“Terrible service, even worse food.” – From an online review of Patrick Molloy’s
While most reality TV shows with a docuseries angle are at least a little bit contrived, the concept of Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back is particularly ludicrous.
Ramsay’s intro voiceover tells us that in the “age of social media,” businesses can thrive or die overnight, and therefore he needs to figure out how to turn failing restaurants around in under 24 hours (with the help of hidden cameras to catch all kinds of #workfails and #whoopsies).
In any event, we’re whisked off to the gorgeous southern California coast of Hermosa Beach to visit Patrick Molloy’s in this edition. While I’ve only spent a little time in that part of greater Los Angeles myself, I’ve hung out in nearby Redondo Beach countless times, and it’s one of my most favorite places in all of SoCal.
Patrick Molloy Bastian, 31, introduces himself as one of the three owners of Patrick Molloy’s, and one can imagine that’s why he introduces himself so formally in that manner.
Alice, 67, Patrick’s mother, then tells us that she opened the restaurant in 1996 with her ex-husband (now deceased), Bill, and her current husband, Fred. Sounds like there’s lots of intriguing backstory there.
On that note: Patrick relays that there was a lot of “tension and anger” between Fred and his dad, which makes sense when you think about it. Fred, 70, notes that the partnership was “strange because I believe that Bill really loved his wife, still.”
When Bill passed away, son Patrick inherited his father’s stake in the business. So these days, the dynamic is that Fred thinks that young Patrick has gotten “too much, too quickly” without “the blood, the sweat, and the tears.” And in fact, he quickly throws his stepson under the bus, claiming that while he himself is at work all the time, Patrick only shows up “a few hours a day.”
And meanwhile, Nick, a manager, notes that the shared ownership causes confusion among the staff because “no one knows what to do.”
On top of all of that, Fred reveals that Patrick Molloy’s lost $135,000 in the past year, and that if things don’t change, “within three to four months, we’ll be out of business.”
So as contrived as reality television can often be, there’s real and intriguing family dynamics at play here on the beach in Hermosa, all set up nicely for Gordon Ramsay to come in and do his Kitchen Nightmare-ing thing.
When Ramsay arrives, he gets into disguise, as is the gimmick with this show, and in this case it’s a particularly ridiculous beach bro blonde wig underneath a skater-type hat. Gordon then slides in with a fellow table of long-haired beach bros at Patrick Molloy’s.
Predictably, he hates all of the dishes he samples: the Sheppard’s Pie is “f—ing disgusting,” and so on.
He quickly ditches the disguise and introduces himself to Patrick, Fred, and Alice. After telling the owners that the food he had was awful and questioning them about why business has been bad – yielding mostly stunned mutters in response (they seem a bit star struck, really) – Ramsay announces to the dining room that he’s shutting down the restaurant and instructs everyone to follow him outside.
This leads to the part of the episode where Hell on Wheels, the truly odd tractor trailer meets mobile kitchen meets outdoor movie theater, is unveiled to show the crowd the hidden camera footage that has been accumulated of all the gross bits and moments of incompetence captured prior to Ramsay’s arrival on the scene.
Highlights of the hidden camera footage include:
- Customers talking about how disgusting Patrick Molloy’s is
- Staff making out in the middle of the dining room during dinner service
- Employees openly complain about how Patrick shows up to work “about an hour a day”
- Hideously dirty conditions in the kitchen
- The dreaded “cross contamination” of cooked and raw meats in the food storage area
Ramsay then tells the crowd that he’s picking up the tab for their meal, and invites them back for dinner the following day. And that’s when the 24-hour countdown clock begins.
At a full staff meeting back inside the restaurant, Ramsay gets Patrick to admit that he’s “given up” in his responsibility to a business that bears his name.
After taking everyone to task for the low-quality food, Ramsay then reads off recent online reviews, one of which reads, “Terrible service, even worse food.” He is also correct in pointing out that if they can’t get something as simple as chicken wings right, they are in deep trouble overall.
As a massive interior renovation kicks off, Ramsay then takes Patrick, Fred, and Head Chef Gaby into the kitchen for an inspection – always a cringeworthy part of any Gordon Ramsay-related production.
