(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 1 | View All Season 1 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: November 7, 2007
Sebastian's Address: 10057 Riverside Dr Toluca Lake, California 91602
Episode Recap
Sebastian’s was a Toluca Lake (Los Angeles), California restaurant featured on Season 1 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Sebastian’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in November 2007, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place at the beginning of 2007.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 1 Episode 6.
In this episode, Gordon Ramsay heads to Sebastian’s Restaurant in Hollywood Los Angeles.
The Sebastian’s Burbank location is near Warner Bros and Universal Studios – great company.
As you’d expect from the location, Sebastian is a part-time actor in addition to being the Sebastian’s owner.
The owner, Sebastian Di Modica has varying mood swings and fired well over fifty people in the past year.
That doesn’t exactly sound like a healthy work environment, right?
Consequently, the restaurant was experiencing huge losses and needed Chef Gordon Ramsay to intervene.
Well, Gordon did arrive and he did not like the outward appearance of the restaurant from the first look.
He branded it tacky.
When Gordon got in to sample the foods, he was quite shocked to learn that Sebastian actually says hello to every single customer who arrives.
Gordon was also disappointed in the menu’s pictures, something that he considered to literally tell the customers “get out of here”.
The menu had a combination of sides, sauces, meats and more.
Gordon chose the calamari, something that Sebastian said was fresh.
As the order was being placed, Gordon had a little chat with Sonja the waitress.
She stated that the calamari had actually been frozen and, true to her word, Gordon asked to be provided with a sick bag the moment he took a bite.
It’s never a good thing when a restaurant’s food prompts the eater to ask for a vomit bag!
The next thing to be served was the “Popeye Pizza”.
Chef Gordon found it watery and doubted whether the base was fresh.
His steak also arrived, already cut into pieces and he claimed it looked like dog food.
Sebastian tried to defend himself by saying that he did not have enough money to make fresh dough or purchase fresh calamari.
This eventually led to a huge argument and Chef Gordon Gordon thought Sebastian was delusional.
During the night of the relaunch, Gordon rolled out a red carpet just like the one in the Academy Awards.
As the kitchen was preparing, Sebastian was shouting at the staff as usual.
When the customers started to arrive, Gordon, asked him to take full control of his kitchen.
The new menu turned out to be a hit and even the customers were ecstatic with the relaunch.
Lou-Bertha, a cook, was also ecstatic about being able to cook with fresh dough.
A lot of people love Lou-Bertha and felt that she deserved more than what Sebastian’s restaurant could offer.
However, Sebastian wasn’t convinced about the new menu and so he pulled out food from the freezers and reverted to the old menu.
The whole kitchen became confused since the two menus were conflicting and it was quite obvious that this old menu would jeopardize the relaunch.
Chef Gordon Ramsay tried to talk some sense into him but Sebastian just kept shouting.
Gordon later returned and Sebastian realized that he needed to change…though it still didn’t seem very convincing.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Sebastian’s episode a success?
Keep reading my update to learn what happened next and if Sebastian’s is still open in 2024 and beyond.
Sebastian's Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Sebastian’s episode, let’s talk about what happened after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Well, after Chef Gordon left, Sebastian returned the old menu, as you would probably expect given his behavior on the Sebastian’s Kitchen Nightmares episode.
Given how well the original Sebastian’s menu was doing at the time of Gordon’s visit, you can probably guess exactly how that went…
Is Sebastian’s still open in 2024?
Sebastian’s restaurant closed in January 2008, which is just a few months after the Sebastian’s restaurant episode aired on TV (though it’s more like a year after the actual visit from Gordon Ramsay).
The old Sebastian’s location then became Robano’s, a pizza restaurant.
However, the Robano’s restaurant also closed in 2014.
After that, the old Sebastian’s Burbank location was taken over by another restaurant named The Red Door.
Reviews for The Red Door seemed to be solid.
You can check out The Red Door’s Yelp page here.
