Eater London - Everything to Know About Salt Bae’s Mythical London RestaurantThe London Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Blog2022-08-12T12:09:57+01:00http://london.eater.com/rss/stream/223703102022-08-12T12:09:57+01:002022-08-12T12:09:57+01:00How Salt Bae Finessed London Steak Eaters for £7 Million in Three Months
<figure>
<img alt="Salt Bae, standing over a grill, wielding a tomahawk steak." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uFwmLrVP-S00MD6jUGRDncElMKM=/312x0:5287x3731/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71235485/NusrEtRestaurant_SaltBae_NusretGo_kc_e_GrillingSteak_5566_SELECT.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Salt Bae. | <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.jeanphotos.com/" target="_blank">Jean Schwarzwalder</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now he’s nowhere to be seen</p> <p id="qHCBH7"><a href="https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews">Salt Bae’s London restaurant</a> started as a myth, <a href="https://london.eater.com/22683556/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-nusret-park-tower-knightsbridge">opened as a circus</a>, and <a href="https://vittles.substack.com/p/the-salt-bae-economy">trades on a name</a>. It <a href="https://london.eater.com/22321563/salt-bae-restaurant-nusret-london-opening-date-knightsbridge">embalmed steaks in gold leaf at £700 a pop</a>, then had to take them off the menu; Salt Bae was peacocking around the place, knife in hand like a ringmaster, until he wasn’t, and the dining room at the foot of the Park Tower Hotel in Knightbridge became just another beefy tribute to conspicuous consumption. But in those short months that man and myth combined, Nusret Gökce took his diners to money town.</p>
<p id="lIMeUh"><a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10127251/filing-history">Nusret UK’s financial statements for 2021 are here</a>. In its just-over three months open — with trade, as of every restaurant in the city, partially stymied by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 — Nusret London delivered just over £7 million in turnover, and a pre-tax profit of over £2.2 million. </p>
<p id="hXURT2">Its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) — a figure expressed as a percentage of turnover which makes for an easy, if imperfect comparison of companies’ short-term profitability — is over 40 percent. According to January 2022 <a href="https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/margin.html">research by New York University</a> (NYU) the median EBITDA for restaurants/dining is 17.5 percent; restaurants that reach into the 30 and 40 percent range are overwhelmingly gigantic quick service chains. But how did the restaurant actually do it?</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="K1AwIe">
<h3 id="gg2l0T">Salt Bae’s London restaurant, by the numbers, in 2021</h3>
<p id="RubgPN"><strong>Turnover: </strong>£7,028,266</p>
<p id="KZfZjg"><strong>Cost of sales: </strong>£2,383,395</p>
<p id="VSx2ZD"><strong>Gross profit: </strong>£4,644,871</p>
<p id="omnzQe"><strong>Administrative expenses: </strong>£2,244,041</p>
<p id="jqelRC"><strong>Profit before tax: </strong>£2,308,245</p>
<p id="C0h0tk"><strong>Tax on profit: </strong>£318,530</p>
<p id="iFjGLa"><strong>Profit for the year: </strong>£1,989,715</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="vctQ62">
<h3 id="CjozUB">How much Salt Bae’s London restaurant spent on staff</h3>
<p id="Yg8knk">Many of Salt Bae’s restaurants around the world have been <a href="https://www.eater.com/2019/1/18/18188697/salt-bae-wage-violation-lawsuit-nyc-steakhouse">sued for wage theft and tip skimming</a>, paying out <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/11/salt-bae-wage-theft-lawsuit.html">$230,000 to employees in a 2019 suit</a>. In 2021, the U.K. operation spent just over £933,000 on salaries, going to what it files as an average of 55 employees per months. Three of those were directors, who reportedly received no renumeration from the business in 2021. Its average <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/11/02/salt-bae-hiring-chefs-and-wage-is-the-price-of-his-mashed-potato-15525781/">advertised salaries</a> were frequently much less than the restaurant’s cheapest sides.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="4uorfQ">
<h3 id="JXoywV">How much Salt Bae’s London restaurant spent on meat (and, like, gold leaf)</h3>
