Ramsay's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay - Naperville — Restaurant in Naperville

The experience was excellent, the food was exceptional, and the service was nearly perfect.

Being a huge fan of Gordon Ramsay and having eaten at one of his best in Vegas I was excited to be able to enjoy his art in my own back yard. I was not disappointed. We will be back as often as we can and if we can find an open table. 😊

Food: I dined with my wife. I asked for a booth with a view of the kitchen in our reservation notes and we were seated at probably the best booth with a view of the kitchen. We were at the last booth facing the line and I was able to observe the entire operation. Obviously, it was just the line and not the full kitchen which is also obviously kind of hidden from view. From my seat I saw the entire line. I studied it and it was incredibly well run. This was kind of important to me since I once was a line cook at a country club and am a foodie who is amazed at how a well-run kitchen operates. I tell you this kitchen is fantastic. I watched the line cooks execute their art and what I could see, they were artists. I never saw a hint of panic, just a well-run, well executed operation. The expediter was on point. In all, a great team.

The food was perfectly executed. My wife had the Scallops and I have the Beef Wellington. Of course, we both sampled each other’s dishes. The consensus was "simply delicious". The pork belly that is part of the scallop dish was perfect. The scallops (one of Gordon Ramsay's signature dishes) were perfectly executed with a well-balanced sauce. The Beef Wellington was as expected being another signature dish of Gordon Ramsay’s. I was worried it would be unavailable by the time of our reservation, but I lucked out.

I would have liked a little more vegetables that were a part of the Beef Wellington dish but it was still wonderful. I would also have liked a bit more of the sauce as well. The sauce is excellent and did not overtake any flavors of the rest of the dish. The pureed potatoes were far better than I had expected. Perfect balance of butter, salt and garlic but never overpowering the actual potato flavor.

We had Shrimp Scampi and Sticky Wings for appetizers and shared. Both were excellent however the Sticky Wings were just average in both our opinions. The Scampi was outstanding with large shrimp perfectly cooked, plump and juicy and the underlying sauce delightful with just a hint of heat. We also had the Parker Rolls. The Parker rolls were good, but IMHO should be an automatic addition without cost to the table.

We shared a side of the Brussels Sprouts with our main courses. The Brussels Sprouts were excellent as well. The addition of the crispy garlic bread croutons to that dish was an unexpected twist that made this dish standout.

In none of the dishes did one flavor overpower another. Everything was well balanced, textures were outstanding. Presentation was as expected by a Gordon Ramsay establishment.

For dessert we shared a sticky toffee pudding. Though my wife and I were both full by this time we both devoured it. This was one of my favorite desserts of all time. A nice deep sharp caramel flavor, just on the edge of being ‘burnt’ but not burnt. I want this recipe! I would have eaten a second.

Drinks: The drinks were tasty. My wife had “The Last Kiss” I had a simple “Grey Goose” martini with three stuffed olives. I had asked for it to be bruised, expecting some flecks of ice and expected it to be ice cold based on my request, but it arrived just barley cold. That was a big disappointment for me. Size was a bit small as well for a 14$ drink and it was not served in a traditional Martini glass, which believe it or not is actually important for a proper martini. So, drinks were just average and overpriced for the experience.

Circus’s: Loud. Very loud. But overall, very inviting. Not too bright not too dark. The adjustable lighting at each table was a nice addition making the experience just a little bit more comfortable.

Over all 4.8 out of 5 stars for both my wife and I. We...

First and foremost, when we walked into Ramsey’s kitchen, we were internally disappointed at the atmosphere, the decor, and the overall feel of the restaurant. It was almost like a glorified sterile diner, and it barely appeared to be warm and inviting-looking.

The shocking part is when you walk through the front entrance of Ramsey’s Kitchen, you are almost immediately met with a horizontal portion of the L shaped bar a mere few feet ahead; and it’s right in the absolute busy path of the waiters and waitresses and what appeared to be their ordering/ transaction station.

We thought the bar was poorly designed. The bar completely lacks an upscale look and feel. It’s clean but sterile and has a modern blah essence.

What received the absolute lowest rating—even lower than the atmosphere—were the abhorrent craft cocktails that lacked the craft and were only cocktails in name. Our analysis was that it was not the bartender’s fault but the preformulated recipe and pre-proportioned ingredients and method to make them, which we watched.

Both drinks, namely, The Witch’s Elixir and Lost in Translation, were absolutely awful and lacked the spirits and taste of the ingredients that they claimed to possess in each drink.

I am a mixologist, and I often combine high-end bourbon with a high-end Amaro like a Montenegro or Braulio and believe me, you can taste and see and experience the depth of my drinks.

The Witch’s brew was so shockingly bad and tasted like a thin, watered down citrus beverage. You could NOT even taste or see the existence of the rye whiskey and Amaro that were supposed to be in this drink! It was bizarre.

Both of our craft cocktails tasted Nothong like the description whatsoever, and Katherine told me she likewise could not taste any alcohol.