The Red Door stayed open up until around 2022, as far as I can tell.
However, The Red Door is now also closed, joining the fate of Sebastian’s restaurant and Robano’s.
According to Google Maps street view, it seems like the old Sebastian’s Los Angeles location has been demolished.
In the picture, which was taken in February 2023, I see a big pile of dirt and heavy equipment.
I’ve embedded the Google Maps street view for the location so that you can see it for yourself:
If you live near the old Sebastian’s Toluca Lake location and know what’s happening to it, please let me know in the comments section.
I did some digging and it seems like a developer is planning to build a 38-unit apartment complex on the location.
The article says that this developer has owned the property since 2003, so it would’ve been the same owner who rented the property to Sebastian’s restaurant.
If I find out anymore information, I will update this post.
For now, I can say with full confidence that Sebastian’s is no more – the restaurant at least!
Sebastian Di Modica is still doing fun stuff, as I’ll share in a second.
Why did Sebastian’s close?
The Sebastian’s owner claimed that he had to close the restaurant due to “family reasons”.
More specifically, Sebastian and his whole family had to go back to Boston.
However, the chef at the restaurant somewhat disputes that story.
Chef Q was actually seen in the fourth season of the series Kitchen Nightmares.
He was the Head Chef at the Casa Roma restaurant and he stated that Sebastian simply disappeared without saying anything, so we’re not sure if that story was accurate.
What happened to Sebastian after the restaurant closed?
After Sebastian’s closed, it looks like Sebastian was running a landscaping/tree removal company and a business firm together with his wife Nichole.
He’s also moved away from Hollywood, back to New England.
This does seem to support him having to close Sebastian’s because of family issues and needing to move back home.
Below, you can see an Instagram post from Sebastian advertising his tree removal company:
In August/September 2023, Sebastian DiModica also announced that he was running for Selectman.
I wasn’t aware of this term, but it seems like Selectman is a unique term to New England that’s similar to City Councilman in other areas.
Sebastian has signs and everything.
Here’s one of the posts from his Instagram:
In November 2023, Sebastian had a short article in a local publication explaining why he decided to run for Selectman.
Here’s a direct link to the article and I’ve added a screenshot below – it’s pretty short:
As far as I can tell, the election hasn’t happened yet.
When I know more about the results, I will update the post.
Best of luck with the election, Sebastian!
If you want to keep up with him, here’s a link to Sebastian’s Instagram page.
Before the move, he also had a movie role in 2013 for the film Angels around Me where he played the detective, so it seems like he was still acting after Kitchen Nightmares.
Here’s the official trailer for Angels Around Me – there’s a good shot of Sebastian at around the 28 second mark (the whole video is only 2 minutes long).
His most famous role is still a 2000 appearance in Our Lips Are Sealed, a movie with the Olsen twins.
You can check out his IMDB page to see his work.
Is Sebastian from Kitchen Nightmares dead?
For some reason, a lot of people are searching if Sebastian is dead.
He’s not dead – he lives in New England and runs a landscaping company.
I’m not sure why people think Sebastian DiModica is dead, but he seems to be very much alive.
What happened to Sonja from Sebastian’s?
Sonja – full name Sonja Amavisca-Pinkoski – was the waitress from the episode who gave Gordon Ramsay the inside scoop about the true quality of the food.
Like Sebastian (and as you’d expect from someone living in Burbank), Sonja also had an acting career.
She worked as an actress in a few movies in 2013 and she also worked in the makeup department for a film.
You can see Sonja’s full IMDB page here. Here’s a screenshot in case something changes:
She also seems to have done some music as well for a time.
Here’s a Twitter page for her musical collab – she seems to have played the violin.
I’m not sure what else she’s been doing, though, as none of that seems like a full-time job.
What happened to Chef Q from Sebastian’s restaurant?
Chef Q was the Sebastian’s chef from the Kitchen Nightmares episode.
