TV Restaurants

Is Leo's Still Open? Kitchen Nightmares Update (Cedar Creek, TX)

Open reported

As of September 2026, Leo's is listed open on Tripadvisor, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

Primary source
Tripadvisor ·
Secondary source
discoverbastroptx.org ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Tripadvisor review dated March 8, 2026 describes a February 2026 visit and references the restaurant's Kitchen Nightmares episode; a Bastrop-area tourism-board listing accessed 2026-09-07 shows the same address and current hours with no closure notice.

  • Season / episode Season 9, Episode 9
  • Original air date
  • Address 887 State Hwy 21 W, Cedar Creek, TX 78612

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What happened after Kitchen Nightmares?

Leo's Italian Grill, an Italian restaurant with a Southern accent in Cedar Creek, Texas, appeared in season 9, episode 9 of Kitchen Nightmares, "Leo's," which aired March 4, 2025. Owner Leo Gaertner, who learned to bake bread from his grandfather at age 10 and worked his way up through kitchen jobs before opening the restaurant in 2018 with his wife, Michelle, built a menu blending Italian dishes such as lasagna and arancini with Southern touches like Texas gnocchi and a ribeye with salsa verde. The family was still grieving the 2022 death of their son, Leo Edward Gaertner III, known as "Bump," who had worked at the restaurant as a delivery driver, and, as shown in the episode, that loss had visibly worn on Gaertner and coincided with a decline in the kitchen's execution and customer service. In an advance clip released by PEOPLE magazine, Ramsay is shown sending back a pasta dish after a customer complained the shrimp had not been deveined, then finding the shrimp undercooked and criticizing the kitchen for reusing the same unwashed pans for different sauces, calling the operation "all dysfunctional."

Ramsay's team refreshed the restaurant's decor and worked with Gaertner and his kitchen staff on consistency and cleanliness, aiming to restore the quality the restaurant had built its reputation on before the family's loss.

Following the relaunch, Leo's kept its full menu of Italian and Southern dishes, its bar area with televisions, and its weekly karaoke and live-music nights. Reviews on Tripadvisor since the episode have been largely positive: visitors in 2024 and 2025 praised the food and hospitality, one calling it the best Italian food in Bastrop County, though a November 2022 review before the show had described the food as bland and under-seasoned. A Tripadvisor reviewer who visited in February 2026 called the restaurant a pleasant surprise and specifically mentioned having watched its Kitchen Nightmares episode beforehand. As of research in September 2026, the restaurant's Tripadvisor and Discover Bastrop tourism-board listings both showed current hours and an active address, with no indication of closure.

Featured on Kitchen Nightmares

Season / episode
Season 9, Episode 9
Original air date
Episode title
Leo's
What was featured
Italian-Southern restaurant; grief after a son's death and kitchen inconsistency
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Leo's

Frequently asked questions

Is Leo's still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Leo's is listed open on Tripadvisor, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What happened to Leo's after Kitchen Nightmares?

Leo's Italian Grill, an Italian restaurant with a Southern accent in Cedar Creek, Texas, appeared in season 9, episode 9 of Kitchen Nightmares, "Leo's," which aired March 4, 2025. As of September 2026, Leo's is listed open on Tripadvisor, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

Where is Leo's located?

887 State Hwy 21 W, Cedar Creek, TX 78612. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Kitchen Nightmares featured Leo's?

Season 9, Episode 9 of Kitchen Nightmares, first aired March 4, 2025. The episode is titled “Leo's”.

Did the makeover last at Leo's?

The episode first aired March 4, 2025. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 1 year later —: As of September 2026, Leo's is listed open on Tripadvisor, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What do reviews say since Kitchen Nightmares?

Reviews on Tripadvisor since the episode have been largely positive: visitors in 2024 and 2025 praised the food and hospitality, one calling it the best Italian food in Bastrop County, though a November 2022 review before the show had described the food as bland and under-seasoned. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Leo's still using the Kitchen Nightmares menu or branding?

Owner Leo Gaertner, who learned to bake bread from his grandfather at age 10 and worked his way up through kitchen jobs before opening the restaurant in 2018 with his wife, Michelle, built a menu blending Italian dishes such as lasagna and arancini with Southern touches like Texas gnocchi and a ribeye with salsa verde. 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
887 State Hwy 21 W, Cedar Creek, TX 78612
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
leositaliangrill.net

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/1803365/what-happened-leos-italian-grill-kitchen-nightmares/
  • aol.com — https://www.aol.com/gordon-ramsay-slams-restaurant-serving-180000887.html
  • Tripadvisor — https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g55596-d20087122-Reviews-Leo_s_Italian_Grill-Cedar_Creek_Texas.html
  • discoverbastroptx.org — https://www.discoverbastroptx.org/listing/leos-italian-grill/507/

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