Featuring on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares isn’t generally tantamount to a glowing review of your establishment – after all, Big Gordon’s there to tear you to shreds and see what he fashion out of the pieces.
It’s a fractious show that often pits the foul-mouthed yet Michelin-starred chef against obstinate restaurant owners who somehow can’t see the writing’s on the wall.
In a world of social media pile-ons and rabid viewers keen to give strangers a piece of their mind, an appearance on the show could sadly lead to receiving hate online.
A new version of the format, Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service, takes a more covert approach to identifying the problems with a restaurant.
While Kitchen Nightmares would see him make a visit and experience the state of a place for himself, in Secret Service he sends an undercover agent to give him the inside scoop before sneaking the celebrity chef onto the premises after hours.
Besides that, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a show where Gordon Ramsay is drafted in to ‘fix’ an ailing restaurant, and the social media discourse around featured restaurants is also, sadly, much what you’d expect.
Unfortunately for one Arizona restaurant, they’ve been getting that online flak without having made an appearance on the show.
Caffe Boa, based in Tempe, has the same name as another restaurant in Ahwatukee, 10 miles away. The Ahwatukee Caffe Boa appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service in May 2025, prompting a slew of negative online reviews from people who’ve never set foot in the place.
If that wasn’t bad enough, they’ve been leaving them on the wrong restaurant’s review page, targeting the Tempe one by mistake.
Tempe restaurant owners Jessalyn Italiano and Zachary Powell have been understandably furious about it, fearing the misdirected backlash will harm their business.
Apparently, the two restaurants of the same name were opened by the same owners sometime in the 90s, with them splitting in 1996 and running independently ever since.
“Owner says he can't wait for AI to take over the servers. He's basically as disgusting as his kitchen,” read one misdirected review.
“I’ve never encountered an owner so hostile, angry, and downright unpleasant,” said another.
“The atmosphere is ruined by his attitude alone - he clearly needs a complete change in how he treats both customers and staff,” opined another.
Speaking to AZCentral, Italiano said, “There were some really specific details that just didn't make sense for us, and it was concerning.”
“But as soon as we were able to view the episode, it's in the first five minutes, that word for word, it's coming from Gordon Ramsay.”
He noted that the confusion had previously resulted in inaccurately-placed reservations and takeaway orders between the two restaurants, but the erroneous reviews threatened to be considerably more damaging to the business.
“It's on the TV show, so it doesn't ever go away."
In spite of the unfortunate mixup, the co-owners have no plans to change the restaurant's name.
Powell added: "Planning for the future, we just plan to be here and to keep our doors open to our family and our friends and our guests. To keep doing as we've been doing."
Featured Image Credit: FoxTopics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Restaurants and bars
Rachael Davis