As I mentioned above, there’s a pretty interesting story here.
After leaving Sebastian’s, Chef Q actually moved to another restaurant that was featured on Kitchen Nightmares.
He showed up as the chef at Casa Roma in Lancaster CA in Season 3.
The Casa Roma owner saw Chef Q on the show and liked his style, so she hired him when he showed up.
Below, you can see a clip of Chef Q from the Casa Roma episode:
I’m not sure what he’s been up to since then, but I imagine he’s still cooking.
What happened to Lou-Bertha from Sebastian’s?
A lot of people are wondering about what happened to Lou-Bertha from Sebastians.
Unfortunately, I can’t find any information about what happened to her after Kitchen Nightmares.
If you know anything, please let me know in the comments. I hope she’s doing well as she seemed like a great person.
Final Thoughts on Sebastian’s after Kitchen Nightmares
The Kitchen Nightmares Sebastian’s episode is quite popular because of Sebastian’s…personality, let’s say.
However, the restaurant didn’t have much success, as it closed just a few months after the episode aired on TV.
The old Sebastian’s Hollywood Los Angeles location was occupied by a new restaurant named The Red Door as recently as 2022.
But in 2023, it seems like the properly has been demolished and is being rebuilt as a 38-unit apartment complex.
Sebastian DiModica had a few acting roles here and there, but he mainly seems to be running a landscaping company in New England.
In August/September of 2023, Sebastian also announced that he was running for Selectman in his local town.
Sonja, the Sebastian’s waitress, also has acted in some roles.
If you want to see some other Hollywood Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can read my Sante La Brea update or my Burger Kitchen update.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Sebastian’s episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
As always – thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sebastians-toluca-lakeWhat did you think about the episode? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
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And don't forget to check out all of the other Kitchen Nightmares updates.
Last updated: 2023-12-15 06:10
Actually Chef Q was seen in season 2 Episode 1 called Casa Roma
One thing that’s never mentioned is that it’s dirt cheap to make pizza dough. It’s a WHOLE lot cheaper than frozen.
Yes, and it is very easy. I know a recipe that only consists of 150 grams of yogurt and 200 grams of flour with chemical yeast. And that’s it. Easy, cheap , quick and tastes so much better than those frozen pieces of junk. Even buying supermarket pizza but fresh is a better idea than frozen. This is one of those episodes that should be called Freezer Nightmares.
I think Sebastian is a NUT BAG😂😂😂😂
And a douche bag.
LOL!
and a DONUT!
I hope Sebastian’s old lady left him with the kid after wasting 300,000 duckets of her money. What a bum.
Better off working with trees and shrubs. Running a restaurant, no way.
I completely agree.
I’ve just watched a repeat of that episode on Tuesday 4 October 2022 in the UK. It all came back to me how much of an arrogant asshole he was!! 😂
In fact, few (if any) times in my life have I seen someone as conceited as this guy named Sebastian.
At the end of the episode, as Gordon was walking out he said that he thought that Sebastian wouldn’t follow through with the menu. To no surprise he didn’t follow through. What a loser.
great insite! thanks for pointing out that the guy who was trying to help was the loser. mind blown
Friend, I think he was calling Sebastian the loser….
Textbook NARCISSIST! I doubt Sebastion can perform any job without his destructive EGO causing complete chaos.
My thoughts exactly!!
I wouldn’t even trust him with Trees and Shrubs lol…
Sebastian is the biggest assclown ever.. .just watched the reruns.. what an egomaniac loser…
Sebastian now has 20 unique sauces to fertilize the trees
You win comment of the year, lol
Ahaha ! Good comment!
😂😂😂.
OMG🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes but the million dollar question is will they add mushroom, chicken, bacon, steak or shrimp.
vat a shushbag!!!! ich bin eine krank!!!
Just proves: If you continue to what you’ve been doing, you will get the same results.
He had a bottle in his hands in every shot.