<p id="SagfbI">It spent £305,088 on raw materials and consumables in 2021. The directors claim in their report that “quality and value play an important role in which suppliers to use but the Company also places significant weight on suppliers’ qualitative credentials such as sustainable sourcing.” </p>
<p id="j8mZ1g">Beef and leaf might not be able to sustain an entire kitchen, but they sure can create ludicrous profit margins.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="hqhBlZ">
<h3 id="9MdLdM">Not paying (much) rent in Knightsbridge is certainly helping Salt Bae out — for now</h3>
<p id="UiLZnd">The restaurant spent just over £200,000 on “operating lease rentals” in 2021, but that’s not going to last. Between now and the end of 2023, and not later than the end of 2026, the group will have to cough up just over £2 million in “non-cancellable operating leases”; a further £3 million will become due from 2027 onwards.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="cHmTIl">
<h3 id="n5DCXS">Nusret U.K.’s owners are keeping Salt Bae afloat</h3>
<p id="VcYDEg">Nusret U.K. currently owes “entities which hold a controlling interest in the company” almost £9.5 million in loans, repayable in more than 12 months and accruing 4.5 percent interest per year. In 2021, it made use of nearly £11.5 million, repaying £3.6 million. Turkish billionaire Ferit Sahenk’s Dogus Holding’s is the ultimate controller of the Salt Bae franchises, and despite its monumental assets, was in almost $3 billion of debt as of 2019.</p>
<p id="O5GMC1">Within one year from December 2021, Nusret U.K. will also owe a total of £4.5 million to further creditors.</p>
<p id="OCuMUJ">The loans appear on the balance sheets as “amounts owed to group undertakings.” Interestingly enough, Nusret U.K. is also <em>owed</em> just over £9 million in, wait for it, “amounts owed by group undertakings.” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="BEZ0et">
<h3 id="RW2QWR">How long can Salt Bae London make all this money without Salt Bae himself?</h3>
<p id="zqqDv3">The living meme’s presence at the grand opening on the U.K. was undoubtedly a key factor in its overwhelming financial success for 2021. His infinite loop of virality, encapsulated in a sprinkle of sodium chloride, is the spectacle diners participate in with their phones and their wallets. And while his absence prior to opening <a href="https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviews">made diners so thirsty they started reviewing Nusret London before it even opened</a>, it seems unlikely that the restaurant can sustain these figures when it is become a name alone.</p>
<aside id="t9S7YV"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside><p id="u7TMPa"></p>
<p id="zwtXaC"></p>
https://london.eater.com/23302736/salt-bae-restaurant-london-prices-menu-profitsJames Hansen2022-08-12T12:04:21+01:002022-08-12T12:04:21+01:00How Salt Bae Finessed London Steak Eaters for £7 Million in Three Months
<figure>
<img alt="Salt Bae, standing over a grill, wielding a tomahawk steak." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4HsVwL-hHBSImQtmMOSbItUZ2kE=/312x0:5287x3731/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71235468/NusrEtRestaurant_SaltBae_NusretGo_kc_e_GrillingSteak_5566_SELECT.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Salt Bae. | <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.jeanphotos.com/" target="_blank">Jean Schwarzwalder</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now he’s nowhere to be seen</p> <p id="qHCBH7"><a href="https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews">Salt Bae’s London restaurant</a> started as a myth, <a href="https://london.eater.com/22683556/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-nusret-park-tower-knightsbridge">opened as a circus</a>, and <a href="https://vittles.substack.com/p/the-salt-bae-economy">trades on a name</a>. It <a href="https://london.eater.com/22321563/salt-bae-restaurant-nusret-london-opening-date-knightsbridge">embalmed steaks in gold leaf at £700 a pop</a>, then had to take them off the menu; Salt Bae was peacocking around the place, knife in hand like a ringmaster, until he wasn’t, and the dining room at the foot of the Park Tower Hotel in Knightbridge became just another beefy tribute to conspicuous consumption. But in those short months that man and myth combined, Nusret Gökce took his diners to money town.</p>
<p id="lIMeUh"><a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10127251/filing-history">Nusret UK’s financial statements for 2021 are here</a>. In its just-over three months open — with trade, as of every restaurant in the city, partially stymied by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 — Nusret London delivered just over £7 million in turnover, and a pre-tax profit of over £2.2 million. </p>
