In his new show Secret Service, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay spies on struggling restaurants with covert late-night visits, kitchen cameras, and intel from an inside mole. The first episode features Parthenon, the Greek mainstay in DC’s Chevy Chase where Ramsay finds rats and filthy kitchen equipment, including a meat saw crawling with bacteria. (At a watch party, regulars seemed… unbothered?) But how do Ramsay’s own DC restaurants hold up under scrutiny? We took a look at the most recent health inspection reports for Hell’s Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips at the Wharf, and Street Pizza in Penn Quarter.
You’ll be happy to know that the restaurants appear to be a far cry from those Ramsay depicts on TV. But they’re not all completely pristine.
When the health department visited Hell’s Kitchen for a routine inspection in April of this year, an inspector found 11 violations. Among the issues: no hot water at several hand-washing sinks in the restrooms—on top of no paper towels or hand soap. In the kitchen, cutting boards were heavily damaged with burns and cuts, making the surfaces no long cleanable, according to the report. Other minor violations included unlabeled containers of foods that weren’t easily recognizable and an unprotected display of unwrapped straws at the bar. All the violations were corrected within the allotted time.
The nearly year-old Street Pizza, meanwhile, was most recently inspected in February and had only two violations, including food that wasn’t stored in a matter to protect from cross-contamination and a mop not properly hung to air dry. Both issues were corrected during the visit.
Lastly, the fast-casual Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips was inspected in September in response to an unspecified complaint. The lone violation at that time: wet wiping cloths on the cooking line that weren’t stored in sanitizer buckets when not in use.
While Secret Service‘s first episode primarily focused on Parthenon’s kitchen operations, Ramsay also made a point to work with the staff and owners to mend damaged relationships. When it comes to his own front-of-house operations, Ramsay’s restaurants likewise have a history of needing some serious TLC. In 2023, a group of servers walked out following allegations of a toxic and racist work environment. They claimed Black customers were segregated on one side of the dining room with lesser views and that a manager had created a hostile workplace with alleged name-calling and violent outbursts. “These alleged actions are never permitted or tolerated within the organization,” Gordon Ramsay North America said in a statement at the time.
As Ramsay poignantly says to the owner of Parthenon: “I run 100 restaurants, and the most important thing on my menu is trust. I teach, and then I trust.”
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
