Ramsay’s Kitchen, a restaurant serving international dishes by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, officially opened Jan. 24 inside the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Back Bay. 

Customers came to Ramsay’s Kitchen wanting to try Ramsay’s esteemed signature dish, the beef Wellington. While some customers complained about slow service and difficulties booking reservations, others said their experience at Ramsay’s Kitchen was worth their time and money. 

Kay Zhang, a graduate student studying finance at Northeastern, went to the restaurant three days after its opening. Zhang ordered the seafood tower, lobster roll and the beef Wellington, a dish recommended by her restaurant server. Beef Wellington is difficult to prepare, but still, Zhang thinks that she had to wait too long to be served. 

“By the time we [were] seated and then by the time when the waitress actually came over and got the order for us, it was long, less than 20 minutes, but it’s still relatively long as compared to other restaurants,” Zhang said.

Despite the wait, Zhang’s favorite part about Ramsay’s Kitchen was the modern and well-lit environment. Not only the decoration but also the atmosphere worked together to fit the mood of each part of the restaurant.

“It was pretty bright on [one] side,” Zhang said. “But then if you’re going to the bar area it is darker and it creates a dark blue scene.” 

Although she liked the interior decor, Zhang said the restaurant as a whole lacked any outstanding qualities. 

“I think the environment was pretty nice and clean. It didn’t feel like something really stood out to me too much,” she said.

Valky Ju, a student pursuing a doctorate degree in electrical engineering and computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also visited the Ramsay’s Kitchen soon after it opened. 

Ju has already dined at Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in Las Vegas and had a positive experience. So when she noticed Ramsay’s Kitchen on Boylston Street on her way to brunch at another restaurant with her friend, they immediately changed their original plans and went to Ramsay’s Kitchen instead. They enjoyed their dining experience so much that they decided to go back again for a dinnertime meal just two days later.

When Ju and her friend were at Ramsay’s Kitchen for the second time, they ordered the jumbo lump crab cake, tamarind glazed chicken wings, Boston Larger steamed lobster and the beef Wellington. 

“I think the food there is good,” Ju said. “The beef Wellington here has more flavors — it tasted better than the Vegas one.” 

The only negative part of Ju’s Ramsay’s Kitchen experience was how long it took to order and receive food. Already knowing she would have a formal, time-consuming dinner, she anticipated it to take about two hours. However, the dinner took longer than expected, resulting in a parking fine for Ju. 

“The meter I paid [had] already expired so I got a ticket. We didn’t expect dinner to be that long,” she said. “They are kind of slow.”

Back in April 2021, Ricky Gao, 32, and a principal software engineer at Sonos, caught wind of a rumor that Gordon Ramsay was going to open a restaurant in Boston. Ever since, Gao has been looking forward to its opening. He said he was only successful in making a reservation because someone canceled theirs within short notice.

“It’s really hard to make the reservation. I think right now it was [booked until] March time,”  Gao said. 

Gao ordered tamarind-glazed chicken wings, braised lamb shank and the beef Wellington. He said the beef Wellington is the best he’s had in Boston. 

Although some customers contend that the Ramsay’s Kitchen experience is confounded by long wait times and reservation inaccessibility, others insist that the restaurant offers dishes that leave customers wanting more.

“Of all the fine dining places in the Boston area, this is definitely a top five,” Gao said. “The filler [of the beef Wellington] is so tender …you will be like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’”

Editor’s note: The story was updated Thursday, Feb. 17 at 2:18 p.m. to more accurately reflect the experience of a diner at Ramsay’s Kitchen.