Why ask Chef Ramsey for help if you do not want it!!!! Sebastian is a class a ass!
He asked Chef Ramsay for help because he wanted a free makeover, not the free advice. Complete loser.
It’s more the audacity of this guy, I don’t know if many viewers know what Ramsey was before he became a celebrity chef.
Ramsey spent years in a Parisian kitchen, these kitchens aren’t your typical modern kitchens. No natural light, usually at least one floor below ground, and run by a megalomaniac. His head chef and tutor was Marco Pierre, an absolute narcissist and perfectionist.
I look at the arrogance of some of these “chefs” that have asked him for assistance and they behave like this guy. They have absolutely no credentials to even question what he’s offering them.
For anyone’s interest search Gordon Ramsey Marco Pierre White, and then Boiling Point BBC.
Thats because they want Gordon to kiss they behind , they think gordon is gonna come there and think its the best thing ever
Sebastian is the biggest moron, loser, idiot EVER. I wouldn’t let him make a wish sandwich. For sure wouldn’t let him touch my trees, shrubs or even garbage. He should consider a job in cleaning up cat puke.
His narcissistic ego is what bit him in the butt which is why he will never be able to make it in Hollywood or be able to manage a business!
“Get Outta Here!!
I loved the way the staff became proud of where they worked. They flipped the crap outta pizza dough… even had tricks too. Lou was grateful. I loved the staff. The owner,stuck on stupid.
You’re right.
True story. I was nailing his old lady for about 2 months after production left. My name is Nick.
Lmfao!!! That’s too funny! SEBASTIAN isn’t very smart anyway.
Good job Nick!!!
….any good?
And the trees are confused.
Lmao! 😂
Sebastian needed a good beating from his staff. It was so obvious he was a moron. A narcissist to be sure. Poor wife….
Sebastian was an idiot. How can you possibly think you know more than a man who has made millions and has numerous television shows. What an idiot!! 2.5 years and the concept hasn’t taken off…ITS NOT GOING TO EITHER
Sebastian’s abilities as a chef were shown when he said his calamari was fresh!! Frozen fresh is what he meant
maybe if S listened to Chef R he would have been successful but he mos knew better what an idiot. Idiot idiot idiot and again idiot.
It’s currently November 2021 and despite all my efforts, for the past 2 years I have searched far and wide for Sebastian’s franchise pizzas!.
WHERE ARE THEY?. :0)
It is ALWAYS the same issue, so long as someone else foots the bill, provides finance and supports PURE EGO, then these self promoting egotistical nobody’s will no doubt continue TO MILK THEIR LOVED ONES!.
Then the very moment all is lost, even then their ego refuses to accept FACT!, so they continue the lie.
To Sebastian and all the other egotistical super chefs, YOU ARE PLAYING WITH THE VERY LIVELIHOOD OF YOUR STAFF!.
Excellent summary. We just watched the repeat and since there was no follow up at end of show, decided to look it up. So glad to find the updates turned out exactly like we figured it would. Just made comment also where are Sebastian’s Concept Frozen 20 Varieties Pizza Francises. Haha! Trimming trees and bushes now, Sebastian hit the big time finally. Feel bad for his dedicated and motivated staff though and long suffering wife.
He’s a mommas boy. Couldn’t handle the truth. Calling his mommy to whine. You can tell he’s used to getting his way. Firing employees (49) 😳 that’s a lot of firing. Gotta take advice from Gordon Ramsay. He’s where he is by being meticulous. I hate all the ingrates on kitchen nightmares, getting upset because he tells them the truth.
Yeah, that’s the problem with all these ridiculous and carefree bosses that appear in kitchen nightmares. They’re not only messing with their business, which is their problem and not ours, but they’re also messing with their workers and their lives. And that’s the problem.
I have been on a Kitchen Nightmares binge for about a week now. I couldn’t tell you why, but I often turn to Gordon Ramsay and his American Television series when I’m really depressed.