<p id="hXURT2">Its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) — a figure expressed as a percentage of turnover which makes for an easy, if imperfect comparison of companies’ short-term profitability — is over 40 percent. According to January 2022 <a href="https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/margin.html">research by New York University</a> (NYU) the median EBITDA for restaurants/dining is 17.5 percent; restaurants that reach into the 30 and 40 percent range are overwhelmingly gigantic quick service chains. But how did the restaurant actually do it?</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="K1AwIe">
<h3 id="gg2l0T">Salt Bae’s London restaurant, by the numbers, in 2021</h3>
<p id="RubgPN"><strong>Turnover: </strong>£7,028,266</p>
<p id="KZfZjg"><strong>Cost of sales: </strong>£2,383,395</p>
<p id="VSx2ZD"><strong>Gross profit: </strong>£4,644,871</p>
<p id="omnzQe"><strong>Administrative expenses: </strong>£2,244,041</p>
<p id="jqelRC"><strong>Profit before tax: </strong>£2,308,245</p>
<p id="C0h0tk"><strong>Tax on profit: </strong>£318,530</p>
<p id="iFjGLa"><strong>Profit for the year: </strong>£1,989,715</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="vctQ62">
<h3 id="CjozUB">How much Salt Bae’s London restaurant spent on staff</h3>
<p id="Yg8knk">Many of Salt Bae’s restaurants around the world have been <a href="https://www.eater.com/2019/1/18/18188697/salt-bae-wage-violation-lawsuit-nyc-steakhouse">sued for wage theft and tip skimming</a>, paying out <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/11/salt-bae-wage-theft-lawsuit.html">$230,000 to employees in a 2019 suit</a>. In 2021, the U.K. operation spent just over £933,000 on salaries, going to what it files as an average of 55 employees per months. Three of those were directors, who reportedly received no renumeration from the business in 2021. Its average <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/11/02/salt-bae-hiring-chefs-and-wage-is-the-price-of-his-mashed-potato-15525781/">advertised salaries</a> were frequently much less than the restaurant’s cheapest sides.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="4uorfQ">
<h3 id="JXoywV">How much Salt Bae’s London restaurant spent on meat (and, like, gold leaf)</h3>
<p id="SagfbI">It spent £305,088 on raw materials and consumables in 2021. The directors claim in their report that “quality and value play an important role in which suppliers to use but the Company also places significant weight on suppliers’ qualitative credentials such as sustainable sourcing.” </p>
<p id="j8mZ1g">Beef and leaf might not be able to sustain an entire kitchen, but they sure can create ludicrous profit margins.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="hqhBlZ">
<h3 id="9MdLdM">Not paying (much) rent in Knightsbridge is certainly helping Salt Bae out</h3>
<p id="UiLZnd">The restaurant spent just over £200,000 on “operating lease rentals” in 2021, but that’s not going to last. Between now and the end of 2023, and not later than the end of 2026, the group will have to cough up just over £2 million in “non-cancellable operating leases”; a further £3 million will become due from 2027 onwards.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="cHmTIl">
<h3 id="n5DCXS">Nusret U.K.’s owners are keeping Salt Bae afloat</h3>
<p id="VcYDEg">Nusret U.K. currently owes “entities which hold a controlling interest in the company” almost £9.5 million in loans, repayable in more than 12 months and accruing 4.5 percent interest per year. In 2021, it made use of nearly £11.5 million, repaying £3.6 million. Turkish billionaire Ferit Sahenk’s Dogus Holding’s is the ultimate controller of the Salt Bae franchises, and despite its monumental assets, was in almost $3 billion of debt as of 2019.</p>
<p id="O5GMC1">Within one year from December 2021, Nusret U.K. will also owe a total of £4.5 million to further creditors.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="BEZ0et">
<h3 id="RW2QWR">How long can Salt Bae London make all this money without Salt Bae himself?</h3>
