(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 4 | View All Season 4 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: May 20, 2011
Oceana Grill Address: 739 Conti St New Orleans, LA 70130
Episode Recap
Oceana Grill was a New Orleans restaurant featured on Season 4 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Oceana Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on May 20, 2011, the actual filming and Gordon Ramsay visit took place in January 2011.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 4 Episode 12.
In this drama-packed episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Oceana Grill in New Orleans, LA.
It’s known as the “banned” Kitchen Nightmares episode because it’s so hard to find on streaming services (or at least it was in the past).
Check out all of these Reddit threads from people struggling to find the full Oceana Kitchen Nightmares episode haha.
The reason for this will become clearer later in the post, but the basic idea is that there have been multiple lawsuits over the Ocean Grill Kitchen Nightmares episode.
As the restaurant’s name suggests, Oceana Grill is a seafood-focused eatery.
The Oceana owners are siblings Moe and Rami.
The siblings have an unstable relationship, which causes a lot of drama.
However, it’s not just sibling rivalry causing issues – the Oceana Grill restaurant is filthy and has vermin.
Gordon Ramsay addresses the server and finds that they fire a considerable number of their staff.
While some staff turnover is unavoidable, such a huge turnover problem indicates issues at the restaurant.
Next, Gordon Ramsay decides to sample the food at Oceana Grill.
Gordon orders the Seafood Gumbo, Crab Cake Platter and Blackened Bayou Duck.
The gumbo is disgusting and tastes old.
The crab cake platter is spongy.
The duck isn’t much better, as Gordon finds it incredibly tough.
Rami agrees with Gordon that the duck is tough, but Moe thinks the duck is done well.
Gordon also believes that the crab cakes were frozen and not fresh.
Both brothers initially deny this, but Rami eventually admits that they’re frozen (which pisses off Moe).
Next up, Gordon watches a dinner service and digs into the kitchen, which is filled with smoke when he enters.
The food warmer unit also isn’t hot enough, which leads to dishes getting cold.
And to make matters worse, Gordon finds tons of spoiled seafood, finding issues with crabs and shrimp.
Some of the shrimp is even so gross that Gordon retches at the sight and smell – not what you want to see in a restaurant!
Even the fresh food isn’t fresh, as Oceana Grill was cooking the crawfish and pasta in advanced and then storing it in undated containers.
And for the coup de grace, Gordon finds a mouse trap in the corner that has three dead mice still in it!
My goodness…
Because of how gross things are at the restaurant, Gordon decides to close down Oceana Grill until they can fix the problems.
After seeing a live mouse in the kitchen, Gordon Ramsay brings in professional exterminators (which the restaurant hadn’t done before then).
Then, the staff begin deep cleaning the kitchen.
Rather than admitting issues at the restaurant, Moe gets super mad at Rami and the Ocean Grill staff for bringing Gordon Ramsay to the restaurant.
It seems like he wishes that the Oceana restaurant Kitchen Nightmares episode would’ve never happened.
I guess if Gordon never came they could’ve just pretended there weren’t any issues?
Because of all the issues in the kitchen, Moe and Rami eventually agree to get rid of Chef Damon, who obviously wasn’t holding the kitchen to high enough standards.
With the major issues starting to be fixed, Gordon Ramsay can begin to turn his attention to improving the Oceana Grill restaurant.
Gordon begins by patching up the menu, including adding a new salmon dish.
Gordon also finally begins to get buy-in from both brothers, which Gordon wants before he goes forward.
Beyond changes to the Oceana Grill menu, Gordon also gives the lounge area makeover with a crisp lick of paint and a cleaning up.
They test the new menu and Moe likes it!
On Relaunch night, Rami is managing the kitchen and Moe running the front of house.
The customers are loving the new menu and Moe shows up back in the kitchen, groaning about the speed of the food coming out.
Moe exits and Gordon follows him.
Gordon leaves and is uncertain if Oceana Grill will still be there in the future.
So – was the Kitchen Nightmares Oceana Grill restaurant visit a long-term success?
Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this New Orleans restaurant is still open in 2024.
Oceana Grill Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Oceana Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left New Orleans, Louisiana.
As I mentioned in the introduction, this one has a lot of post-Kitchen Nightmares drama, including multiple lawsuits filed over the episode.
I’ll start by talking about those lawsuits and then I’ll get into where the restaurant is today.
