Ivorville — Review by Gordon Ramsay
New Orleans, United States — Southern/Creole
Gordon Ramsay visits Ivorville, a struggling New Orleans restaurant losing 20,000 dollars per month, and finds nearly every dish underwhelming and poorly executed. From watery gumbo to undercooked burgers and overseasoned pasta, the kitchen lacks consistency, freshness, and proper technique. The restaurant desperately needs operational overhaul and menu revisions to survive.
What was great: Some dishes like the gumbo had potential, and staff showed effort despite challenges
What could improve: Bland and watery gumbo, undercooked burgers, overseasoned pasta, underseasoned catfish, frozen ingredients used despite claims of freshness, soggy fries, hard-boiled eggs instead of poached, long wait times, inconsistent food quality, lack of kitchen organization
The Dishes
Ivorville's menu offerings revealed serious quality control issues across the board. The fried alligator bites and gumbo, which were recommended as signature items, disappointed immediately with the gumbo being watery and bland despite the chef's defensive insistence it was properly made. The Death Row burger arrived undercooked and ice cold, barely edible. The medium rare steak looked sad and proved impossible to cut without a metal fork, a basic oversight that embarrassed the restaurant. Barbecue shrimp tasted frozen and came buried under excessive black pepper, while the big boy seafood platter looked like a fried mess with no distinct flavors between items. The flounder leif, a supposedly unique signature dish on the menu for 30 years, was indistinguishable from any other fish. Mac and cheese featured overcooked pasta with old cheese sauce made the day before. The nacho guacamole came from plastic bags despite fresh avocados being available. Later in the day, the biscuit benedict featured hard boiled eggs instead of properly poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, and even the fresh cornbread couldn't save the meal's overall quality.
The Experience
The dining experience was marred by lengthy wait times and poor service flow. Gordon waited over an hour for food while the kitchen struggled with basic coordination. The staff, while appearing hardworking, lacked proper training and organization. There was visible tension between front and back of house staff, with the head chef Nate, who had no formal culinary training and came from a plumbing apprenticeship background, struggling to manage orders. The restaurant was perpetually short staffed, forcing kitchen personnel to take dangerous shortcuts. Chef Blake, who oversees much of the kitchen, became defensive when receiving criticism rather than receptive to feedback. The female owner Bonnie was called out for dishonesty about her role, claiming she ran everything when she only worked 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. shifts in the office while others managed the floor and kitchen.
Value and Pricing
The restaurant had invested 850,000 dollars into the business but was losing approximately 20,000 dollars monthly. Despite this investment, the food quality did not justify premium pricing, with dishes tasting like they were made without care or attention to detail. Customers waiting an hour for subpar food represented terrible value for money.
Notable Moments
Nobody should be waiting an hour for food. That was embarrassing, but I can assure you we'll try to get that.Gordon's reaction to the bland gumbo was particularly memorable:
Gumbo I love. Oh my god. That's just watery. Watery bland gumbo. What a shame.When discussing the overseasoned pasta, Chef Blake defended her work claiming Gordon didn't have the palate for real New Orleans cuisine. The steak presentation drew criticism with Gordon noting:
Wow. Look at that. That looks like one of the saddest steaks I've ever seen.The plastic avocado revelation and subsequent exchange about using bagged guacamole highlighted systemic problems in sourcing and kitchen decisions.
The Verdict
Ivorville is a restaurant in crisis that requires immediate intervention in menu design, kitchen training, staff communication, and ingredient sourcing. The restaurant is not recommended in its current state. While the location has potential and some staff members show genuine dedication, the leadership structure is confused, the kitchen lacks proper training and systems, and the food quality is consistently poor. This restaurant needs either significant operational restructuring or closure before it loses more money.