Katherine and I have traveled the United States and are in the top 10% of all craft cocktail and bar reviewers and we have to say that these cocktails were the absolute worst we have had in the entire nation. Totally shocking! Totally shocking. Mr. Ramsay, please reevaluate HOW these drinks are being prepared and in what proportions, or go sample some of the best craft cocktail bars in Chicagoland like like the Violet Hour and taste their drink with exceptional Rye Whiskey and Montenegro and please tell us if your drink even tastes remotely like theirs.

The drinks receive a zero out of 10 stars. I have never given a zero. In fact, we really wanted to ask for our money back on the drinks, but we could not do that.

Katherine said hands-down that it was embarrassing how awful the drinks were and embarrassing to bring up taking them off our bill.

The food on the other hand was definitely above average and exceptional. The fish and chips made with battered haddock was some of the best battered fish we’ve ever had. We were so pleased that haddock (as opposed to gross Cod) was used.

The chips/potato wedges were some of the best we have ever ever had! They were delicious and perfectly cooked.

Overall, the fish itself scores an 8.7 out of 10 and the “chips” were so exceptional that we can give them a rating of nearly 9 out of 10.

Our other entrée was the chicken Milanese. It definitely was a good portion, and it was an elevated, breaded portion of chicken with arugula, Gruyere cheese, Dijon cream sauce, prosciutto, and green mustard vinaigrette.

Overall, the flavor combination was innovative and tasty but a bit too rich. The breading on the outside of the chicken was a tad too crispy and rich. The cream sauce was a tad overpowering, but still had very good flavor. Overall, we give this dish a 7.8 stars out of 10.

I could not do better, but there could be a few improvements.

Over all, in my [James] opinion, the price points on the menu were too high on average including the drinks. The price points reflect a more upscale establishment wihere the drinks are mixologist perfect, the ambience is elegant with first ckass decor, all of the cusine is totally on point, and the service is impeccable. This was in total not our...

I cannot say enough good things about our experience. From the restaurant itself with the decor and ambience to the flavor explosions on our pallets. I am absurdly impressed with the response to my notes that I made on my reservation. When I made them, I honestly didn’t think anyone would pay attention to them, and was pleasantly surprised when our waiter knew everything that we were there for, and congratulated everything that we were celebrating. I feel like our group of six had the best table in the house and we loved our entire experience.

The one thing that I would have even a tiny complaint about is the chicken entrée that we ordered WAS my favorite thing out of the five entrées that we had, and four appetizers. (Actually all the desserts were my favorite) But when it comes to the food portion, my first bite of the chicken was phenomenal but it became my least favorite aside from the salmon because I just don’t like fish. And the reason it became my least favorite was the chicken at one part of it was over salted and almost inedible, I ate it because once I had it with the other items on the plate, it was palatable, but it was hard to eat. It should be said that it was only on certain portions of the piece of chicken that we received. The parts that were salted normally were absolute perfection. I prefer a less oily fish & chips but I have a personal thing for excess oil. And I wished for more with the Parker rolls (they were great flavor, salted butter was perfect but I didn’t get any herb flavor.

It was so enjoyable to watch the chefs do their craft and I think that is such a cool thing about your restaurant. Also want to make note of the serving plates and utensils. The porcelain was awesome and the steak knives were some of the best feeling knives I’ve ever had in my hands.

My afterthoughts aside from all of the positive things that I’ve already said, and will stay here in a moment is of how much I wish more people had access to this restaurant and experience. I am left, feeling extremely privileged that we were able to save up the money to come and have this experience as a family. And I know that something like this is not feasible for a lot of people, and it left me feeling kind of ambivalent honestly. But I do understand that’s more of a societal thing and not necessarily an issue of your establishment.

The last thing I want to highlight is your staff. The gentleman that was managing that night, I didn’t catch his name, was warm and attentive. He helped bring our food to our table, and I also spoke to him privately before we left about our server and he was personable and awesome.

Now about our server. I cannot say enough good things about Dylan. He was beyond phenomenal. And I know it’s his job and I know that you guys probably pay him well to do his job, but I feel like he executed everything that he was supposed to do with excellence. We didn’t have to really ask for anything. He knew everything that we were there to celebrate, and he answered every question that we had about the food. He engaged in polite and friendly conversation with us. He was warm and inviting, and is seriously amazing at his job and I feel like he’s probably a pretty great human in general. When we save up some money and are able to come back again it is my hope that Dylan is still there so that we can request him as our server because he was seriously amazing!

Thank you for this memory, we will carry it with fondness.

Also didn’t have a pic of the sticky toffee pudding but it was one of our favorite things all night.

Favorite app: sticky cauliflower wings, truffle fries, potato purée Favorite entree: filet & the chicken (minus the excess salt) Favorite dessert: sticky toffee pudding & cranberry eton mess

Last side note: not to gloat, I know it’s Ramsays thing, and the Wellington was excellent, don’t get me wrong. That being said my husband said he preferred the overall flavor of my homemade beef...