<p id="zqqDv3">The living meme’s presence at the grand opening on the U.K. was undoubtedly a key factor in its overwhelming financial success for 2021. His infinite loop of virality, encapsulated in a sprinkle of sodium chloride, is the spectacle diners participate in with their phones and their wallets. And while his absence prior to opening <a href="https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviews">made diners so thirsty they started reviewing Nusret London before it even opened</a>, it seems unlikely that the restaurant can sustain these figures when it is become a name alone.</p>
<aside id="t9S7YV"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside><p id="u7TMPa"></p>
<p id="zwtXaC"></p>
https://london.eater.com/2022/8/12/23302699/salt-bae-restaurant-london-profits-pricesJames Hansen2022-06-27T18:02:52+01:002022-06-27T18:02:52+01:00Salt Bae’s Overpriced Steaks Can Now Be Eaten Outside in Knightsbridge
<figure>
<img alt="“The Traitor”&nbsp;Red Carpet - The 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nPAJ_Jt1j0UGVbVWu_IqDIHvoHI=/282x0:4719x3328/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71020759/1151225244.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Antony Jones/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mr Bae will sprinkle only when it’s not windy on the restaurant’s new 70-seater terrace</p> <p id="as5UEV">Salt sprinkling internet chef sensation Salt Bae, aka Nusret Gökçe, is expanding his <a href="https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews">London restaurant, the branch of Nusr-Et in Knightsbridge</a>, to feature a 70-seater terrace, just in time for the ... second half of summer. </p>
<p id="nMMD3F">While the restaurant was trailed for years and months preceding its much-hyped opening in September 2021, the London branch of Nusr-Et has stayed firmly out of the news in the ten months since. Anecdotally, Eater has learned the restaurant can suffer when Gökçe isn’t present, which is most of the time. He is after all, <em>the </em>brand and the draw, as much as his people will tell his millions of online admirers that the £500 steaks are legit. </p>
<aside id="I6f299"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything to Know About Salt Bae’s Mythical London Restaurant","url":"https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews"}]}'></div></aside><p id="3rMcwt">The Evening Standard <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/restaurants/salt-bae-london-restaurant-nusret-rooftop-terrace-book-reservations-b1008595.html">reports</a> now that the terrace, which opens on 28 June and will run from midday until late, will serve steaks and chops form the grill as well as the likes of beef carpaccio, steak tartare, prawn tempura roll, salmon and avocado sushi, and baklava for dessert. </p>
<p id="DuHReD">So, Nusr-Et will have more space, but when Gökçe rolls out of town onto his next appearance, is the restaurant going to have any more guests? </p>
<p id="ElxaV7">It may well depend on the weather. </p>
<p id="ibDR6m">On the subject of which, watch out for that wind, Mr. Bae. </p>
<aside id="HzlZug"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside>
https://london.eater.com/2022/6/27/23184891/salt-bae-knightsbridge-steak-al-fresco-terraceAdam Coghlan2021-09-23T16:51:44+01:002021-09-23T16:51:44+01:00Salt Bae’s London Restaurant Is Finally Open
<figure>
<img alt="Inaugural ‘World Bloggers Awards’ - The 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m0-r6dLTwnid4N2BTXoozLFbQ68=/204x0:5128x3693/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69881706/1151580943.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Nusret Gökçe is ready for London. | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nusret London at the Park Tower Knightsbridge will debut 23 September</p> <p id="JxsHXr"><a href="https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews">Salt Bae’s London restaurant</a> is closer than ever, with the living meme freshly arrived in the city before opening Nusret London at the Park Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge on 23 September.</p>
<p id="bEJvuM">Nusret Gökçe is currently quarantining in a luxurious central London hotel, presumably that of his restaurant, having arrived from the United Arab Emirates, where he had told watching steak stans that he would see the city “soon.” He then, in typical fashion, announced an opening three years in the making on his Stories.</p>
<p id="js3gwd">In a series of preceding Instagram grid posts — the only place Salt Bae does any kind of restaurant announcement — he posted an admirably staged photo of him doing “deep notes” for the imminent opening, replete with sunglasses and stretches of the kind to tax anyone’s brain.</p>
