The Verdict - Kitchen Nightmares Update

Photo - Facebook

On this week's episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay is in New Orleans, Louisiana to help out The Verdict Restaurant and Lounge.  The restaurant serves traditional New Orleans cuisine with a twist. While Gordon is at the restaurant he is served a steak with plastic utensils, so he is unable to cut into his steak to eat it. He has to send it back to the kitchen to get it cut despite the $34 price tag for the dish.

Kitchen Nightmares visited The Verdict Restaurant and Lounge in September 2024 to film the episode, and I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about The Verdict to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Gordon Ramsay visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Kitchen Nightmares):

Positive Reviews:

• "A bunch of my girls met up here for happy hour one Friday and we had a nice time. The owner was very pleasant she greeting just about everyone in the place. The ambiance was real cute and the music just made you want to cut up, i had the fish bites and fries. It was cute and tasty. I didn't take any food pictures but everything was displayed really cute. Now the drinks on the other hand. Needed work. You can tell both bartender wasn't experienced. We sent back several drinks but she was really nice about it and just remade them. At one point we just started ordered shots the mix drinks just wasn't right. I gave it a 4 because i will return again. Especially if you have a group of friends"
• "Amazing time, bartender and owner both amazing. Def a vibe to check if you wanna relax and chill. No drama. Just chill vibes."
• "Came in after a long day. Daytona took care of me and was super excellent. Both drinks she recommended were delicious. The wings were wonderful and the fries with the house made ranch were amazing. The camera didn’t get to eat first!....As a metry resident, worth the trek to the East! Great time and looking forward to coming again soon!"
• "Today I treated my husband and son to The Verdict’s brunch. We all agree the service was impeccable and the food was so flavorful, creating an overall enjoyable experience."
• "Tonight, I had the opportunity to experience this phenomenal restaurant with my cousins! We truly enjoyed ourselves. The food was amazing. The drinks were tasty. The hookahs were perfect. Oh and did I mention the owner was there working with her staff ensuring stupendous service"
• "If you’re in New Orleans and looking for a spot that combines fantastic food, expertly crafted drinks, and the warmest service in town, I highly recommend stopping by The Verdict. It’s the perfect blend of New Orleans charm and quality, and I’ll definitely be back—and bringing my guests along too!"

Negative Reviews:

• "I ordered through Uber eats and the egg rolls I ordered tasted like nothing but old grease. I tried to call for two days and even left a voice mail. No answer back."
• "Omg! Worse experience ever! I’m a native and I love supporting start-up businesses or new restaurants but this one I’ll never support again! We waited an hour for our food the didn’t have that many people in there to wait an hour. Then my food came out cold. I wouldn’t have been that mad if my food would have been hot at least I know it’s fresh."

*Reviews from Yelp, Google

Other News and Links:

• The makeover for The Verdict Restaurant and Lounge happened in September 2024.
• Here is a preview video of the episode on YouTube.
• Here is The Verdict Restaurant and Lounge website and Facebook page.  
• When you visit the website, there is a disclaimer that they have a dress code of no tank tops or athletic attire and they do not accept cash.
• They also have a 2-hour time limit for parties and add an 18% gratuity to all checks and 20% for larger parties.
• They seem to have a lot of events at the bar/restaurant and advertise brunch and hookah a lot on their Facebook page.
• Here are the reviews for The Verdict Restaurant and Lounge on Yelp and Google. 
• They have a 4.8-star average on Yelp and a 4.5-star average on Google, although there aren't a lot of reviews.

Conclusion:

The reviews for The Verdict Restaurant and Lounge since the Kitchen Nightmares makeover are mostly positive with people liking the food, drinks, and atmosphere. There aren't too many reviews for The Verdict, but the ones that are out there are pretty positive.  It seems like they also promote a lot of drink specials and operate more like a bar than other restaurants that have appeared on Kitchen Nightmares.


*To see updates on all the restaurants from Kitchen Nightmares and to see which ones are open or closed, visit the Kitchen Nightmares Update Page. Plus Follow on Twitter to keep up to date on closings.