In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Spin a Yarn restaurant in Freemont, California.
Spin a Yarn Steakhouse is owned by Greek immigrant Saki who bought the restaurant in 1995.
Jennifer applied to be a waitress, they got into a relationship and 2 years later she became his wife.
When business dropped, Jennifer suggested a remodelling that cost Saki $950,000, over 300% of the initial budget of $300,000.
She spent more than $600,000 extra as she didn't check the price of anything she was buying and chose things she liked.
After the remodel, the restaurant continued going downhill again and the couple now constantly fight.
Gordon meets Jennifer in her home and sees a picture of the couple on their wedding day.
Jennifer tells him how they met and how strained their relationship is now.
She admits she made a mistake during the remodelling, picking items without checking prices.
Jen also reveals that the million dollar changes she made are on a leased property and they don’t have the security of owning the building.
Gordon arrives at the restaurant and is confused by the sign advertising the restaurant.
Inside, he is greeted by hosted Erica and the formally dressed waiters wearing bowties and tuxedos.
Gordon makes the waiters simulate carrying a coffin as he thinks they look like funeral directors.
Gordon then meets Saki who takes him round the restaurant to see the renovations.
The bathroom has $50 tiles on the walls, there’s a new fireplace and the bar top is marble. He reveals the bathroom cost $80,000 to renovate.
Saki tells Gordon he initially had a budget of $300,000 to remodel the entire restaurant and they went way over it.
When asked about the theme of the restaurant Saki says they serve seafood, pasta, continental cuisine and are a steakhouse.
Gordon goes back to his table to order and is served by Mary, who tells him that she believes the food is outdated.
The restaurant has always had Greek owners so they have influenced the menu with a Greek theme.
He orders a Greek sampler, a crab louie and a fillet mignon.
The Greek sampler arrives first and he finds it ghastly. He thinks it tastes like most of the ingredients are canned.
The crab louie comes next and it doesn’t smell fresh. It is revealed that the crab meat is also canned.
The last dish is the fillet mignon and it is chewy, rubbery and tastes like cough medicine.
After the meal he meets Mikayla, the owners daughter and goes to the kitchen to give feedback to the staff.
Victor is the head chef and he has 8 years’ experience.
He questions why the food was so poor and he says he is following the recipes that were given to him.
Saki says he isn’t holding the chef back but Victor thinks differently.
Gordon returns to observe the dinner service and meets with Mikayla just before the doors open.
She is 14 but is clued up about the workings of the restaurant but also her parents’ problems.
Gordon goes into the kitchen and finds out they are seriously understaffed.
There is no expediter or sous chef and Victor is washing dishes.
The entrees go out but come back just as quick with complaints and plenty of food is thrown away.
Saki just stands in a corner doing nothing whilst the cooks struggle and the head chef is washing dishes.
Gordon can smell something odd and he traces it to the walk-in, where he finds raw meat next to cooked meat.
There are mouldy strawberries and produce, unlabelled and rotten chicken and raw meat in congealed blood.
He shows the owners and the chef what he found.
It is too much for Jennifer who goes to the bathroom to throw up at the stench of the food.
He calls the owners outside and they are both embarrassed at what he has found in there.
Gordon says he would not have allowed them open for dinner service if he had seen the freezer.
He tells Jennifer to get involved as it is half her fault. Both owners go in and join forces to clean the freezer along with the staff.
The next day, Gordon sits with the owners to tackle their lack of communication and try and rescue their marriage.
Jennifer says she has no authority and Saki promises to give her his support to run more of the business.
Gordon that night, has carved out roles for the owners for the dinner service.
Saki is expediting and Jennifer is going to be helping to serve the prime rib at the table by carving it in front of the customers.
She is uncomfortable with it and when she practices, she is queasy and complains throughout.
Once dinner service starts, the prime rib is popular with everyone wanting to try it and she fumbles not knowing what to do.
She is struggling at every table and is constantly reminded to smile by Gordon.
After Gordon gives her a pep talk and tells her she can do it, she vastly improves.
The next day, Gordon reveals that he is to give them a single cuisine to focus on and transforms the restaurant into Spin A Yarn Steakhouse.
The menu is slimmed down and Gordon believes it will be an improvement on their bit of everything menu.
They sample the new menu, love every dish and enjoy the flavours.
On relaunch night Gordon announces that the San Jose Sharks will be eating in the restaurant that evening.
The restaurant is quickly packed at relaunch and the prime rib is popular.
Saki is motivating Victor to do better and the dishes are a hit with the diners.
Jennifer slices huge slices of the prime rib for anyone who orders and it runs low just before the VIP guests arrive.
Jennifer greets them and makes a joke about not ordering the prime rib and they all end up ordering prime rib.
In the kitchen, they panic as they don’t think they have enough but Victor reveals that he ordered extra to make sure they didn’t run out.
Victor and Jennifer together serve the rib to all of the hockey players.
After their meal, the Sharks come to pay complements to Saki, gift him a jersey and they all take a picture together.
Once the night ends, Gordon is complementary of the whole family and how the couple pulled together and made it work.
What Happened Next at Spin A Yarn Steakhouse?
The prime rib remains popular, is drawing in customers and they are working together a lot better.
Some of the regulars didn't like Gordon's menu changes so they returned some customer favourites.
Spin A Yarn Steakhouse is open and in May 2012, a new head chef was appointed.
Yelp reviews are mixed but mostly positive especially in 2019.
Trip Advisor reviews are mostly positive.
Planning on visiting the restaurant? See the website for opening hours and more info.
Spin A Yarn Steakhouse was aired on February 10 2012, the episode was filmed in October 2011 and is Kitchen Nightmares season 5 episode 11.
Read About More Kitchen Nightmares
Previous episode - Park's Edge
Next episode - Charlie's
This post was last updated in March 2023.