<p id="JAwBOO"> <a href="https://london.eater.com/2018/1/31/16950446/salt-bae-restaurant-london-knightsbridge">Salt Bae’s London restaurant has been in the works since early 2018</a>, in which time he has been <a href="https://www.eater.com/2019/8/28/20836960/salt-bae-nusr-et-steakhouse-tip-pooling-lawsuit-miami">slapped with wage theft lawsuits</a>, obtained <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/1/22/16919590/salt-bae-restaurant-nyc-what-to-order">mixed reviews of his wet-aged wagyu beef</a>, promised <a href="https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviews">gold-embalmed steaks</a>, considered doing burgers in London instead, and, ultimately, not opened a restaurant that is now two-and-a-half-years overdue.</p>
<p id="9Y3OLp">But all these things being true, he has over 30 million Instagram followers, a large restaurant group, and plenty of people who want to eat — or be seen eating — at his restaurants. Just as the <a href="https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviews">appearance of impassioned reviews for a restaurant that didn’t even exist</a> likely said more about the phenomenon than any London restaurant critic will muster when it does open, a man who relies on grandiose showmanship teasing that opening in such an understated way says something about the power that his brand wields</p>
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</div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUCQHRusHoT/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Nusr_et#Saltbae (@nusr_et)</a></p>
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<p id="nJHbNe"> More soon.</p>
<aside id="CUlSRB"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside><p id="rzYCM0"></p>
https://london.eater.com/22683556/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-nusret-park-tower-knightsbridgeJames Hansen2021-09-06T16:29:45+01:002021-09-06T16:29:45+01:00Salt Bae Tells London He Will See the City Soon
<figure>
<img alt="Salt Bae lovingly holding a chopping board topped with a steak, while wearing a suit, tie, and sunglasses" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nB6zEtx9D_AQtIqOGtKC7uVDz7A=/294x0:4994x3525/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69822053/NusrEtRestaurant_SaltBae_NusretGo_kc_e_SteakSalting_0926_SELECT.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="http://www.jeanphotos.com/" target="_blank">Jean Schwarzwalder</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Is that a threat?</p> <p id="Wj0t8q">Steak stuntman <a href="https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews">Salt Bae</a> has delivered the clearest indication yet that his London restaurant is soon to open, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/nusr_et/2656787726028322970/">it’s a tiny caption on his Instagram story</a>. While posing for a photo with Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Saeed Al Maktoum, cousin of the current ruler of Dubai, Nusret Gökçe wrote, in tiny, almost imperceptible text, “see soon London.”</p>
<p id="UPCFqs">It sounds like nothing, in the grand scheme of a <a href="https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews">London restaurant opening saga</a> that now spans over four years; <a href="https://london.eater.com/22548785/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date">had an opening date, then didn’</a>t; took an interlude into <a href="https://london.eater.com/22321563/salt-bae-restaurant-nusret-london-opening-date-knightsbridge">gold-embalmed meat</a>; and earned so many <a href="https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviews">Google Reviews without actually existing that the restaurant deleted them all</a>. But this is just how the living meme does things: suddenly alighting at the next beef banquet in between getting cappuccinos delivered on drones and eating with just about every elite footballer on the planet.</p>
<aside id="6U79oB"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything to Know About Salt Bae’s Mythical London Restaurant","url":"https://london.eater.com/22606269/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-menu-first-reviews"}]}'></div></aside><aside id="3gfbu5"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Salt Bae Made London So Thirsty It Started Reviewing His Restaurant Before It Opened","url":"https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviews"}]}'></div></aside><p id="HR2RPE">The criticisms of Gökçe’s operation are many and manifest. There are <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/11/salt-bae-wage-theft-lawsuit.html">multiple wage theft lawsuits</a>; the <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/1/22/16919590/salt-bae-restaurant-nyc-what-to-order">food is frequently bad and expensive</a> and does not match up to the often obnoxious showmanship; he (or his marketing team) describe his upcoming London restaurant like this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="8kS4eg">A Spectacular Meat Feast… For All Your Senses.The “one and only” Nusr-Et experience.</p>
