- My husband and I spent our first anniversary at Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen in Atlantic City.
- The restaurant, based on the hit show of the same name, had a great atmosphere and delicious food.
- We ordered some of Ramsay's signature dishes, including scallops, risotto, and beef Wellington.
I grew up watching "Hell's Kitchen," the Emmy-nominated cooking show where contestants compete for a head-chef position in a restaurant while being screamed at by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
Although I'm not much of a cook myself, I often found myself shaking my head at the TV when chefs overcooked meals like risotto or scallops. So, when my husband suggested we spend our first anniversary at Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen restaurant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, I knew we'd be in for a great meal.
Ramsay opened the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant, inspired by the show of the same name, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2018. The chain has since expanded to seven locations in places like Miami, Lake Tahoe, and Washington, DC.
Here's what our experience at the Atlantic City location was like.
We arrived early and had drinks at the bar in the lobby.
Hell's Kitchen is located inside the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino. We arrived at our reservation about 20 minutes early and checked in with the hosts, who told us they would text us when our table was ready.
To pass the time, we had drinks at the lobby bar, which featured a list of beer, wine, and specialty cocktails.
I chose the Fallen Angel ($19), which included a mix of gin, peach liqueur, watermelon juice, and lemon. The drink was slightly sweet but refreshing — and really aesthetically pleasing.
My husband ordered a drink called Notes From Gordon ($18), which was gin-based and featured green tea, almond-liqueur lemongrass, peach, and lemon.
The menu also promised a "message from Gordon" with our drinks, which came in the form of a rolled-up Union Jack flag attached to the side of the drink. When opened, it had a quote from the show, "There is more smoke in this kitchen than in Snoop Dogg's tour bus."
As fans of the show, the restaurant's layout looked familiar.
After getting a text that our table was ready, we closed our tab at the bar and headed to the host stand.
One of the hosts escorted us down a winding staircase and pointed out the wall displaying photos of all the show's winners.
The main dining area looked just like the set of the show. We could see the chefs — who were separated into the show's signature red and blue teams — cooking at the front of the restaurant. Luckily, they looked pretty happy and no one was getting yelled at.
Our waitress brought over complimentary glasses of sparkling wine for our anniversary.
After ordering our appetizers, our server brought us two glasses of sparkling wine and wished us a happy anniversary.
Both glasses were garnished with strawberries pierced with pitchfork toothpicks — another nod to the show and restaurant theme.
We both thought this was a thoughtful touch that made the experience all the more personal.
The appetizers were incredible.
We decided to order two appetizers — pan-seared scallops ($29) and wagyu meatballs ($24).
Scallops aren't typically my favorite, but given they're such a contentious menu item on the show, I knew I had to try them. Plus, my husband loves them, so I knew they wouldn't go to waste.
The scallops sat in a streak of pea purée and were topped with braised bacon lardons, pickled fennel, and chives. When I took a bite, the scallop immediately melted in my mouth.
When I asked my husband what he thought of them, he replied, "Absolutely perfect. No notes."
But, for me, the meatballs were the real star of the show. Served with tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and crispy basil, these meatballs were some of the best I've ever had — which is saying a lot since I grew up in an Italian family.
They were also served with polenta croutons, which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
I decided to order another appetizer as my main course.
When I found out we'd be dining at Hell's Kitchen, I looked up the menu and immediately locked in on the lobster risotto ($31). Risotto is one of my favorite meals to order when we go out to eat, so I was really excited to order it.
Although it was listed as an appetizer, I saw a woman next to me order it as her meal. The portion looked generous, and because I knew we were ordering a few starters to share, I decided to get it as my entrée.
The dish, which included a butter-poached lobster tail, braised fennel, lemon zest, and Parmesan, tasted incredible.
My husband enjoyed the beef Wellington — but this time, he had some notes.
Beef Wellington ($70) is another one of Ramsay's signature dishes, so I planned on trying a bite of my husband's meal when he ordered it. However, as someone who likes my steak cooked to a medium temperature, I took one look at the dish and knew it wasn't for me.
The beef, wrapped in a delicious-looking pastry, looked like it had been cooked to a rare temperature, much to my husband's delight.
He said it was tasty and cooked perfectly, but he found the pâté inside a little too rich. He ended up removing some of it before fully digging in.
He also enjoyed the potato purée and glazed root vegetables that came on the side.
I was too full for dessert, but my husband ordered a cocktail.
I almost always find room for dessert, but after enjoying my meal, I knew I was too full to eat another thing.
My husband, however, got the English-toffee coffee ($15), which consisted of whiskey, coffee, toffee syrup, whipped cream, and toffee pieces.
At $216, we thought our meal was a great value.
After tax and tip (and not including the drinks we paid for at the bar), our bill came to $216 for two appetizers, our meals, and a dessert cocktail.
Although we wouldn't typically spend this much on a night out, we thought the pricing was fair, considering the quality of the food. After all, we can typically spend up to $100 eating at chains like The Cheesecake Factory.
Overall, we had a great experience at Hell's Kitchen and definitely plan to return the next time we have something to celebrate.
