TV Restaurants

Is Verdict Still Open? Kitchen Nightmares Update (New Orleans, LA)

Open reported

As of September 2026, Verdict is listed open on OpenTable, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

Primary source
OpenTable ·
Secondary source
mashed.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: An OpenTable listing accessed 2026-09-07 shows the restaurant's current hours, menu category and address with no closure notice; a features article dated 2025-02-18 describes a 4.5-star Google rating from dozens of reviews after the show's visit. No single 2026-dated news account of ongoing operation was located.

  • Season / episode Season 9, Episode 7
  • Original air date
  • Address 9301 Lake Forest Blvd Ste 100, New Orleans, LA 70127

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What happened after Kitchen Nightmares?

The Verdict Lounge & Restaurant, a Creole- and Southern-style restaurant and lounge in New Orleans East, appeared in season 9, episode 7 of Kitchen Nightmares, "Verdict," which aired February 18, 2025. Owner Melika Honore opened the business in 2022 with a judicial theme, choosing the name to reflect the good and bad decisions in her own life and choosing the New Orleans East location to help revitalize her home neighborhood; her mother, Michiko Honore, serves as head chef, and her sister, Tashika Honore-Holden, manages operations. The three women previously ran a soul-food restaurant, Cast Iron Rose, which has since closed. As shown in the episode, rising tension between kitchen and front-of-house staff, family disagreements and mounting debt were straining the business. Ramsay struggled to eat much of what was served, describing barbecue chicken wings as oversauced, a burger as undercooked and a steak as too tough to cut; that steak, priced at $34, arrived with plastic cutlery and had to be sent back. The Sun Herald reported in July 2023, before the show's visit, that The Verdict was among restaurants cited by local health inspectors for not holding a current state food safety certificate, one of several issues the family was managing.

Ramsay's team reworked kitchen operations and updated the menu, and pushed the family to rebuild communication between the kitchen and the floor. Following the relaunch, the Honore family kept Michiko in the kitchen and Melika and Tashika running the front of house and business side.

Reader reviews on Google and Yelp since the episode have been largely positive, with diners praising the food, live music and cocktails; a small number of critical reviews have also been posted, including one describing a severe allergic reaction to shellfish a diner said was not listed in an egg roll's menu description. The restaurant continues to host live music and happy-hour service at its Lake Forest Boulevard location. As of research in September 2026, aggregator listings including OpenTable continued to show the restaurant operating at that address with regular hours, though no single 2026-dated news account of its ongoing operation was located.

Featured on Kitchen Nightmares

Season / episode
Season 9, Episode 7
Original air date
Episode title
Verdict
What was featured
Creole/Southern lounge; family conflict, mounting debt, and inconsistent food quality
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Verdict

Frequently asked questions

Is Verdict still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Verdict is listed open on OpenTable, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What happened to Verdict after Kitchen Nightmares?

The Verdict Lounge & Restaurant, a Creole- and Southern-style restaurant and lounge in New Orleans East, appeared in season 9, episode 7 of Kitchen Nightmares, "Verdict," which aired February 18, 2025. As of September 2026, Verdict is listed open on OpenTable, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

Where is Verdict located?

9301 Lake Forest Blvd Ste 100, New Orleans, LA 70127. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Kitchen Nightmares featured Verdict?

Season 9, Episode 7 of Kitchen Nightmares, first aired February 18, 2025. The episode is titled “Verdict”.

Did the makeover last at Verdict?

The episode first aired February 18, 2025. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 1 year later —: As of September 2026, Verdict is listed open on OpenTable, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What do reviews say since Kitchen Nightmares?

Reader reviews on Google and Yelp since the episode have been largely positive, with diners praising the food, live music and cocktails; a small number of critical reviews have also been posted, including one describing a severe allergic reaction to shellfish a diner said was not listed in an egg roll's menu description. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Verdict still using the Kitchen Nightmares menu or branding?

Ramsay's team reworked kitchen operations and updated the menu, and pushed the family to rebuild communication between the kitchen and the floor. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
9301 Lake Forest Blvd Ste 100, New Orleans, LA 70127
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
theverdictlounge.com

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • mashed.com — https://www.mashed.com/1790820/what-is-verdict-lounge-kitchen-nightmares/
  • OpenTable — https://www.opentable.com/r/the-verdict-lounge-and-restaurant-new-orleans

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Record kn-093 · last verified .