<p id="ty50QS">You’ll taste an exquisite menu.You’ll be overwhelmed with fantastic smells.Everything you touch will be enchanting.Everything you hear will be fascinating.You’ll see glorious people, delightful presentations, and incredible shows.</p>
<p id="NqwPYh">Live unforgettable moments.Be entertained, amused, and pampered.Experience luxury dining like never before.</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="U85gAu">But all these things being true, he has over 30 million Instagram followers, a large restaurant group, and plenty of people who want to eat — or be seen eating — at his restaurants. Just as the appearance of impassioned reviews for a restaurant that didn’t even exist likely said more about the phenomenon than any London restaurant critic will muster when it does open, a man who relies on grandiose showmanship teasing that opening in such an understated way says something about the power that his brand wields. Like much of what Salt Bae does, the London restaurant opening will likely somehow arrive with both a bang and a whimper, with spectacle and bathos, with spontaneity and rigmarole, with gold and disappointment. The only question that remains, is when?</p>
<aside id="EAWlg7"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside>
https://london.eater.com/2021/9/6/22659447/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-still-unknownJames Hansen2021-07-27T10:59:51+01:002021-07-27T10:59:51+01:00Salt Bae Is Making Londoners So Thirsty They’re Reviewing His Restaurant Before It Has Opened
<figure>
<img alt="Salt Bae lovingly holding a chopping board topped with a steak, while wearing a suit, tie, and sunglasses" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XM_d9Dho5k5O8ovR_muB_I9kmSQ=/294x0:4994x3525/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69637356/NusrEtRestaurant_SaltBae_NusretGo_kc_e_SteakSalting_0926_SELECT.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The man behind the meat | <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.jeanphotos.com/" target="_blank">Jean Schwarzwalder</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The good: “best food best steak best service”. The bad: “food is so good i love it but giving one star because he salt in my mouth :((”</p> <p id="gCdYjM"><a href="https://london.eater.com/22321563/salt-bae-restaurant-nusret-london-opening-date-knightsbridge">Salt Bae’s London restaurant opening</a> has been delayed and delayed and delayed again. But with no official opening date, no diners through the doors, and no steaks yet embalmed in gold leaf on the menu for £700, the restaurant has its first reviews: a stunning 38 of them.</p>
<p id="VKHWMS">As far back as eight months ago, the first arrived, self-consciously commenting on the limitations of its own form by proclaiming that “This place don’t need Reviews it’s an mark of excellence in its own,” followed by three heart-eyes emojis. Various hopes for opening followed, as fans waited for Nusr-et’s arrival. “We hope it opens as soon as possible.” “Still not open, it will be opens soon.”</p>
<p id="fiYEbx">And then, the first dissenter. One star. “Tastes like garbage.” A brave Alfie, putting their head above the parapet. Two months ago, a group say they came and were left missing the man, the salt bae himself: “We came, Nusr-et. Brother, you are missing.” Too busy sipping “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CO4esa6hr5z/">cappuccinos</a>” in Hollywood.</p>
<p id="s9tWOQ">But then comes the review which somehow captures the contradictions of Salt Bae in their entirety — the building of the restaurant empire upon the back of a living meme. The turning of the boomer steakhouse into a performative act for the rich and famous. The occupational hazards of sprinkling salt from a great height. The fact that this man is so famous people will say they love and hate him before he’s even stabbed a single steak in London.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A Google review of Salt Bae’s new London restaurant, which has not yet opened to the public. The text reads, “food is so good i love it but giving one star because he salt in my mouth :((“" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IOCx9C58BOdlEVDwYkEvZn69sAs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22742704/Screenshot_2021_07_27_at_10.52.01.png">
