Brutally Honest Reviews Of Celebrity-Owned Restaurants

Buzz Feed

2 days ago

Quite a while back, I rounded up some celebrity-owned restaurant reviews from members of the BuzzFeed Community. In the comments, people shared even more interesting experiences — some more appetizing than others.
Here are 32 of their top responses:
"Ty Burrell has a few bars here in Salt Lake City, called Beer Bar and Bar-X, and they have the best fries I've ever had. Truly drool-worthy. Plus, they have incredible burgers and other foods. Highly recommend if you are ever in the area!"
—nanarae
"By far, the worst celebrity-run restaurant in Nashville is Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock N' Roll Steakhouse."
—tiger24
"SUR in West Hollywood is great. Due to a weird and random series of events, I ended up on the employee patio and ran into Guillermo Zapata (Lisa Vanderpump's co-owner), and he is the nicest dude ever! He told me to come back anytime and ask for him. When I told him I no longer live in LA, he insisted that even if I came back 10 years later, he'd happily hook us up. He 'never forgets a face.' (It's more likely he just knows if someone asks for him, he's met them before. But that's still incredibly kind.) Great service. Great staff. I had so much fun and have some hilarious photos from that night."
—apromisingyoungwoman
"In Las Vegas, I went to the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in Caesars Palace. Although the drinks were inventive and delicious, the service was the worst I've ever had, and the food was meh. It made me sad because I love SUR, Pump, and Tom Tom (all owned by Lisa Vanderpump)."
—Th3FatPanth3r
"The Jonas Brothers' family restaurant, Nellie's Southern Kitchen, in Belmont, North Carolina, is FANTASTIC! It has a cute little Southern cooking atmosphere, and the actual Southern cooking is fabulous. They're not messing around down there. They also have live music from local singers! Their tribute to the Jonas boys in the back hallway is super cute too."
—Janet
"SONA, Priyanka Chopra Jonas's restaurant in New York. DO NOT VISIT. Sincerely, an Indian."
—ruchav[Editor's note: Priyanka parted ways with SONA in 2023, and it shut down permanently in 2024.]
"I went to Machine Gun Kelly's coffee shop, 27 Club Coffee, in Cleveland, and the coffee was so good! As a current barista at Starbucks, I can definitely say the quality of the coffee is much better than Starbucks'. It's smoother and tastes better — not to mention, it costs about the same as or even a little less than a Starbucks drink. They offer a variety of coffee choices as well as some alcoholic beverages and food (with vegan options). The atmosphere is very cool and chill (they don't just play MGK's music). Because I visited on Valentine's Day, they handed out pink roses."
—PianoPrince
"Nic & Norman's — which is co-owned by The Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero and actor Norman Reedus — in Senoia, Georgia, has a great atmosphere and food. It's in a quaint little town with a Walking Dead vibe."
—Blessed.Be.Bop
"I recently went to Saints and Sinners in New Orleans, which Channing Tatum is part owner of. Let me tell you, this place has amazing service and the kindest workers you will find in the city, but the workers do not make up for the food or dirt. When I tell you I saw a ROACH crawling across the floor after I ordered my meal...then the food came, which was cold and had no seasoning. No seasoning in New Orleans?!? The bathrooms have doors that are falling off, as well as black mold. The list goes on...Channing, my man, if you see this, please stop by the spot and give them some money to renovate, as this place needs some serious TLC."
—cml5307
"Here's an unexpected recommendation. Anyone remember the horror film director Uwe Boll? His movies, primarily based on horror video games, are legit awful. However, the man's actually a pretty good restaurateur. His restaurant, Bauhaus, in my hometown [Vancouver, BC], was a fantastic experience for us for the husband's birthday one year. I would definitely go back."
—bitterowl93
"Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer's Taffer's Tavern. There's a location two minutes down the road from my job, and we have tried it a few times. The food was always bland, and service was alright. The specialty cocktails are yummy, though. Obviously, Taffer doesn't work there, but for someone who bitches about service and food, shouldn't the managers be held to a certain standard?"
—deftonesforlife
"Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto's restaurant, Morimoto, in Disney Springs. I've eaten there several times, and it always, without fail, is one of the best meals I've ever had... like, ever. It's pricey, but worth every cent."
—casachess
"Fat Sal's Deli in Los Angeles, which is owned by Entourage actor Jerry Ferrara, is really good! They have sub sandwiches with everything but the kitchen sink in them."
—Fateandtime
"The Nobu [which was cofounded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro, and Meir Tepe] in Waikiki on Oahu is one of the best locations."
