WHY THIS RESTAURANT IS CURSED!

TL;DR: Il Giardino on B&B is supposedly a charming Italian restaurant, but it’s actually the most cursed location in soap opera history. Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada) raped Will Spencer (Crew Morrow) there. Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) works there. Every party ends in disaster there. We’re ranking the most unhinged Il Giardino moments and asking the question everyone’s wondering: Does Los Angeles literally not have ANY other restaurants?

Welcome to Il Giardino: Where Dreams Go to Die

Il Giardino is owned by Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) and employs his wife Sheila Carter—yes, THAT Sheila Carter, attempted murderer and general chaos agent. Already we’re off to a great start. What could possibly go wrong at a restaurant where one of daytime’s most notorious villains serves breadsticks?

Spoiler alert: EVERYTHING. Everything goes wrong.

According to Deacon and various characters, Il Giardino has “the best pizza in Los Angeles.” That’s great! You know what else Il Giardino has? A track record of hosting life-ruining events that would make any sane person avoid it like the plague.

But do the residents of B&B’s Los Angeles learn from past mistakes? Absolutely not! They keep coming back like moths to a flame, booking parties and celebrations at the one restaurant virtually guaranteed to end in catastrophe.

A Greatest Hits Collection of Il Giardino Disasters

Luna Rapes Will at His Own Party: Let’s start with the most recent atrocity. Katie Logan (Heather Tom) decided to throw her son Will’s promotion party at Il Giardino. You know, the restaurant where Will’s grandmother’s attempted murderer works. Solid choice, Katie. Really thought that one through.

At this party, Luna got Will blackout drunk, disguised herself as his girlfriend Electra (Laneya Grace), and sexually assaulted him. But sure, Il Giardino has great pizza, so it’s totally worth the risk of your son being victimized!

Sheila’s Employment Is Somehow Legal: Sheila Carter shot Steffy Forrester and Finn (Tanner Novlan). She held people hostage. She’s literally one of the show’s biggest villains. And she works at a public restaurant handling people’s food. Health code violations aside, WHY are the Forresters and Spencers constantly eating at the establishment that employs their family’s attempted killer?

Every Major Confrontation Happens Here: Need to have a dramatic showdown? Il Giardino. Want to announce life-changing news? Il Giardino. Planning to ruin someone’s evening? Definitely Il Giardino. The restaurant has seen more drama than most soap opera living rooms, which is really saying something.

The Safety Record Is Nonexistent: Between the various arguments, confrontations, and actual crimes that have occurred at Il Giardino, this place should have been shut down by health inspectors, the police, or basic common sense years ago. But nope! Still open for business and still the first choice for every B&B character planning an event.

Why Do They Keep Going Back?!

This is the real mystery. Los Angeles is a massive city with thousands of restaurants. There are literally In-N-Out Burgers, fancy steakhouses, trendy cafes, and probably hundreds of other Italian restaurants that DON’T employ attempted murderers.

But nooooo. The Forrester, Spencer, and Logan families keep booking Il Giardino for their important events like they’re getting kickbacks from Deacon. It’s baffling. It’s inexplicable. It’s the kind of decision-making that makes viewers scream at their TVs.

Katie especially should have known better. Her son’s grandmother—Sheila—works there! Sheila who has beef with basically everyone in their social circle! And Katie thought, “Yeah, this is the perfect place for Will’s special celebration.” The lack of common sense is STAGGERING.

Even worse, characters keep having private conversations at Il Giardino, seemingly forgetting that Sheila has access to all their tables and can hear everything. She literally eavesdropped on Katie and Deacon planning Will’s party, then went home and told Luna about it, directly enabling the assault. Maybe have sensitive conversations LITERALLY ANYWHERE ELSE?

The Writers’ Obsession with This Location

Here’s the thing: Il Giardino wasn’t always this central to the show. It used to be just another location. But ever since Deacon bought it and married Sheila, the writers have become OBSESSED with setting scenes there.

Need a neutral location for characters to meet? Il Giardino. Want to show that someone’s having a nice evening? Il Giardino. Planning to destroy someone’s life? You guessed it—Il Giardino!

It’s lazy writing disguised as “continuity.” Yes, it makes sense that Deacon is there (he owns it) and Sheila is there (she works there), but that doesn’t mean EVERY OTHER CHARACTER needs to constantly patronize this establishment.

The show has other sets! Use them! Or build new ones! The Forrester mansion, the Spencer offices, Bikini Bar—all perfectly good locations that DON’T have Sheila Carter lurking in the background ready to insert herself into people’s lives.

The Bottom Line

Il Giardino has become the most dangerous location in soap opera history. It’s where good decisions go to die, where rational thinking evaporates, and where the worst possible outcomes always seem to occur.

The pizza might be great, but the atmosphere is terrible. The service is questionable (again, Sheila works there), and the track record for hosting events without incident is literally zero.

If you’re a character on The Bold and the Beautiful and someone suggests meeting at Il Giardino, RUN. Run far away. Go to Olive Garden. Go to McDonald’s. Go LITERALLY ANYWHERE ELSE.

But will they listen? Of course not. Because apparently the writers have decided that Il Giardino is the only restaurant in Los Angeles, and we’re all stuck watching characters make terrible decisions there week after week.

The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. Watch as more characters inexplicably choose Il Giardino for their important events, completely ignoring the restaurant’s 100% disaster rate.

What’s the worst thing that’s happened at Il Giardino? And seriously, why do they keep going back? Tell us in the comments!

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