Gordon Ramsay spends time at different restaurants for each weekly episode of Kitchen Nightmares. Is El Cantito Cafe still open after his visit?
El Cantito Cafe is a New York City restaurant that received some help from Gordon Ramsay during a Season 8 episode of Kitchen Nightmares.
Just like with every restaurant Gordon visits, the Michelin-star winner spotted a handful of issues that needed to be resolved.
Is this Kitchen Nightmares restaurant still open and thriving after being featured on the show, though? These are the details.
El Cantito Cafe is still open today
We have great news for anyone interested in dining at El Cantito Cafe. As of this publication, the restaurant is still open and taking orders.
Reality TV Updates explains that Gordon and his Kitchen Nightmares crew completed a full remodel of El Cantito Cafe’s interior while they were there.
Gordon also made some tweaks to the menu. From his perspective, there were far too many items available. He downsized the menu to make it easier for the kitchen staff to produce higher-quality dishes.
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This particular restaurant was opened as a tribute to a woman named Gloria Santana. Sadly, she passed away from breast cancer. Julio and Aldelvi Santana (her two adult children) launched the restaurant in her honor.
As a way of keeping her memory alive, the restaurant hones in on Puerto Rican food options that bring more of their culture and heritage to New York City.
Julio and Aldelvi added several recipes Gloria created herself on the menu. Some of the dishes guests can order include pork chops, trifungo, empanadas, and mofongo de yuca.
Since the restaurant was launched in honor of Gloria, Gordon didn’t go out of his way to alter the recipes that were already in place.
Instead, he focused on making changes to the restaurant in terms of its appearance and organization. The changes he made were positive since El Cantito Cafe is still presently doing well.
For more on the show, here’s what we know about Kitchen Nightmares Season 9. Also, this is what it’s like to eat at a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant when Gordon is there.