(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 5 | View All Season 5 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: October 7, 2011
Mike & Nellie’s Steakhouse Address: 1801 Hwy 35 N Oakhurst, New Jersey 07755

Episode Recap
Mike and Nellie’s Steakhouse was an Oakhurst, New Jersey restaurant featured on season 5 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Mike and Nellie’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in October 2011, the actual visit from Gordon Ramsay happened a little early in July 2011.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 5 Episode 3.
This episode of Kitchen Nightmares revolves around a family-run restaurant- Mike And Nellie’s Steakhouse in the small town of Oakhurst in New Jersey.
Side note – the correct spelling is “Mike and Nellie’s”, not “Mike and Nelly”. It’s also sometimes abbreviated as M&N Steakhouse.
This restaurant was started in the year 1996 by Nellie Farber and his son Mike Farber.
That means it’s been around for about 15 years at the time of the Mike and Nellie’s Kitchen Nightmares episode.
Nellie used to be the front man, attending the restaurant and the diners, while Mike was the chef.
Nellie’s daughter, Lexi, also worked at the restaurant.
Things were going pretty well until Nellie sadly passed away.
Mike was at a personal loss and was also overwhelmed with responsibilities on all fronts.
He was overworking himself and refused to accept help.
Instead, it was his two daughters who asked for help from Chef Gordon Ramsay.
Right from the moment Chef Ramsay walks into the restaurant, he finds it in deplorable condition.
There was a certain stinky smell around it, the carpet was filthy, in short, the ambiance was awful.
He went ahead and ordered lunch – Linguini with shrimp sauce, Chicken Murphy, and Steak Nellie.
He found each of them equally gross.
The shrimp sauce was bland, the chicken was overcooked while the steak was totally charred.
Not a great start, right? But hey – it’s Kitchen Nightmares. It would be weirder if Gordon Ramsay did like the food.
Chef Ramsay returned at night to help them out at the kitchen end. He found that Mike was the only one cooking.
Why? Because Mike didn’t trust anyone else with the cooking.
Even though he was pretty fast, he had to pay a price for it.
The food quality was horrible with constant complaints from the customers.
And yet another problem was Mike’s drinking habit.
A few hours into the evening and he starts drinking and simply loses control.
As you’d expect, the night fails horribly.
It was then that Chef Ramsay confronts Mike.
Mike admits that things are not going well and that he has a lot on his mind.
He admits that he hasn’t quite accepted Nellie’s death and that is why he resorts to drinking.
Next morning, Mike’s daughters speak to him and make him realize that he needs to let go certain things and accept Chef Ramsay’s help. And Mike agrees to do so.
And thus begins the makeover.
Ramsay finds the kitchen in a mess. The fridge is way too unclean with stale food stored for days.
The first thing the staff does – they mop and clean up the kitchen.
Next, Chef Ramsay teaches Mike a steak preparation with slight changes which they all love.
Next, the restaurant needed a revamp.
The smelly carpet was replaced with a new one, the old décor was changed to a modern look, new chairs and a new sign board were brought in– the place looked gorgeous.
But above all, a brand new flavorful menu was introduced.
Everybody, including Mike and Lexi, was excited about the relaunch.
It was decided that Dan (Mike’s cousin) would take up a bit of responsibility of managing the kitchen and things started off smoothly on the relaunch night.
The customers loved the food, Dan was in control of the kitchen, everyone was working together as a team.
But Mike again started interfering with Dan’s job. With a slight reminder, things were back on track again. That night was successful.
Mike was inspired enough by Chef Ramsay by then. Mike and his daughters really appreciated his help.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Mike and Nellie’s episode a success? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Oakhurst, NJ steakhouse is still open in 2023 and beyond.
Mike & Nellie’s Steakhouse Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Mike & Nellie’s Steakhouse Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Oakhurst, NJ.
Things seemed to start off well for the restaurant as the business boomed in the coming weeks.
The new menu was a total hit among the diners, they loved it.
Dan was totally dedicated to his job. And as for Mike, he was slowly embracing the change.
Unfortunately, the positive changes would not last.
Is Mike and Nellie’s Steakhouse still open?
Mike and Nellie’s Steakhouse closed in January 2012, which was around half a year after the visit from Gordon Ramsay and only three months after the Mike and Nellie’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on TV.
As of 2022, the old Mike and Nellie’s Oakhurst NJ location is occupied by an Italian restaurant named Posillipo, which seems to have average reviews according to Yelp.
However, the family didn’t totally exit the food business.
The the family now runs a private catering business, Blue Basil Catering Company with Mike as the main chef. The company caters for house parties, corporate events, and aviation catering. More on that below.
So if you’d like to check out more of Mike’s cooking, give Blue Basil Catering Company a look.
What happened to the Mike and Nellie’s daughters?
A lot of people are wondering what happened to the Mike and Nellie’s daughters, Lexi and Samantha.
Unfortunately, they don’t really have an online presence and I don’t like digging too much if people don’t want to be found.
I hope they’re doing well, though!
What happened to Chef Mike after Kitchen Nightmares?
As I mentioned above, Mike Farber has been working as the Executive Chef at Blue Basil Catering Company since April 2014.
The Blue Basil Catering Company is a family business so Mike is still in control of the food.
The business seems to be doing really well, as he’s doing catering for private jets.
Here’s an article about Mike and Blue Basil Catering in a local newspaper.
Congrats to him – I’m glad he still gets to cook!
Final Thoughts on Mike and Nellie’s Steakhouse
Mike and Nellie’s Steakhouse closed just a few months after the Mike and Nellie’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on TV.
However, Mike Farber, the owner and chef, seems to be doing well as he now runs a successful catering business named Blue Basil Catering Company.
As of 2022, the old Mike and Nellie’s New Jersey location is occupied by an Italian restaurant.
I’m not sure what happened to Lexi Farber and Samantha Farber, as I don’t want to dig too deeply into the Mike and Nellie’s daughters situation.
If you want to see some other nearby New Jersey Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can check out our updates for Hannah and Mason’s in Cranbury NJ and Blackberry’s in Plainfield NJ.
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mike-and-nellies-steakhouse-oakhursthttps://www.facebook.com/mikeandnellies/
What did you think about the Mike & Nellie’s Steakhouse episode of Kitchen Nightmares? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
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Last updated: 2022-07-29 05:59
I’m so sorry to hear that Mike and Nellies Steakhouse has closed. I watched the Kitchen Nightmares episode and I thought the family and the employees were really nice people. The backstory was heartbreaking. I hope the family and employees are doing well!
Nice is not enough-to cook good meals would be better….
Nice is not enough-to cook good meals would be better….
Not always. What about the aliens who learned To Serve Man? They were good cooks but it did not work out well.
Mike dated my aunt for a while. She got pregnant a mike open a bottle of wine to celebrate. It was the finest Moscato as you would assume a man like Mike would drink. We partied hard for days a we italions do. Mike if your out there, take care of your son. Best wishes, Donna Jonna.
What?
You don’t understand italions?
Good thing is they got a catering business where they still all work together
Where is the server, Jeanine.
Yeah? Hope she did well after they closed
Lexi’s Pinterest page
https://www.pinterest.com/lexifarber/