Sebastian's

What happened after

Pizzeria closed in 2008, about a year after its Nov 2007 episode; owner reportedly reverted to the pre-Ramsay menu before shutting down.

Closure date on record: 2008

What happened on the show

A part-time actor who claimed his parents taught him to cook before he could walk, Sebastian Di Modica ran his Toluca Lake pizzeria on ego and a baffling menu of endless combinations that confused everyone who read it. He admitted firing dozens of staff, up to forty-nine, and that his wife had put up most of the money to buy the place. Ramsay hit a wall at the door, where photos on the menu triggered his standing rule to leave any restaurant that pictures its food. He stayed anyway and found frozen calamari, a soggy Popeye pizza baked while the wood-burning oven sat unused, and an overcooked, underseasoned steak. When Sebastian bragged to his staff that he had won their argument, Ramsay walked back in with the line that he had won jack of nothing. Sebastian kept insisting he had triumphed, right to Ramsay's face, comping meals and schmoozing his Hollywood regulars while the money leaked out.

After the cameras left

Sebastian's followed a familiar arc after the cameras left: the owner reportedly scrapped Ramsay's changes and reverted to his old menu, and the Toluca Lake pizzeria at 10057 Riverside Drive closed in 2008, about a year after the episode aired. The confusing concept Ramsay could not decode never found its audience, and going back to it only sped the ending.