I spent over $700 dining at 3 Gordon Ramsay restaurants in Atlantic City. The best meal wasn’t the most expensive.

• Hell’s Kitchen impressed me with its delicious food, energetic atmosphere, and homages to the show.

The restaurants made a few nods to Ramsay’s British roots, but overall, it looked like any other upscale steakhouse.

Just past the hostess stand, we were greeted by an accent wall painted with a Union Jack that led to the main dining room.

The dining room had a mix of regular chairs, high-backed chairs, and comfortable leather booths. We were seated at a booth, so our party of two had plenty of room to spread out.

The dining room struck a cozy yet modern balance, with muted greens and blues, pops of red, leather seating, and candles on the tables for ambient lighting.

However, the dining room was a little quiet. It didn’t have that buzzy, energetic feel we got at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill or Hell’s Kitchen.

This was the only one of the three restaurants that gave us free bread.

The rolls arrived warm with a light sprinkle of salt, and the butter was perfectly soft for spreading.

The bread was a welcome first course to tide us over before our appetizers and mains arrived.

We both ordered drinks from the specialty cocktail menu.

I tried the Supersonic G&T ($17.99), Ramsay’s twist on a classic gin and tonic with yuzu and grapefruit for a slightly sweeter taste. It was a refreshing cocktail that paired well with our meal.

My friend went for the British Culprit ($18), a rum-based espresso martini that was sweet but not creamy. She described the drink, which is no longer on the cocktail menu, as the “perfect pick-me-up” after our trip down to Atlantic City from New York.

Our server recommended the smoked wagyu beef tartare.

He explained that the beef tartare ($29.99) was smoked to add even more dynamic flavor to the dish.

The tartare was made with lemon zest, red onion, capers, and a quail egg yolk, and served with Yukon Gold potato chips.

The egg yolk was perfectly creamy, and the beef tartare itself was absolutely packed with flavor. It might have been the best tartare I’ve ever had — and I’ve eaten the dish in France multiple times.

We were impressed by this appetizer, even though the price felt a little high.

We also thought that while the potato chips added a balanced textural element to the dish, they felt slightly low-brow to pair with the tartare in an otherwise more elevated restaurant.

For our second course, we shared the wedge salad.

The market wedge salad ($17.99) came with two heads of baby iceberg lettuce drenched in deliciously creamy Stilton blue cheese dressing and topped with red onion slices.

The salad’s crisp iceberg lettuce, smoky bacon, heirloom tomatoes, and English cucumber delivered bright yet savory flavor.

A tangy, punchy blue cheese dressing brought it all together. For blue cheese lovers, this salad is a must-order.

My friend ordered the branzino for her entrée.

The pan-seared branzino ($58.99) was served with rock shrimp, artichokes, Kalamata olives, shaved fennel, sundried tomatoes, and lemon broth.

The fish had perfectly crispy skin and tender flesh, resting on a stew-like base that could be eaten with a spoon. My friend called it a “Mediterranean flavor ecosystem” — it was satisfying without feeling heavy.

For my entrée, I ordered one of the most expensive steaks on the menu.

I ordered the 8-ounce American wagyu filet. I ordered my steak medium-rare, which the waiter recommended, and typically how I order my steak cooked.

This steak was supremely tender, but not what I expected from a wagyu cut — I expected it to be a bit more rare and show more of the classic marbling that makes wagyu cuts distinctive.

The steak’s bold pepper seasoning and perfectly seared, buttery interior were undeniably delicious.

Still, at over $100 with no sides beyond a smear of jus and mustard, I’m not sure it’s worth it. Other cuts on the menu, like the 16-ounce strip ($79.99) or 8-ounce filet ($69.99), would likely have been just as satisfying at a lower cost.

We thought the meal was expensive, but mostly worth it.

After tax and tip, our bill at Gordon Ramsay Steak came to $320 for two appetizers, two entrées, and four cocktails.

Standouts from the meal included the wedge salad, the cocktails, and the steak tartare. While we enjoyed our entrées, we felt they were a little overpriced.

The atmosphere struck a good balance between looking like a classic steakhouse and paying homage to Gordon Ramsay. However, it lacked a buzzy, energetic atmosphere that would have made the experience more fun.

We had the best experience at Hell’s Kitchen.

The restaurant was located off the main casino floor inside Caesars Atlantic City.

Hell’s Kitchen is arguably Ramsay’s most famous restaurant concept, and his Las Vegas location is the main stage of his hit TV show.

