I went to the Central Mass. restaurant rescued by Gordon Ramsay. Here’s what it’s like

I don’t care what aired on TV. I had a delightful time at The Neighborhood Kitchen in Whitinsville — and the nearby candlepin bowling alley with which it shares a kitchen.

I had a delightful burger for lunch. I came back for dinner to have a supremely upgraded shepherd’s pie and a brownie sundae — complete with a jumbo brownie that co-owner Lisa Moon told me she’d baked that morning.

It was a far cry from the kitchen nightmare that was portrayed for about 30 minutes on national television by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

The Neighborhood Kitchen, post-Gordon Ramsay

A few nights earlier, I’d watched the latest episode of “Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service.” It’s the latest in the celebrity chef’s series of “restaurant rescue” shows, where he bursts into restaurants and yells at people until things get better.

This time around, it was The Neighborhood Kitchen, a small comfort food joint in the Whitinsville section of Northbridge run by the husband and wife team of Lisa and Mark Moon, who also run the Sparetime bowling alley a few doors down.

The episode runs the typical Ramsay TV pattern. He goes into the kitchen and calls out the establishment for slacking on cleanliness.

Arguments inevitably ensue. But in the end, they work to get better. Someone usually cries.

In this case, The Neighborhood Kitchen also got some resources and investment. During the episode, the restaurant’s interior was renovated while some of Ramsay’s associates provided training and overhauled the menu.

By the end of the episode, things looked pretty good. But then again, they always do by the end of the hour-long run time.

So, eight days after the episode aired, I stopped by The Neighborhood Kitchen — once during lunch and once during dinner.

Why the two trips? The restaurant has a trimmed-down lunch menu of mostly sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then at 4 p.m., it switches to the full menu.

I didn’t realize this during my noontime visit. If I was going to see if they fixed their shepherd’s pie that made Gordon Ramsay so angry, I’d have to come back.

So, how is it now?

Both times, I had a delightful experience. During lunch, I had a delightful waitress. During dinner, Mark waited on me at first before Lisa took over. I have nothing but positive experiences with the service.

The food is pretty darn good, too. It’s not fancy, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s comfort food, with a few trendier highlights here and there.

You can see the improvements the kitchen staff made, along with the signs that it’s now working as a scratch kitchen.

For lunch, I had the lunch burger with fries ($12.50) cooked medium. It was plenty juicy and cheesy. Plus, it’s always nice to see a restaurant that doesn’t charge extra for cheese or fries on the burger.

Few things make me grumpier than a restaurant that doesn’t include fries with the burger. Fittingly enough, Gordon Ramsay Burger in Boston is one such culprit of that crime.

The Neighborhood Kitchen got a lot of grief from Ramsay for their shepherd’s pie, particularly with the premade gravy. The version I got (for $16) was a major upgrade, featuring a tasty base layer of beef, corn and onions that was topped with some nifty potatoes.

The weirdest part of Ramsay’s restaurant rescue was this odd wedge salad he had them serve. It looked like they were hollowing out a head of lettuce and filling it with salad toppings.

Fortunately, that aberration is gone, replaced with a more tame wedge salad ($8) topped with a generous load of bacon, blue cheese, dressing and more.

I wasn’t going to get dessert. But then Lisa told me about the brownies she’d baked that morning for the brownie sundae ($8).

I had to get it. Good thing I did. It was a tactful tower of brownie, ice cream and whipped cream with a rich blanket of fudge.

Moral of the story: Don’t be scared off

Like most businesses featured in “restaurant rescue” shows, The Neighborhood Kitchen did not get a flattering portrayal in the first half of its episode.

Ramsay highlighted the ways the restaurant was negligent in maintaining cleanliness and quality. He also called out their service.

But when I went, I didn’t really run into any of those issues. Things looked pretty clean, the food was good and the atmosphere was welcoming.

Running a restaurant is hard. Sometimes, folks need a little help to get on track and fix their issues. In this case, it was a celebrity chef buying them some HexClad pans and telling them to clean their grease traps.

More info about Neighborhood Kitchen

Check them out — Website | Facebook | Instagram

What’s the address? — 125 Church St., Whitinsville, Massachusetts 01588

What’s the parking situation? — There are street spots in front of the restaurant.

When are they open? — Here are the listed business hours at the time of writing.

• Monday: Lunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Dinner 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Tuesday: Closed
• Wednesday: Closed
• Thursday: Lunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Dinner 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Friday: Lunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Dinner 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.
• Saturday: Lunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Dinner 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.
• Sunday: Lunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Dinner 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.