(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: UK | View All Season UK Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: December 4, 2007
The Fish and Anchor Address: Llanwnnen, Lampeter, Dyfed, SA48 7LG
Episode Recap
The Fish and Anchor was a Lampeter, Wales, UK restaurant featured on Season 5 of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares in the UK.
Though the Fish and Anchor Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in December 2007, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place earlier in 2007.
It was Season 5 Episode 6 on the UK version of the show.
In this episode of the UK version of the show, Gordon Ramsay visits The Fish and Anchor in Lampeter, Wales.
Lampeter is a small town that’s not too far from the coast.
It’s also home to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Mike Ciminera and his wife Caron own the restaurant.
They originally owned small fish and chip shops.
But after Mike won big on a football betting pool, they invested their winnings into opening a restaurant – The Fish and Anchor
The Fish and Anchor is a sports bar, but it hasn’t been as successful as they hoped.
Duh – you can probably guess from the fact that the Fish and Anchor Kitchen Nightmares episode exists.
Mike and Caron are one of the main issues in the restaurant because they bicker.
Their fights have been so bad the two have gotten arrested.
Yikes, right?
Can you imagine trying to eat your dinner while the couple who own the bar are getting arrested?
Gordon Ramsay greets the couple and notices one of his recipes on the menu board.
It’s there because Mike likes to cook out of different cookbooks.
Gordon orders his own recipe as well as other dishes.
Gordon is pleasantly surprised by his recipe, except the shallots are raw.
Gordon gives Mike honest feedback and tells him he shouldn’t cook meals that he isn’t trained to cook.
Gordon searches the restaurant on the internet and finds many customers have left positive reviews.
Mike eventually confesses to writing the positive reviews online.
Lol…fake reviews is pretty classic – I always wonder how many restaurant owners take that step.
After busting Mike on the fake reviews, Gordon Ramsay stays to watch a dinner service.
Mike runs the kitchen while Caron is in charge of the front of the house.
Customers are left waiting almost two hours for their food, which is incredibly long.
I would’ve left at that point, to be honest – I would already be incredibly annoyed after the first hour.
Caron and Mike begin to fight as a customer comes into the kitchen looking for their food.
They are told to leave as well as a few choice words.
Gordon is in shock as a server tells him this is typically how a dinner service goes.
One of the issues is that Gordon thinks the menu is too extensive for Mike.
Gordon takes Mike’s cook books and gets rid of them by donating them.
Now, he wants to change what’s happening in the kitchen.
To that end, Gordon takes Mike to a farm to pick fresh tomatoes.
Mike is also taught how to make multiple dishes at one time, which will help speed up the kitchen and get dishes out faster to the hungry diners.
That night a rugby team is invited for dinner service and try the meatball dish added to the menu.
The rugby team are all pleased with the dish, which is a great start for the new Fish and Anchor restaurant.
Caron starts to argue with Gordon after she messes up.
Gordon has to tell her to quiet down as she is too loud.
Eventually, Mike has to take Caron outside to calm down.
Gordon walks around town the next day, and locals tell him the restaurant’s reputation is terrible.
It’s no surprise given what we’ve seen so far in the episode…
Gordon visits the owners at their home and tries to act as a mediator.
He has plans to turn the restaurant into an Italian one.
Beyond that, a local catering college and Gordon team up to provide Mike with a cooking aide.
That night the restaurant is remodeled to create a better visual aesthetic in addition to the new food.
When the redesigned Fish and Anchor is revealed, everyone is happy with the new look.
Mike drives a tractor into town, handing out samples of his meatballs to promote the restaurant.
Gordon supplies the couple with a punching bag for when they get angry.
I guess that’s more productive than yelling at one another?
Mike produces excellent food during the relaunch in his new chef jacket given to him by Gordon.
Caron is friendly to the customers.
The ticket times go up as people form a line to get into the restaurant.
Mena, a server, slips and knocks herself out.
Service is stopped as she is taken to the hospital.
She would later recover, though she had to spend a night in the hospital.
Eventually things get back on track and the relaunch goes ok.
When the Gordon Ramsay Fish and Anchor visit ends, things seem to be looking up for the Lampeter restaurant.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Fish and Anchor visit a long-term success?
Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Lampeter, Wales restaurant is still open in 2024.
The Fish and Anchor Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Fish and Anchor Kitchen Nightmares visit, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay left Wales.
When Gordon Ramsay returns to The Fish and Anchor around a month later, he discovers that the building has gotten a new coat of paint.
The owners have also stuck with his new Italian theme and business seems to be much better.
Gordon randomly calls a few customers to ask how it went and he hears good things about the food and the atmosphere.
Overall, it really seems like one of the more successful Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares episodes.
However, it would not last…
Is Fish and Anchor still open after Kitchen Nightmares?
As of 2023, The Fish and Anchor is permanently closed.
It originally closed in 2008 and was sold a year later.
It reopened for a short time under new ownership but closed not too long after.
As far as I can tell, the old Fish and Anchor Lampeter location seems to be empty, at least according to Google Street view.
The building looks like it’s just being used for storage.
That wraps up my The Fish and Anchor Kitchen Nightmares update.
If you want to see another Kitchen Nightmares Wales episode, you can also check out my update for The Walnut Tree Inn in Llanddewi Skirrid, Wales.
Beyond that, some of the other closest restaurants are Oscar’s in Nantwich England and The Dovecote Bistro / Martin’s in Okehampton, England.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Fish and Anchor episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
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Last updated: 2023-08-10 06:13
Caron was one of the biggest Karen’s I’ve ever seen. Gordon’s comment about her being a Welsh Dragon was spot on. It would have been nice to discover the restaurant still going after all this time(I should definitely have gone to check it out when I came to the UK), but honestly, I expected it would probably be closed. Caron just is not capable of holding on to her her temper, and she probably cut loose not too long after Gordon went home. That’s a couple that should NOT be in the hospitality business!
I think the couple divorced, which is a shame. I liked the husband.
It’s one of the better episodes too.
They only stayed together because the sex was great.
The money used to buy the restaurant was found money, a lucky bet. So in the end, nothing lost. Except dignity. Also, why name a sports bar Fish and Anchor unless the sport shown on TV is competitive fishing (zzzzz….)?
Because it’s by the coast…where’s there’s fish 😂 it’s not that hard to figure out really 🤦🏻♀️
Caron belonged in a mental hospital. She was beyond nuts.
I would have charged them under the mental heath act and a section 5 public order act I’d never eat or drink in a place like this.
I find caron is a very sexy lady and I would of loved to of helped her with her getting to stressed out .
Hopefully caron will get out of the restaurant and to find something unstressedful
Mike’s LI:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/michelangelo-ciminera-64552838
Caron is just angry cause because she needs some manly attention
Priceless 😵