Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Foxwoods — Restaurant in Ledyard

Reservations were very difficult to grab several weeks before my wife and I's coveted 10 year wedding anniversary. I was only able to secure lunch reservations but had hope that maybe they would let us order off the dinner menu.

Upon arriving, we were incredibly impressed by the atmosphere of the entryway and the dining room. Truth be told, as a video professional the only thing I was disappointed by was the resolution of the LCD screens that showcase everyone's favorite celebrity chef. They had a lower, more pixelated display than I expected from an owner who's known for impeccable standards.

Upon seating we inquired about the dinner menu and sadly they were unable to accommodate us. The server did inquire about special occasions and food allergies and was incredibly mindful of my wife's strawberry allergy when we ordered dessert, which was very much appreciated.

Given the specialty of the day, we splurged.

I ended up ordering 3 cocktails: Fear and Loathing Notes from Gordon The Pitchfork

All 3 were very good, but the clear favorite for both myself and my wife was Notes from Gordon (beyond the flavor and tipsy components, it includes a fun keepsake paper with a famous Ramsey quote/insult on it). Additionally, I would warn you, of the 3, the Pitchfork was a STRONG drink while the other two were lighter or more balanced.

For appetizers, we got the Wagyu meatballs and the Crab cakes. Both were delicious and being a home cook myself, I was taken to school. One thing everyone I've ever cooked for has unanimously loved are my scratch made meatballs. So for me to taste the ones of Hells Kitchen and be blown away should really say something. The Wagyu aspect has less of a noticeable impact than the fresh herbs used. Man were these babies fragrant on the taste buds. A lesson of "wow" I will not soon forget.

Moving on, I ordered the filet mignon with Bernese sauce and vine ripe tomatoes while the wife ordered the crispy skin salmon . Salmon was the best she's ever had but was disappointed the legumes soaked up the majority of the citrus beurre blanc as she would have loved to have had that with the salmon itself more.

My filet was perfectly cooked and while I didn't notice any particular herbs seasoning it, it was far from bland. Juicy and had a grill "char" that you never get unless you're cooking it yourself. But the quality of the beef was way above what I can find locally, even at a specialty butcher. The tomatoes were delicious, warm and flavorful. Much like my wife and her beurre Blanc, I would have liked more of the béarnaise sauce, but it was still enough that I wouldn't complain about it.

Lastly moving on to dessert, I couldn't leave without sticky toffee pudding, but my wife has a thing for peanut butter and jelly desserts, so she got the tart. The server double checked without us even prompting her over if it had strawberry involved in its making (it did not). I loved mine, but 3 drinks in and all that food, the cake was heavy to me and I wish there had been more of the ice cream to balance it out a bit.

All in all, an incredible time. The only issues I had was that 3 cocktails were about $45 and while incredibly good, still overpriced. Additionally, while reservations were unavailable, even while we were seated I was looking at the webpage, at least 30-40% of the tables sat empty. I'm not sure if this was due to lack of servers or cooks or what, but for late afternoon on a Saturday at the casino with Ramsey's popularity, I was shocked. Possibly they are there for walk ups, but I do know a group of 3 that were in line ahead of us upon entering were told it would be a 45 minute to 1 hour wait. Not sure what the story was there. Where I took issue was not only did items take slightly longer than I would hope to come to the table (easily forgivable, given their perfection), a lot of the wait staff could be seen just standing around conversing with one another. I imagine there must have been some issue in the kitchen, but I truly don't know. That's the only improvement...