In this case, one of Ramsay’s first thoughts is, “Your kitchen’s a warzone!”
Meanwhile, they go through wasted foods, sludgy and sloppy and rotting, some of which are getting served in the dining room.
Gaby for his part is refreshingly honest. He tells the camera that he’s become lazy under Fred’s leadership, adding, “I feel like a loser – I don’t want to be a loser.”
Ramsay then launches into Kitchen Psychologist mode, and sits down with Patrick, Fred, and Alice. The dynamic essentially is that Fred and Patrick can never get on the same page, which causes Patrick to withdraw (read = basically be a no show for work), while mom and wife Alice gets caught between the two.
Soon, Ramsay sends Alice – who is dealing with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on top of the other strife in her life – home, and advises Patrick and Fred that they will be doomed unless the two can get on the same page.
Then Ramsay heads off to the mobile kitchen out at Hell on Wheels, where his team unveils the overhauled menu. It’s classic Ramsay in that the number of dishes is reduced significantly, with easy to make, made to order entrees featured, which includes Caesar salad, Reuben sliders, and beef frites with French fries. There’s also a proper Sheppard’s Pie and then tacos thrown in for some SoCal flavor, I suppose.
We see a quick scene where Ramsay teaches Gaby about the new dishes, and I always wish that Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back would spend much more time on this segment as it’s relatively rare where we see Ramsay actually showing off his cooking skills.
After the renovation continues overnight and several more heart-to-heart talks, the menu is unveiled to the staff the next day, and all seem thrilled. Ramsay then shows off the brand new kitchen to Gaby, which looks spotless and shining compared to the old dumpy and gnarly conditions. And likewise the dining room looks far brighter and more inviting than it did before.
After Fred and Patrick have yet another minor squabble, Ramsay pulls an unusual move (for this goofy but fun reality show) and “stops the countdown clock” to have yet another pep talk-meets-therapy session with the pair. Finally, everyone agrees to put differences aside and work together, and when Alice returns to the restaurant, she’s encouraged by the new dynamic she’s seeing with her husband and son.
After the clock gets fired up once again and ticks down to zero, Ramsay announces that Patrick will be running the restaurant for the relaunch night that’s about to kick off.
The snag during relaunch night service is that Gaby – a quiet, mild-mannered guy – isn’t communicative with his team during a busier scenario than he’s used to. What’s kind of odd but interesting is that Ramsay has to coach the relatively quiet Patrick to coach Gaby to be more assertive and talkative even while cooking himself.
Later, Patrick tells Ramsay that he’s ready to continue to lead, and Ramsay tells him and the other owners to keep at it, stay together, and to keep on trucking.
In a short episode epilogue segment, Patrick relays that things are going great, and that Gaby in fact has been made a managing partner. And related: Fred and Alice were even able to get away on a vacation.
🔪 Want more Ramsay rampages? Check out our full Kitchen Nightmares episode guide — every filthy kitchen, every redemption (or disaster), all tracked.
Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, “Patrick Molloy’s: is it still open?
Patrick Molloy’s is still open as of this writing in 2025!
Its description on Yelp: “A legendary Irish pub situated at Pier Plaza steps from the sand in Hermosa Beach. Molloy’s features specially curated cocktails, over 25 draft handles and delicious gastropub style food.”
Patrick Molloy’s has a 3.7 out of 5 star rating, which is decent but not great, but on a very healthy 785 reviews, indicating that this place does a lot of business on the beach in Hermosa.
Here’s a recent 5-star review:
Came with my dad for brunch. It was still good with fire on the table. Great to people as the Santa Stroll was on this day. The service was good and food was made to order. My dad had the chicken and waffles and I had the corned beef hash skillet. All good. Great vibe. Becoming a favorite locations.
Some stats and info about Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, “Patrick Molloy’s”
TV SHOW – Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 7
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX
EPISODE DESCRIPTION – Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Hell On Wheels’ travels to Patrick Molloy’s, a family-owned American restaurant and bar, located on the Hermosa Beach Pier.
GENRE – Office Culture, Trashtastic TV, Reality TV, Food Shows
CAST – Gordon Ramsay