Parthenon - Secret Service Update

On the premiere episode of Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service, Gordon Ramsay is in Washington, DC to help out the restaurant Parthenon.  Secret Service is a new show where Gordon Ramsay uses surveillance and insider sources to investigate and transform struggling restaurants.  Parthenon is a family-run Greek restaurant and Gordon will try to convince the owner to modernize things and pass the restaurant's legacy to his son.  The restaurant has been open since 1989 and serves authentic Greek food.

Secret Service for Parthenon was filmed in March 2025 and I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Parthenon 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 Secret Service):

Positive Reviews:

• "The Parthenon has been reborn, and the neighborhood is better for it. What a joy to see an established restaurant embrace a new and improved (and much smaller) menu. We visited here before Gordan Ramsay's visit, and the food was frankly bland and uninspiring. We returned afterward, and the improvement was significant."
• "So now that Gordon Ramsey has been here recently, we decided to return. Our same waiter was just as good, but the service took longer because now the place is crowded. The food seemed a little better- better quality salads with delicious grilled shrimp. The calamari was ok. Huge portion of baklava. Fun vibe. Bathrooms still need upgrading."
• "This is a reliable place for authentic Greek fare in a peaceful setting. The service is great."
• "Very delicious food! We live nearby and always come to the same place. But the food is so good, fresh and authentic that we don’t want to risk it anywhere else. Very recommended"
• "They’ve vastly improved this place. The lamb kleftiko was the best I’ve had outside Greece. Highly recommend."

Negative Reviews:

• "High prices for cold food and and a nightmare to get to on foot. I have a car but we're all pedestrians sometimes and Connecticut Avenue is not fun walk on."
• "The Parthenon has recently changed its menu and decor. What's new are the high prices. What's no longer offered are the tried and true favorites. The new lunch menu is uninspiring and very limited. A horiatiki salad is $11.00 and the portion is very small. A gyro sandwich with fries is $15.00. Although I have been a loyal patron for years, my interest in going back to the restaurant has severely waned. The service is spotty, at best."
• "The food is bad even for the DC standards. Burnt, tasteless pieces of meat, uneventful meze probably bought at a local Safeway. Cold Mythos beer was the only thing that helped it to 3 star rating. It would go out of business after a month in Athens."

*Reviews from Yelp, Google

Other News and Links:

• The filming of Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service for Parthenon happened in March 2025, so just a few months before the episode aired on FOX.
• Here is the Parthenon website and Facebook page, which is newer.  
• Their restaurant website proudly has their appearance on Secret Service advertised and even has a separate page dedicated to Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service.
• In a local article, the restaurant said that the show reached out to them about filming.  They also estimated that the show spent between $100,000 to $120,000 on renovations and supplies, which made them happy with the makeover.
• Here are the reviews for Parthenon on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google. 
• The restaurant takes time to respond to online reviews.

Conclusion:

This is the premiere episode of Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service, so it should be interesting to see how the show plays out.  The reviews for Parthenon since the visit from Secret Service are mixed with people liking the food and complementing the makeover.  There are a few negative reviews about prices, but those always seem to pop up after makeover shows visit.  The restaurant seems pleased with the makeover and the amount of money spent by Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service to help them out.