido di Manhattan was a Manhattan, California restaurant featured on Season 3 of Kitchen Nightmares.

Though the Lido Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on March 4, 2010, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place much earlier in July 2009.

It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 3 Episode 5.

In this episode of Kitchen Nightmares Chef Gordon Ramsay takes us to Lido di Manhattan, in Manhattan Beach, California.

Soon after his arrival, we meet the owner, Lisa Hemmat, a 28 year old USC graduate, who purchased the restaurant when she was 23.

At first the restaurant was successful, but now the restaurant lays empty most nights and may not be open for much longer.

These troubles are why the Lido di Manhattan Kitchen Nightmares episode exists.

When Gordon Ramsay arrives he observes a full parking lot and wonders why the restaurant is struggling.

Gordon meets Lisa and is astounded at how young she is.

Lisa discloses to Gordon that she has not changed anything since she purchased the restaurant five years ago, not even the decor or the menu.

Gordon then sits down to order off the menu, he orders the baked eggplant roll, ahi tuna tower, and the chicken tortellini salad.

The eggplant roll arrives and Gordon instantly spits it out of his mouth on the first taste, claiming that the eggplant is microwaved but somehow still crunchy and raw.

The tuna tower arrives next and it’s really not much better.

Despite the restaurant claiming that the tuna is fresh, Gordon can tell that it was definitely frozen – he ain’t falling for that stuff.

Last to arrive is the tortellini pasta salad and Gordon is informed that it is not homemade.

Upon tasting it Gordon finds that it is rubbery.

Never one to beat around the bush, Gordon Ramsay then confronts the staff members and tells them that their food is horrible.

Beyond the horrible food, the restaurant’s bar manager is also Lisa’s romantic flame.

Damien, her boyfriend, was originally a server but was eventually promoted to bar manager, which obviously causes some drama and conflict.

Later that evening Gordon arrives for an evening dinner service and finds out that the computers they are using are very outdated and can’t keep up with the job, as they are over 30 years old, causing missed tickets and orders that are never made by the kitchen.

If and when the customers do get their food they aren’t too happy with it and immediately send it back with complaints.

Gordon then inspects the walk-in and freezer and finds out that the tuna he ate earlier was made days ago.

Gordon also finds an incredible amount of dust above the food cooking areas in the kitchen.

Gordon is so disgusted and concerned for the customers health and safety that he demands Lisa to shut down the kitchen and stop sending food out.

It does seem a bit contrived given that dust seems a lot less bad than what we’ve seen on other Kitchen Nightmares restaurants…but I guess Gordon just has high standards.

After the dust incident, an upset Lisa runs to the bathroom to cry and isn’t seen for the rest of the night.

Gordon then gives her an assignment of five major things to change within the restaurant.

Gordon then comes in to observe how the restaurant operates during a dinner rush, and Gordon informs Lisa that she did well in the kitchen that night, but warns her that her two chefs are lazy and may bring her down. 

The chefs names are Luis and Arturo Martinez and both of them have worked at the restaurant for over 18 years.

That night Gordon and his team give the restaurant a makeover, opening up the restaurant by removing the dividing wall.

New seating was also added along with new china, curtains, and lighting.

Gordon rebranded the restaurant as a wine bar which will lead to a new type of clientele.

Gordon also has a new halo POS system installed and the staff samples the new menu designed by Gordon and they all love it.

The restaurants don’t have to pay for anything for the renovations, so it’s likely that the new POS came from a sponsor of the show.

The night of the relaunch, Lisa is in the front of the restaurant, as tickets are piling up quickly with customers waiting up to 30 minutes for their food.

Gordon observes that the kitchen is not communicating properly, and it takes an hour for the food to start leaving the kitchen, but it is sent back for various reasons.

After a chaotic night, they somehow managed to turn it around, and the relaunch night was a total success.

So was the Kitchen Nightmares Lido di Manhattan episode a success? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Manhattan, CA restaurant is still open in 2023 and beyond.