The Oceana Kitchen Nightmares lawsuit
Soon after the episode was filmed, Ocean Grill filed a lawsuit against the Kitchen Nightmares production company in 2011.
The restaurant’s goal was to prevent the release of the episode.
The owners’ lawyer said that the owners did not realize how Oceana Grill would be depicted when agreeing to do the show.
What’s more, they felt that the restaurant was misrepresented in how the episode was edited
Amazingly, this was not the only lawsuit filed over the episode.
Despite the lawsuit, the episode did still air on TV.
However, Oceana Grill reached a settlement with Kitchen Nightmares where Kitchen Nightmares agreed to only use footage from the episode in the future if they paid Oceana a fee and also included an update about the “current conditions” at Oceana Grill.
This agreement seemed to hold for around seven years.
However, in 2018, Ocean Grill filed another lawsuit against against Gordon Ramsay’s production company to try to prevent them from airing clips from the Ocean Kitchen Nightmares episode.
The issue was that the official Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares Facebook page (for the UK version of the show) posted a clip of Gordon Ramsay vomiting at Oceana Grill.
The lawsuit was “for damages from the post’s allegedly negative impact and to prevent any “defamatory” information from being used in the future”.
Because of these lawsuits, it can be difficult to find the Oceana Kitchen Nightmares episode on streaming platforms (though some commenters have said that it’s gotten easier to find now).
Now that we’ve explained the Oceana Kitchen Nightmares lawsuit, let’s get into the next most important question on your mind…
Is Ocean still open after Kitchen Nightmares?
As of 2023, Oceana Grill is still open and serving customers in New Orleans, LA.
While the holding company ownership of Oceana Grill may have changed, it seems to still be owned by Moe and Rami, as Rami’s Instagram page still lists Oceana Grill as one of his restaurants.
However, it seems like they’ve tried to distance themselves a bit from the restaurant, which makes sense given the negative publicity that it generated.
Additionally, a considerable measure of the staff included in the show had cleared out.
There’s an official Oceana Grill website that contains details about the restaurant.
Here’s a direct link to the Oceana Grill menu to give you an idea of the food and prices.
According to the Oceana Grill website “Meet the Team” page, the “CEO” of the restaurant is Wassek Bader (I’m not sure a single restaurant can have a CEO lol).
Given that Wassek has the same last name as Moe and Rami, I’m guessing they’re still connected to the restaurant.
The Chief Operating Officer is Ramsey Dibeh.
I’m adding those details to provide additional context about the current management at Oceana Grill.
Yelp and Trip Advisor audits are generally great, but there was reputed to be an promotion whereby you got a free drink for a survey on Trip Advisor.
This is evidenced by the fact that most reviews are done on mobile phone.
I’ll share some real examples of Ocean Grill reviews below.
But first, here’s what the Ocean Grill New Orleans LA location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:
Oceana Grill reviews after Kitchen Nightmares
Overall, Oceana Grill has surprisingly good reviews on all of the platforms that I looked at.
Given how it was depicted in the episode, you wouldn’t expect that (so maybe those lawsuits had a point).
On Yelp, it has a 4.1 star rating on over 8,000 reviews, which is the highest review count by far for any restaurant on the show.
And on Google, it has a 4.4 star rating on an astonishing 16,000+ reviews.
Again, that’s the highest number by far.
Here’s a sampling of a few positive and negative reviews that were written after the Gordon Ramsay Oceana Grill visit…
5 star Yelp review from February 2020:
Wow, wonderful meal.
We traveled from Houston and this was our dinner location.
It was recommended by a bellman at our hotel.
Great service, great food and delightful atmosphere.
Not the same restraint shown in Kitchen Nightmares a few years ago.
Nice turnaround.
5 star Yelp review from July 2017:
Chose to come, because I saw it on Kitchen Nightmares with Gordan Ramsay.
I am unsure if it is with the same owners, however the good was just like the ending of the show, it turned out very good.
I had the Blacken Duck and it was reasonably priced at 24.00.
Decent portion.
Will come back again.
3 star Yelp review from November 2017:
Had to come here on our trip to New Orleans since we are big fans of kitchen nightmares.
We tried the shrimp po boy and full fried platter with oysters catfish, shrimp basically whole sea.
Both tasted very good little pricey but worth it fries were okay little cold.
Overall recommend you check this place out.