Maybe it’s because Gordon helps most of the people change and become better. Maybe it’s because I get to watch someone other than myself getting yelled at. It could be that it’s easy to watch and keep track of, no need for my brain to shift gears. Perhaps I just want to see what he does to the restaurant on each episode. Possibly, it is all of the above; Or it could be, none of the above. What a load
I just finished watching the episode with Sebastian’s… and Sebastian. I felt cheated when it ended without saying what happened to the restaurant! I immediately hit up Google and that’s how I ended up here. What a freaking goldmine this website is!! The update was thorough, informative and well written. It wasn’t chock full of all the spelling and grammar errors that has become synonymous with reading almost anything on the internet. I’m happy to have found this site.
As for this episode and update, Sebastian is the biggest pile of flash-frozen, mass-produced, prepackaged, sloppy, dripping, oozing, disgusting, cat-dog feces spread across a sidewalk at noon on a hot day, that I have ever seen! He is narcissistic and brain-dead if he thinks the people he talks to and sits with at that restaurant like him! IF they actually liked him, they would pay for their meals and drinks. Instead they come there knowing his business is struggling, knowing he is going to comp all their food and drinks, and they not only let him do it, it’s the reason they are there at all!
He isn’t even good at being a proper narcissist, he’s much too gullible!! It’s such a shame that such a horrible, inconsiderate and downright stupid restaurant owner had such awesome, loyal staff working for him. Then he simply abandoned them. I find it easy to believe he did that. I would love to know what the relationship between Sebastian and his wife is like (we need more info Nick). In the scene where he and she were sitting at the table, I could see in her eyes a look of contempt. It was like she would rather have been anywhere else, talking to anyone else; I can’t say I blame her. IF I had been his wife, he would be single and so would I! But, you just never know, maybe she is every bit as bad as he is!!
I sincerely hope that all of the staff (except buzzard) ended up somewhere a lot better. Either at decent restaurants with wonderful, kind owners or in the movies and on a stage coming to somewhere near you real soon!!
Congrats on reaching the end… I wish you, your family and your loved ones great health, lasting happiness and many successes in 2022 and beyond!! Take care and be safe!!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I’m glad you like the site. I try to make it as helpful as possible. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
At least she had a real job. It probably paid the restaurant bills.
How can I search for Sonia in any social network?
try imdb
Relax creep
Sebastian was a complete ass.
This played out as expected. He felt he was right at all cost sacrificing his restaurant, staff, family and 300,000. What a nut job. Why ask for help?
I used to live down the street from it…I now reside in Richmond, BC Canada..It was a shithole from word one..I used to live on Avon street where Whole Foods now…this is 2005, my rent went from 425 (for over 20 years!) to 1000 in a matter of a month because the owner died and because of this asshole developer came in and fucked everything up…
It’s better that he’s doing landscaping. Too insecure to run a good restaurant. Too involved with his fading looks and hair and trying to bump up his ego by shmoozing with anyone. He should have hired a real chef and restaurant manager so he could mingle.
I have worked with restaurants owners and most have no clue of what they are doing. They always think it’s all fun and parties. Please, if you are going to bring in the family to save your place, get them trained. Sebastians could have survived. Good staff just bad ownership.
Sebastian teamed up with Belle and the rest was great music history.
Yes they were Sweet Like Chocolate!
Stendhal, a day without you is like a day without sunshine.
” I am going to make you into great tossers” – what Gordon said when he was training the staff to make pizzas.
Gordo was being a bit naughty there – “tosser” is British English slang for masturbator.
It’s more generally London slang for ‘total moron’, as popularised by ‘Del Boy’ in ‘Only Fools and Horses’, where he used it to describe his brother Rodney.
The joke in the Sebastian’s episode flew right over everyone’s heads including the American audience and the censors.