<figcaption>:((</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="lMJK2f">Google Reviews is best read first as a platform for restaurant owners wishing to deliver immaculate clapbacks to ridiculous customers, and second for determining whether or not a restaurant is worthy of further investigation by critical mass. The veracity is not the point. But these 38 souls leaving their opinion of a restaurant that hasn’t opened yet might just say more about the Salt Bae phenomenon than any of the city’s critics will muster come opening night.</p>
<aside id="mlpT3s"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside><p id="BWBtJt"></p>
<p id="cDbndr"></p>
https://london.eater.com/22595594/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-date-first-reviewsJames Hansen2021-07-13T17:10:17+01:002021-07-13T17:10:17+01:00There’s Still No Word on When Salt Bae’s London Restaurant Will Open
<figure>
<img alt="Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Nusret Gökçe, and Anthony Martial pose for a photograph at the Nusret Steakhouse in Mykonos, the Greek island" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/K3vljCFbKDm-2uvui7i-0zmsAEs=/0x155:1052x944/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69499487/salt_bae___jesse_lingard.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Nusret Gökçe, and Anthony Martial | Jesse Lingard/Instagram</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nusret Gökçe, second from right, is hanging with some current and former Manchester United footballers, some beef, and some heavy rocks </p> <p id="dgbWKj"><em>Update: 13 July 2021, 5:08 p.m.: Gökçe is still in Mykonos, recently drinking espressos with Italy manager Roberto Mancini and partying with French football stars Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé. There is still no word on when the London restaurant will open. </em></p>
<p id="UPyijP">It is still not known when butcher, internet chef sensation, <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/11/salt-bae-wage-theft-lawsuit.html">wage theft lawsuit settler</a>, billion-dollar restaurant emperor and salt sprinkler Salt Bae, aka Nusret Gökçe, will open the London outpost of Nusr-Et, his global steakhouse chain. Despite reports that it would arrive on 17 May — <a href="https://london.eater.com/22321563/salt-bae-restaurant-nusret-london-opening-date-knightsbridge">complete with stupid-money gold steaks</a> — in April, there is still no sign of the chef nor his restaurant. </p>
<p id="0dHHoa">According to photographs posted by the Manchester United footballer (on loan at West Ham) Jesse Lingard to Instagram on 24 June, Gökçe is in Mykonos, the wealthy Greek party island loved by celebrities, where he recently opened an outpost of the steak chain. He is pictured with Ashley Young, of Inter Milan and Anthony Martial, also of Manchester United. Gökçe is a smash-hit with footballers all over the world, recently entertaining <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQRilyKBham/">Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas and current Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez</a> at his Mykonos restaurant. </p>
<p id="K2v7Qn">Fan of exercise Gökçe is also in Instagram stories in the last 24 hours doing pull-ups with very heavy-looking rocks sandwiched between feet. Each to their own. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sFHsD0fLLJy51H2jbevtJ79wCGs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22679300/nusret_is.png">
<cite>Nusr_et/Instagram</cite>
</figure>
<p id="UXE1m7">Google no longer lists Nusr-Et Steakhouse at the Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel in London with an opening date. </p>
<p id="wZjttS">When Eater London contacted the reception at the Park Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge they explained that they had no information regarding the Nusr-Et’s opening date. They said the restaurant was a separate entity and not part of the hotel’s dining portfolio. They also said that they’d been advised to inform anyone inquiring about the steakhouse’s opening to follow the Salt Bae Instagram account for updates. </p>
<p id="31WqoE">Given the almost impossibility of gleaning any information from Gökçe and his team, it is likely that Instagram will be the only place where updates are announced. In fact, it’s likely a deliberate strategy — to build on the 35.7 million followers the nusr_et account already has. </p>