5 star Yelp review from May 2017:
The waiter co firmed that everything you heard about it on Kitchen Nightmares is fake.
The good here was phenomenal.
It’s the first place i been to where they don’t skimp one the sea food.
The waiter was super friendly and the service was very fast.
Overall, a perfect score, even for a college student like me who is super picky.
1 star Yelp review from January 2016:
Had the chicken fettuccine Alfredo and fried shrimp.
The shrimp had too much breading and the Alfredo was too hot.
Complained and they still left it on the bill after the manager insulted is.
Will never come here again.
This is why this place was on kitchen nightmares
2 star Yelp review from May 2016:
Remembered seeing this place on Kitchen Nightmares and decided to try it out for breakfast on our trip to New Orleans.
My wife ordered an omlette that was alright but nothing special.
I ordered the eggs benedict and it was not good.
It was three of them dumped on a big plate with no thought to platin.
The real offense was the hollandaise.
It was broken and had no flavor whatsoever.
Nothing you should ever spend 13 dollars on.
Oceana Grill is quite popular with athletes and celebrities
According to the official Oceana Grill website, the restaurant seems to have been visited by quite a number of athletes and celebrities.
Here’s a quick rundown of some big names that have been at the restaurant:
- Drake
- James Gandolfini
- John Goodman
- Anthony Bourdain
- Floyd Mayweather
- Anderson Cooper
- Birdman
- Andre Drummond
- Chris Tucker
- DJ Khaled
- Rick Ross
- Don Lemon (I guess it’s popular with CNN anchors haha)
- Lil Wayne
- Lou Ferrigno
- Ludacris
- Marcus Smart
- Mark Ingram
- Mark Wahlberg
- Shaq
- T.I.
I can’t share the pictures because of copyright, but you can find all of the pictures on the Oceana Grill website.
I thought it was interesting how many famous people have visited there, as I doubt that many other restaurants from the show have such an interesting clientele.
What happened to Moe and Rami after Kitchen Nightmares?
Rami Bader seems to still be very active in the hospitality space.
According to his Instagram page, he’s a “restaurateur”.
In addition to owning Oceana Grill, he also seems to owner a few other restaurants.
First, there’s a place called Olde Nola Cookery.
There’s also a restaurant called Bobby Hebert’s Cajun Cannon Restaurant and Bar.
Finally, there’s a place called Mambo’s Cajun + Creole.
Rami’s holding company seems to be called Best Nola Restaurants – the website is linked in his Instagram page and lists all four of those restaurants.
On his Instagram page, Rami posts a lot of social media content based around owning a restaurant.
Here’s an example:
View this post on Instagram
He also has a pretty solid follower count – over 24,000 Instagram followers.
Moe Bader does not seem to have nearly as much of an online presence as his brother.
As such, I’m not totally sure what Moe is up to and whether or not he’s still involved in the restaurant.
If you know anything, please let me know in the comments.
Final thoughts on the Oceana Grill restaurant
Overall, the Oceana Grill episode has a pretty wild story.
This is the only restaurant to have sued Kitchen Nightmares twice.
Mill Street Bistro did also sue Kitchen Nightmares, but only once.
Despite issues with its depiction on the show, Oceana Grill is still open as of 2023.
This means it’s one of the few restaurants from the original US seasons to stay open.
So, as bad as it looks on the episode (which is fake, if you believe the owners), they seem to have turned things around.
That wraps up my Oceana Kitchen Nightmares update.
If you want to see another New Orleans Kitchen Nightmares episode, you can also read my update for Zeke’s Restaurant in Metairie LA.
Chappy’s restaurant in Nashville TN also has a Louisiana feel, though it’s not actually in Louisiana.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Oceana restaurant episode, you can do so in the comments section below.
As always – thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/oceana-grill-new-orleans-4https://www.facebook.com/oceanagrill/
What did you think about the Oceana Grill episode of Kitchen Nightmares? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
You can also click the buttons below to share this post!
And don't forget to check out all of the other Kitchen Nightmares updates.
Last updated: 2024-02-09 06:08
I ate there over the summer and it was great! The oyster Rockefeller was delicious. I would absolutely go back
The CLAIM its under NEW ownership is a LIE…Rami still owns it as well as Bobby Heberts Cajun Cannon Rest. in Metaire. Why lie to people…oh because they treat their staff horribly and I will not trust any of their food..the proof was taped..Why is this site LYING TO PEOPLE ABOUT THE OWNERSHIP
Yes, Rami still owns the restaurant. They have new management though. So it looks like they incorporated. So while Rami may maintain majority ownership, it is operated by different people now.
