Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen Will Open in River North Next Year

Not satisfied with outraging Chicagoans with the suggestion that they should put ketchup on their hot dogs, the celebrity TV chef Gordon Ramsay has announced, via Instagram, that he will be bringing a second restaurant to Chicago, following Gordon Ramsay Burger. The new spot, scheduled to open in 2023 is called — you knew this was coming — Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen.

And yes, Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen will look just like the set of Hell’s Kitchen the show, Ramsay confirmed in an interview with the Sun-Times, complete with a red kitchen and a blue kitchen and a large rendering of the flame-filled Hell’s Kitchen logo that will greet visitors at the entrance. He did not say whether he would be yelling at chefs and diners as well.

Ramsay will take over the former Cantina Laredo at 508 N. State Street in River North, just two blocks from Gordon Ramsay Burger. It’s two stories and 18,000 square feet, and Ramsay tells the Sun-Times that while he didn’t feel it was an appropriate space for a Gordon Ramsay Steak, he thinks it has the potential to be the best Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen in America. There is currently only one other Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen — it’s in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas — though two more are forthcoming later this year in D.C. and Miami, so the competition isn’t exactly as fierce as, say, Hell’s Kitchen the TV show. Still.

In 2019, Ramsay announced his goal to open 100 new restaurants in the U.S. by 2024, and while the pandemic seems to have slowed his plans somewhat — he’s currently stalled at 13 — he told the Sun-Times he believes Americans, and specifically Chicagoans, are ready to start dining out again.

Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen will serve many of the dishes most associated with Ramsay, specifically beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding. (In the Instagram video, Ramsay boasts that the Vegas location has served “in excess of 1.5 million beef Wellingtons and 2.5 million sticky toffee puddings.”) There will be no hot dogs, and therefore no opportunity for mockery from Chicago hot dog stands, but Ramsay did hint that he planned to include some special Chicago items on the menu. Possibly Italian beef? Chicken Vesuvio? Which has the most potential to offend the greatest number of Chicagoans?

Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen, 508 N. State Street, scheduled to open in 2023.