The BEST episodes of Restaurant Stakeout season 5

Every episode of Restaurant Stakeout season 5, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Restaurant Stakeout season 5!

There are shows on TV, including Food Network's own ``Restaurant: Impossible,'' in which chefs help struggling restaurateurs turn their businesses around. ``Restaurant Stakeout'' takes that format to another level by using hidden cameras to surreptitiously watch the crew to see what really goes on when waiters, bartenders, kitchen staff and other employees think no one is watching. Analyzing that hidden-camera footage is restaurateur Willie Degel, who owns a chain of steakhouses in New York. After seeing how the staff acts, Degel uses his tough-love approach to improve the employees' work ethic and, ultimately, turn around the restaurant's fortunes. If employees don't improve their poor working habits, Degel shows them the door because his goal is making things better for the struggling eatery's owner.

Last Updated: 5/2/2024Network: Food NetworkStatus: Ended
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Willie Shuts It Down
star
8.75
4 votes

#1 - Willie Shuts It Down

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 8/6/2014

After recovering from a terrible motorcycle accident, Ricky swooped in to save the day when his mother and her restaurant were the victims of a massive theft. However, with no money coming in, an entitled staff and only his girlfriend by his side, this novice restaurateur is about to make Restaurant Stakeout history when Willie does the unthinkable.

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Father Daughter Stakeout
star
8.40
5 votes

#2 - Father Daughter Stakeout

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/20/2014

Restaurateur Nicky's daughter fears that if the stale energy and archaic ways of running Villa Monaco in West Islip, N.Y., continue, in just a few short years the restaurant could become extinct! Without an intervention from Willie to help enlighten Nicky to the real problems at the restaurant, he could lose the business and his relationship with his daughter.

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Unlucky in Vegas
star
8.00
2 votes

#3 - Unlucky in Vegas

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/25/2014

Willie is called in to Lake Las Vegas to assist Chanthy, owner of Sonrisa Grill, where the once lively Mexican restaurant is suffering at the hands of the staff. Chanthy has borrowed over $300,000 from relatives and sacrificed splitting up her family to keep this desert oasis alive. Can Willie help Chanthy save Sonrisa Grill so she can pay her relatives back and get her family reunited for good?

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Cioa, Vegas
star
8.00
2 votes

#4 - Cioa, Vegas

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/16/2014

Willie is called in to help Riccardo, the young owner of Gina's Bistro in Las Vegas. Italian traditions meet the American Dream as Riccardo attempts to turn his immigrant story into a successful one. Can Willie get this restaurant back on track, before Riccardo is forced to close and move back to Italy?

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Standup Stakeout
star
7.80
5 votes

#5 - Standup Stakeout

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 8/27/2014

Willie is called to help the owner of The Stress Factory comedy club in New Brunswick, N.J. This 20-year-old institution is a comedy club first and owner Vinnie is watching the restaurant quickly sink. It's no laughing for Vinnie, who doesn't have a back-up plan if he can't take the restaurant to the next level and needs Willie to de-stress the Stress Factory before it's too late.

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Grand Opening Stakeout
star
7.80
5 votes

#6 - Grand Opening Stakeout

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/3/2014

Pat closed the doors on the Brookside Grill in Highland Mills, N.Y., due to problems with his former partner. Now he's tempting fate to re-open the Grill with new partners. Willie must re-ignite the Brookside Grill, or else Pat's dreams will go up in smoke for good.

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Million Dollar Stakeout
star
7.80
5 votes

#7 - Million Dollar Stakeout

Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/10/2014

After opening a successful pizza restaurant with his brother, Anthony thought branching off on his own, with Trovato's Due in Oakland Park, N.J., would be a piece of cake. Now, he's drowning in a million dollars of debt and has called in Willie for help. Can Willie tame Anthony's stubborn nature before the damage is done?

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Hammered in Vegas
star
7.67
3 votes

#8 - Hammered in Vegas

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/2/2014

Willie is called in to help former professional hockey player Bob Fleming with his struggling Hammer's Grill and Bar. In 2007, Bob moved the bar's original location from Illinois to Henderson, Nev., just outside of Las Vegas. Since then, Hammer's success has started to melt away. Known as The Hammer in his hockey days for his brawling ways, Bob is now in the fight of his life to keep Hammer's open.

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Fuggedabout Mario
star
7.50
4 votes

#9 - Fuggedabout Mario

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/30/2014

Willie is summoned to Union, N.J., to help owner John with his struggling family restaurant, Mario's Tutto Bene. John's parents passed over the 32-year-old restaurant to him seven years ago but now this restaurant runs more like the Wild West than a cozy family restaurant! The staff at the restaurant has run amok and the owners need Willie's help to not only save their struggling store, but to help mend their family ties.

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Golf Course Stakeout
star
7.00
4 votes

#10 - Golf Course Stakeout

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/23/2014

When Brian and Brian opened Oh' Brian's On the Green in Clark, N.J., they thought it would be a hole in one. But their manager is perfecting a disappearing act and the staff is left to fend for themselves while customers grow unhappy. Before their dream of building a restaurant empire gets caught in a sand trap, the two Brians call Willie to save their reputation.

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Las Vegas Stakeout
star
6.86
7 votes

#11 - Las Vegas Stakeout

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/4/2014

Tommy thought it made perfect sense to take all of his retirement and buy Buon Gusto Italian Restaurant in Las Vegas so that he and his chef son, Joel, could run it together. Without any restaurant experience, Tommy soon found himself in way over his head and now he's seeing his retirement nest egg vanish. Without telling his son, he has called in Willie to see if he can take this Las Vegas gamble and turn it into a moneymaker.

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Sushi on the Strip
star
6.57
7 votes

#12 - Sushi on the Strip

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/11/2014

Willie is called in to help Joy, owner of Osaka's Japanese Cuisine, the first sushi restaurant in Las Vegas. With her restaurant floundering, Joy calls in Willie to reel in her staff before her legacy comes to an end. Only Willie can save this Las Vegas tradition, before it becomes lost in the sands of time.

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Hoover Dam'd Pizza
star
6.40
5 votes

#13 - Hoover Dam'd Pizza

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/18/2014

At Vinny's Pizzeria in Boulder City, Nev., near the Hoover Dam, Willie Degel must save an owner who isn't making money even though he spends 75 hours a week at the restaurant. Vinny has been in the pizza business since childhood, but despite his years of experience, Vinny can't figure out what's going wrong. After moving his family 1,700 miles to open this restaurant, failure is not an option. Can Willie's surveillance cameras, and his expertise in service, solve this mystery before it's too late?

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