Well, you gotta give the owner points for being business savvy. Giving free drinks for posting reviews will get you more positive reviews than negative ones.
I wonder how the 2018 lawsuit ended up.
I can’t find anything about the results. The result of the 2011 lawsuit was a settlement whereby the producers could only use footage if they paid the restaurant $10k and added an “update statement” about the current conditions at Oceana.
The 2018 lawsuit was about Kitchen Nightmares sharing Oceana clips on the Facebook page.
It kind of seems like the Streisand Effect in action, though.
Was just in NO eating at the Gumbo Shop, just around the corner from Oceana. My partner and I overheard the couple next to us tell their server they ate at Oceana the night before and it was absolutely terrible. I forgot they were on Kitchen Nightmares.
I have a feeling the 2018 lawsuit is the reason that this episode isn’t on hulu. I’ve been going through the show while I sew and it’s not listed for season three
Yeah it’s hard to find any video on it – either the full episode or clips. Though it kind of seems like the Streisand effect.
It’s on Amazon prime video
As of September 2022 Amazon has the Oceana episode listed as being able to be viewed on Freevee, and lists it as S3, E11.
(It’s also listed as S4, E14; which might be the original Season & Episode numbers, but it’s listed as not being available to watch, which probably correlates to Hulu and the episode being excluded.)
Thanks for the update! I believe that Season 4 Episode 14 is the correct episode details.
Tubi
Went to this restaurant on May 11th and the food and service was excellent!! Not a bad experience at all. I just so happen to be rewatching Kitchen Nightmares and find this out. Not sure about the owners but the hospitality and the food and staff were excellent during my visit.
Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed it.
Finally found the episode (unedited)!! Since it’s not on Hulu or AP; had to go digging lol. One of the best episodes of KN ever! Holy craziness.
Confirming that you can indeed watch this episode through Amazon Prime Video. It is under Season Three, Episode Eleven. No clue why it’s not matching up to any of the other season listings – but hey, we all know Amazon does whatever they want anyways =P
Good to know – thanks! It’s weird how this episode is treated.
They should have fried the rats they caught, thrown some hot sauce on them, and served them as Cajun Delicacies at $25 each.
Also, Oceana is at war with Eastasia. Oceana always has been at war with Eastasia. Eurasia is its ally.
Correction! Goldstein’s agents have been at work corrupting the facts. Fortunately the Ministry of Truth has rectified the errors. Oceana is at war with Eurasia. Oceana always has been at war with Eurasia. Eastasia is its ally. The traitors responsible for the lies have been apprehended and are awaiting their cures in the Ministry of Love.
Room 101.
It’s funny: In the Oceana where mice, in room 101 will be rats.
I’m from New Orleans and am very involved in the local restaurant scene. This place is still owned by the same guys and is still hot garbage. It get’s great reviews still due to it’s insanely high marketing budget and the fact that they give you free stuff for leaving a solid review. Only tourists go here and it’s a running joke for locals.
What I was wondering while watching the episode: Someone connected to this restaurant must have money, right? I can’t even imagine how much a property on Bourbon Street costs, or even the rent. That always remained strangely in the dark for me.
So if they spent so much money on marketing purposes and local people don’t go there how on earth it’s still open for almost 15 years now? Their attitude is snobby and bad as well. It doesn’t make sense.
The chef they fired had a serious problem with his blinking. Good lord! It was like watching an alien from a different galaxy interact with human beings. Chef Blinky aside, Moe and Rami are the 2 most uneducated and racist morons I’ve ever encountered on TV. What restaurant owner disrespects somebody’s accent and ethnicity?! Grown ass men acting like spoiled junior high kids. Come on!
Did Moe die? Why isn’t he running the restaurant anymore? Now it is just Rami?
These guys were in witness protection or just plain thugs. I would not eat at this dump even if they had FREE FOOD NIGHT.
In case anybody still interested… as of August 2023 it’s still on FreeVee, (the old imdb channel). That’s the only place you can still watch the Oceana episode
Was it just me or was Moe coming onto Gordon at the end of the show? With all that “mixed feelings” talk and his brother covering his face.