Renate's German Restaurant - Kitchen Nightmares Update

On this week's episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay is in Hanover Park, Illinois to help out the restaurant Renate's German Restaurant.  Renate's German Restaurant is supposedly struggling due to the owner's leadership style.  Gordon Ramsay also notices they have a lot of empty tables and cold and unappetizing food. 

Kitchen Nightmares visited Renate's German Restaurant in May 2025 to film the episode, and I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Renate's German Restaurant to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Gordon Ramsay visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Kitchen Nightmares):

Positive Reviews:

• "My wife and I are big fans of german food and there aren't enough German restaurants around. We finally remembered Renate's last night and stopped in. They remodeled in May and the place is so charming and quaint, yet updated. The server was wonderful, and dressed in traditional clothing. The food was the highlight though. Saurbraten was tangy and tender and Rouladen was juicy with a wonderful dark brown gravy."
• "Such a cute place with delicious German food. Went for lunch on a Sunday. Our waitress was attentive and sweet. The giant pretzel really was giant. Prices were reasonable for the amount of food you get. I wanted to leave a review to hopefully boost the visibility of this unique restaurant. It’s off of a main road, but not highly visible. I definitely recommend it!"
• "Very German. Very delicious. Made birthday reservations and they decorated the table for us on their own accord. It was a pleasant surprise and we were very happy with our experience. Will be coming back:)"
• "Renate's has a truly unique and wonderful menu! I highly recommend the liver dumpling soup."
• "Come here for delicious German food just like your Oma used to make - I got the Rouladen meal and it was exceptional! I will definitely be back."

Negative Reviews:

• "Try the Jagerschnitzel a few weeks ago on an early seating only ones in restaurant. The mushrooms had this horrible vinegar brin flavor to them. That's not normal to this dish. Green beans where I expected the vinegar to be wasn't. Truly not German cooking. I tried them and utterly disappointed."

*Reviews from Yelp, Google

Other News and Links:

• The makeover for Renate's German Restaurant happened in May 2025, so more than a year before the episode first aired.
• Here is the Renate's German Restaurant website and Facebook page.
• Their website says, "At Renate’s German Restaurant, we bring the heart of Germany to your table with time-honored family recipes and home-cooked goodness. Our story began with Cookies à la Carte, Inc., founded in 2008, and has since grown into a beloved destination for authentic German cuisine and desserts."
• Here are the reviews for Renate's German Restaurant on Yelp and Google.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Renate's German Restaurant since the Kitchen Nightmares makeover are mostly positive with people liking the food and atmosphere.  It seems like everyone goes here for the German food, so they are happy they can get authentic German food in the area.  There aren't a ton of reviews for Renate's German Restaurant since the episode was filmed, but they are mostly positive, so hopefully the episode airing on TV helps boost the restaurant.



*To see updates on all the restaurants from Kitchen Nightmares and to see which ones are open or closed, visit the Kitchen Nightmares Update Page. Plus Follow on Twitter to keep up to date on closings.