restaurantKitchen Nightmares (US) · Season 5, Episode 8 · Aired November 18, 2011
The Greek at the Harbor
Ventura, CA
Same spot, new identity after the show. It now goes by The Greek Mediterranean Steak and Seafood.
What happened after
Greek restaurant still operating at the same address as of 2024, nearly 13 years post-episode, now rebranded as The Greek Mediterranean Steak and Seafood.
What happened on the show
Arriving by boat to a gorgeous harbor setting, Ramsay could not understand how a restaurant with this view was failing. The Greek at the Harbor had opened in Ventura in 1994 under Makis Mikelatos, a chef from the island of Kefalonia who worked fourteen-hour days and had quietly burned out, his standards slipping without his noticing. His son Aris finally wanted to learn the business, but Makis, insisting his own food rated a ten and was better than what you would find in Greece, would not teach him and admitted he did not want to. The tasting deflated all of it. The calamari was greasy, the hummus so thin Ramsay said you could drink it through a straw, the keftedes dry, and the phyllo pastry stuffed with nothing at all. The moussaka, drab with spongy raw eggplant, he called an insult to Greece, and even the sous chef quietly knew it was bad.
After the cameras left
The Greek at the Harbor survived, just under a new name. As of our latest verification the Ventura waterfront restaurant at 1583 Spinnaker Drive was still operating, nearly thirteen years after the episode, rebranded as The Greek Mediterranean Steak and Seafood. A burned-out owner sitting on one of the best locations any castmate had kept the doors open, and the harbor view Ramsay marveled at is still drawing diners under the refreshed identity.
Sources
Confidence: high. Last checked 2026-07-19.
What is there now
Street imagery via Google Maps. Location approximate.