It is impossible not to remember this program and laugh. “Sebastians all over the world.” Lol. said the arrogant eponymous owner to that promise I’ve quoted. He said he had 20 flavor combinations on the menu, I think what he meant was that he had 20 kinds of megalomania and Narcissus complexes running through his head at every single moment. What we do have to recognize is that he is a showman on TV. Few episodes I remember as well as his. Because it’s ridiculous? Yes, but I remember it.
I have just recently started watching Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey. It’s true Lu amazing the filth that is uncovered and makes you wonder how did you not get sick from eating there!! The owners are rude, nasty, inconsiderate, and so very very ungrateful of Gordon’s help!! They called him for help! He’s there to help them! Chef Ramsey pours alot of money and time into each of those restaurants! It amazes me at how ungrateful they ALL are!! I feel so sorry for Chef Ramsey and how he’s treated! Look at the restaurants he helped and look at them now. They’re all closed restaurants now!! Unbelievable!! I’m just a simple person who would absolutely love to have the opportunity to eat a meal prepared by Chef Ramsey! All I can say is, job well done Chef Ramsey!! These horrible people you have tried so hard to help out of the goodness of your heart, are ridiculous and ungrateful! You can’t help someone who won’t help their self. I’m so proud of you and the heart felt changes you made to each restaurant and I have enjoyed watching your show if only to see how big your heart is❤️. I wish you all the best in the world❤️❤️
You forgot to mention that Sebastian’s is featured in a season 1 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, where Khloe and Kim talk about Kim’s long distance relationship with that football player she was dating… the famous one…
True story
I didn’t know that. Small world! Thanks for sharing.
Do you spell your name starting with a K as an homage to the Khardashians? That’s true fan support!
From my point of the view had that sociopath Sebastian try to promote his products on Gordons shoulders for free!
I am just now watching the show. My gosh he was a total narcissist, arrogant douche bag. I feel for his wife and kids. So sad!
Sebastian used his wife’s money to feed his ego, he was a complete Moron and failure, cause he wants everyone to kiss his ass
Sebastian’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/55123645881/ where people go to make fun of his 20 custom combinations
I don’t think this is an official page haha.
Hé is not even in that group .
https://www.instagram.com/guidospuccianni/
this is his real instagram. There are current pictures of him, some kids, his landscaping tractors, his wife (you can tell it is really her). Sebatian is a lot fatter now, but his face & head shape are the same. He is killing trees now instead of dinners.
That location was cursed ever since he turned it into a restaurant. Even new restaurants didn’t survive & hope whatever apartment complex is there now doesn’t get affected by the Sebastian curse because wow. Now Sebastian speaks for the trees, the dude was straight up bizarre. I mean it was doomed from the start. The moment he said that he was gonna sell frozen pizzas that was gonna be sold around the world, him chit chatting with customers while drinking, saying he won every argument against Ramsay when he clearly didn’t & being a straight up narcissist. I am watching the episode right now, like lou Bertha said he changes just like doctor jeckyll & Mr Hyde. The menu was so stupid, I felt like I lost braincells when the waitresses were explaining the long combinations that even now I can’t remember none of it. I have to agree with Gordon, it’s Hollywood’s biggest confusion because that restaurant was a mess & will forever be a mess even now that it’s forever demolished.
The sudden shift in Sebastian at the end felt so cooked up, it was just so random and not believable. I’m going back to watching the british version of this show (Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares), it’s way less manufacured and the editing isn’t so ridiculous.
This says that Robano’s restaurant closed in 2014 and the location was taken over by The Red Door. But, when you click on the Yelp page linked, it says that The Red Door was opened in 2011 and that a restaurant called Michael’s (formerly Riverside) opened in 2013 and it was attached to the front of The Red Door bar.
So how did Robano’s stay open until 2014 if The Red Door opened in 2011 and the attached restaurant opened in 2013?
I’ve always wondered if Sebastian only wanted to do this episode for the exposure so he could “launch his franchise brand.” Sure he ended up dropping his pants on national T.V. but we’re still watching and talking about it this many years later.