There are seven Hell’s Kitchen locations in the US, including restaurants in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Miami, Lake Tahoe, Washington, DC, Mashantucket, Connecticut, and Valley Center, California.

There were multiple homages to the “Hell’s Kitchen” TV show throughout the restaurant.

Along one of the back walls were framed portraits of past “Hell’s Kitchen” winners, as well as TV screens playing key moments from the show. I felt like I had been transported into an episode.

The main dining area was alive with the sounds of sizzling from the open chef’s kitchen and servers shuttling dishes across the floor.

The main dining area was decorated with tasteful homages to the theme: pitchforks adorning the chef’s counter, playful yet sophisticated murals of red and blue flames, and plenty of ambient overhead lighting that cast a dim glow over the restaurant.

Like in the show, diners can watch dishes being prepared right in front of them.

When I wandered over to where servers were picking up dishes, I was pleasantly surprised by how willing they were to let me observe.

I chatted with one of the servers while he picked up two piping hot dishes of mac and cheese.

As each dish came out of the oven, piping hot and ready to plate, the servers didn’t just let me take photos — they encouraged it.

One of the servers explained that while Ramsay’s own methods and recipes do influence the restaurant, it runs relatively independently.

The menus are designed to cater to each city’s varying clientele, from Atlantic City to Miami. He said that the standards for servers, who are trained for three months, are “super high.”

I found myself lingering by the chef’s kitchen, watching the final touches being added and hearing the sounds of Ramsay’s most famous restaurant coming together in perfect harmony.

It was hands-down the most interactive and engaging dining experience I had during my trip to Atlantic City, making me feel like I was part of the action rather than just a guest.

We started with two cocktails playfully garnished with pitchfork-shaped toothpicks.

I ordered the Pitchfork in Paradise ($18.99), which was made with Casamigos jalapeño tequila, pineapple, and passionfruit and rimmed with Tajin. It was a play on a classic spicy margarita that I thought was refreshing yet bold.

My friend ordered the Dragon’s Passion ($18.99), made with Stoli vanilla vodka, passionfruit, pomegranate juice, and lime. We were both impressed by the presentation of the tiki-like drink, and she thought it tasted perfectly sweet.

To start, we split the Caesar salad.

We both wanted to save room for our main courses, so we opted for just one appetizer to share. The Caesar salad ($18.99) was the same price as the one from the pub, but we much preferred it.

It didn’t come topped with anchovies, but the portion of salad was much larger, as was the serving of crunchy Parmesan crisps garnishing the salad. The croutons given with the salad were also larger and looked more housemade than the ones at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill.

The creamy and savory dressing coated every lettuce leaf without overdressing the salad, which was our problem with the other Caesar.

My friend ordered the chicken scallopini as her main dish.

The chicken scallopini ($38.99) was served with roasted peewee potatoes, artichokes, Lacinato kale, and truffle chicken jus. She said it was delightfully crispy while still retaining its moisture.

She also remarked that the truffle flavor really came through, creating a more dynamic base for the potatoes and soft kale.

I chose Gordon Ramsay’s signature dish: beef Wellington.

Due to its complexity, Ramsay often considers beef Wellington the ultimate test for chefs on his various cooking shows.

At Hell’s Kitchen, the Wellington ($71.99) is served with potato purée, root vegetables, and a red wine demi-glace. When it arrived at the table, the dish was already cut in half, allowing me to immediately spot the perfectly medium-rare beef within the layers of pastry.

I could tell why this is Ramsay’s most famous dish: It was delicious.

The beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender, while the creamy potatoes perfectly mopped up the savory demi-glace. It tasted like elevated comfort food — homey enough for a Sunday roast at home, but gourmet enough to be deserving of a fine-dining restaurant.

Hell’s Kitchen hit every mark, from the food to the atmosphere.

With tax and tip, our meal came to $210.22 for two cocktails, one appetizer, and two entrées.

Though we ordered less food than at the other restaurants, we both left feeling more than satisfied and felt it was excellent value for a special night out. Between the energetic atmosphere and engaging staff, we had the most fun at Hell’s Kitchen out of all three restaurants.

The food also left little to be desired. Both of our entrées were made to near perfection, and the salad was the best out of the three we had in Atlantic City.

If you’re a fan of Gordon Ramsay and his media empire, the restaurant also delivered on that front. We really felt like we were in an episode of “Hell’s Kitchen,” minus the meltdowns.

Hell hath no fury like a diner scorned, but we left feeling like we had just dined in culinary heaven.

Editor’s note: This story was first published in August 2025 and updated in July 2026.