Full disclosure - I am a fan of Gordon Ramsay's (GR) television shows, and I was excited to dine here. Having traveled from Maine, my fiancé and I stayed at Foxwoods for our first time. Hell’s Kitchen (HK) is adjacent to the Grand Pequot casino and draws your attention with its wall-size fireplace featuring a trademark flaming pitchfork – we could feel the heat emanating from the striking display as we had our picture taken. This facade is the first of several photo-worthy stops in and around HK. Just inside the double-door entrance, visitors are greeted by a digital GR inviting you in to dine. Red and blue decor, as expected, features prominently everywhere. We arrived for our 6:30pm reservation, which I made at least a month in advance, and were seated promptly. I heard the standby wait was 20-30 minutes which I found to be reasonable especially on a Monday when multiple Foxwoods restaurants are closed. Because I made no special requests, I was surprised by the spectacular view of the open kitchen afforded by our enviable table location. Seated near the ½ blue ½ red kitchen, in addition to the conversations echoing within the expansive dining space, I found it difficult to hear our server at times; conversation with my fiancé was, however, not negatively impacted. Our friendly server provided a brief background of the restaurant and explained the menu options – particularly, the prix fixe option versus a la carte. I knew going in I wanted a quintessential GR meal: lobster risotto for an appetizer, beef wellington for an entree, and sticky toffy pudding for dessert; my fiancé ordered the chicken scallopini and a strawberry shortcake trifle. To start, a butter-poached lobster tail crowning creamy risotto arrived surprisingly quickly and melted in our mouths. The beef wellington was cooked to a perfect medium rare (the ONLY way HK will cook a welly as noted on the menu and by our waitress), and the potato puree was satisfyingly light. I found the chicken scallopini too salty and garlicy, but my fiancé enjoyed every bite of her dish, including the roasted potatoes. Rounding off our meal choices, the strawberry shortcake trifle boasted varied textures and flavors, but the sticky toffy pudding stole the show. A moist cake topped with smooth ice cream and decadent toffy sauce – we were both impressed and continued to talk about it well after dinner concluded. The prices are not for the faint of heart as we spent over $200 with only 2 drinks, but I regret nothing. This was an experience, not just delicious food. On our way out of the restaurant, we purchased a t-shirt in the small gift shop and lingered near the portraits of the show’s winners before departing. There were smiles all around as we strolled back to the casino with appetites more than satisfied and our...

So, I've been a fan of the show for years and was so thrilled to hear that this opened up at the casino. Took my girlfriend for her birthday dinner and when I made the reservation, I indicated that it was a birthday. When we checked in, they acknowledged the birthday and my allergies (fish).

We were seated and the inside looked cool. Modern, clean, etc. The server asked if we were there celebrating any special occasion (Umm.. we just had this confirmed?) and we said yes and explained it was a birthday. Also asked if there were any allergies (Ummm again?) and I indicated the fish allergy. They have a prix-fixe option which I chose to order from. The server asked if I wanted the fish or the salad and I knew we were in for a weird time as she clearly wasn't paying attention and just sticking to the script.

I got the beet salad, beef wellington, and sticky toffee pudding as part of the prix-fixe menu. The beet salad was good and while I enjoyed it, I only had that option as the other appetizer was fish. I will say, the menu could be expanded a bit as, in general, there were many fish options and not too many options for vegetarians or those that don't eat fish.

The beef wellington comes medium-rare and I asked if it could be cooked longer as I didn't like my meat undercooked. She said no but I was welcome to try it and if I didn't like it, I could get something else. I was a bit shocked that they don't allow you to order it how you want it but gave it a shot. And, as predicted, didn't like it but it also looked like it was VERY rare rather than a medium-rare. I again asked if they could just cook a bit longer and, again, told no. So I ordered a filet instead cooked medium-well and it was OK but nothing to write home about. I think it's just wasteful that rather than cooking it the way you want it, they'll throw away a piece of meat and cook another (different) meat how you want it. Makes no sense.

The desert (sticky toffee pudding) was very good but, honestly, the whole entree' thing really set the mood. The server wasn't very personable and the next table over's server was laughing, accommodating the diners, but not ours. It was like she was reading from a script and couldn't deviate.

I was told, when the bill came, that because I had not stuck to the prix-fixe menu, the special price couldn't be honored and each portion had to be rung up separately as the system didn't allow for any substitutions. I explained that they didn't cook the food the way I wanted and my only option was to pick something else. Finally, I just gave in and thought "this is really a birthday she'll remember".

Additionally, and most sadly, there was no acknowledgement of her birthday either.

All in all, I expected more from Hell's Kitchen and, sadly,...