—panda_13
"Cannot recommend Wolfgang Puck's Spago enough. I have not been to the one in Maui, but I have been to the one in Vegas and LA. Both were stellar experiences and definitely worth the money. From start to finish, just excellent food, staff, and environment."
—chasingsmiles
"Ted's Montana Grill, a chain of restaurants in the Atlanta area originally owned by Ted Turner, is amazing! Their big thing is that they serve bison, and it's incredible. Bison steaks, bison burgers, bison meatloaf, bison short ribs… they also do beef, chicken, fish, and vegetarian meals. I highly recommend the bison brisket, though. It's incredible. They also make a killer lemon drop martini!"
—goblinkatie
"Ted's has an excellent veg burger, but not much variety for veg meals. Good place to take your meat-loving friends, but be prepared to always order the same dish if one is looking for veg options!"
—alexandriag4915d3b01
"I ate at Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar in 2019. It was the worst meal of my entire life. I ordered a turkey burger because nothing else on the menu sounded appealing. It was cold and dry and bland. The fries were ice cold and rock hard. The restaurant was so dark and loud, we could barely see anything and had to shout at each other at a very small table. The servers looked like they hated their lives, and our server comped our meal without us saying a word. We left her a tip because she was still a good server, minus the awful meal. Hopefully it was just a bad night, but I would never go back!"
—maggiem46319e722
"Guy Fieri's Chicken Guy! How is fast food that good!?"
—jessethecowgirl
"I've been to Bobby Flay's Bobby's Burger Palace in Vegas, and it was fantastic!"
—moswald74
"Bobby's Burger Palace in Mohegan Sun Casino has gone downhill. It used to be so delicious with some of the best burgers and fries I've ever had. When I went recently, it was bland and not what I remembered. Plus, paying $15 for a burger alone is crazy. At least include the fries for the price of a burger."
—lilmoo22
"I've eaten at three of Bobby Flay's Burger Palaces. None of them is worth a second visit. I've had fresher and tastier burgers at fast-food places. Everything from the service to the food itself was eww and completely forgettable...Sometimes, I think so-called celebrity chefs are less great restaurateurs than media hounds."
—irenec6
"Every experience I have ever had at a Bobby Flay's has been bad. The food's always mediocre — not completely horrible, but not great either, like Chili's quality — and it always has a layer of...I don't know how to describe it exactly in the way it all is. It's not that every restaurant I've wound up in of his, for one reason or another, is always dirty (although, there have been some); but it always feels like he can't decide if he is a chain owner or a serial boutique owner. It's highly manufactured, but yet trying to appear like it's not. Thus, Chili's quality to me."
—chasingsmiles
"Bobby Flay's restaurant in Caesars Palace, Brasserie B. They have these seasoned fries that are amazing, and the margaritas are so freaking good."
—beccaloni
"Amalfi, Bobby Flay's other restaurant in Caesars Palace, was amazing. We got to pick our fresh fish, and they fixed it to order. I am still drooling thinking about the pistachio sundae. We also hit up his burger joint in Paris for a quick hangover breakfast. That stuff was legit amazing in that moment."
—mbaggs
"Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant in London, was so delightful to eat at."
—miniadmiral16
"I've been to Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen in Vegas, and IDK if the burger is good, but the risotto 100 percent was a flop and a waste of money."
—vravi
"Gordon Ramsay's burgers are so worth the price. I have been to several of his restaurants; all were great. Gordon Ramsay Steak was the best meal I've ever had."
—kathmander
"Recently tried Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips in DC. I was a little apprehensive, but it was actually one of the best chips of my life. The dirty chips with Parmesan are the bomb, and the lemonade was really nice too."
—eklimen
"I went to Gordon Ramsay Plane Food at Heathrow and ate fish, mac and cheese, and a brownie with marshmallow ice cream for dessert. It was all so good, I practically licked the plate. Not cheap, though."
—naraniel
"Recently, we went to a Wahlburgers and were similarly disappointed. Although the burgers were a bit above what we found at Flay's, the service was awful, the server himself was unpleasant, and the food was indifferent."
—irenec6
"I think Wahlburgers is way overpriced for mediocre burgers. I get being fun and creative with the menu, but the patties themselves were bleh."
—kathmander
And finally: "Wahlburgers was good, but I think it's overpriced. They've recently taken over the major grocery store chain's in-store eating where I live, and it's not as good."
—hillaryf4afff6749
If you've ever eaten at a celebrity-owned restaurant, what was your experience like? Tell us all about it in the comments!