<p id="cywQ0o">In a recent Instagram story, Gökçe did say that he was heading out to Mykonos before coming to London, so there is the expectation that his arrival will come in the next few weeks. </p>
<p id="EknraQ">Until then, the full “overview” of Nusr-Et London, per the restaurant’s otherwise bald OpenTable page. </p>
<blockquote>
<p id="8kS4eg">A Spectacular Meat Feast… For All Your Senses.The “one and only” Nusr-Et experience.</p>
<p id="ty50QS">You’ll taste an exquisite menu.You’ll be overwhelmed with fantastic smells.Everything you touch will be enchanting.Everything you hear will be fascinating.You’ll see glorious people, delightful presentations, and incredible shows.</p>
<p id="NqwPYh">Live unforgettable moments.Be entertained, amused, and pampered.Experience luxury dining like never before.</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="g7SoBt">Eater has also contacted the Nusr-Et London team to seek further information on the opening date and wider restaurant plans. </p>
<aside id="KwkwcZ"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside>
https://london.eater.com/22548785/salt-bae-london-restaurant-opening-dateAdam Coghlan2021-05-04T17:13:07+01:002021-05-04T17:13:07+01:00Can I Just Shock You? Salt Bae’s London Restaurant Will Feature a £700 Gold-Embalmed Steak
<figure>
<img alt="Salt Bae in front of some raw beef at his restaurant in Istanbul" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qd-xv4RPlpB6_aVNAszbItyi6MQ=/218x0:3694x2607/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68936831/1216633577.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>“How many masks should I be wearing?” | Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nusret’s arrival in London is a story of delays, delays, and more delays — but looks set to open on 17 May in Knightsbridge</p> <p id="dgbWKj">Butcher, internet chef sensation, <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/11/salt-bae-wage-theft-lawsuit.html">wage theft lawsuit settler</a>, billion-dollar restaurant emperor and salt sprinkler Salt Bae, aka Nusret Gökçe, appears primed to finally open the London outpost of Nusr-Et, his global steakhouse chain on 17 May — the day restaurants in England are, as it stands, permitted to <a href="https://london.eater.com/22289541/when-will-restaurants-pubs-reopen-after-coronavirus-lockdown-england-roadmap">reopen dining rooms for the first time since December</a>. </p>
<p id="t5qVG6">Google lists Nusr-Et Steakhouse at the Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel in London: “Opens 17 May.” Meanwhile, multiple role postings have been added to hospitality jobs website caterer.com, including for a restaurant manager — posted over a month ago — and a sommelier, posted just four days ago. Other roles being advertised include “sushi chef,” suggesting that Gökçe has done his homework and understands that the <a href="https://london.eater.com/2019/5/23/18637069/gordon-ramsay-lucky-cat-asian-eating-house-not-authentic-vibrant-opening-mayfair">only thing big-money west London restaurants</a> sell more of than large hunks of cooked meat is tiny slivers of raw fish. In addition to that homework, he has settled on the one thing a viral meme-turned-restaurant needs: a stunt dish of such garishness that it will inspire awe and revulsion in all-comers. <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/salt-bae-24-carat-gold-steak">Here, that dish is a £700 gold-embalmed steak, according to GQ</a>. It looks like this:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A gold-plated steak on a wooden board" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KezciSSVKEeTP3Z4hAnAXP29rRA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22491129/76c740d5_a8ac_4231_9044_b69d697506ae.jpeg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/salt-bae-24-carat-gold-steak" target="_blank">GQ</a></cite>
<figcaption>Sorry, but, look at it</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="gIxhwV">The posting for the restaurant manager role includes the line: “If you’re enthusiastic to contribute in a fast-paced environment with F&B dynamics, and want to be the part of the most exciting opening in London, please apply the post below [...]” </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ryZUG_2dnXcgwbONjRjn-nDxYQI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22357131/nusret_date.png">
<cite>Google</cite>
</figure>
<p id="fDKs4I">“Most exciting” may be less accurate than “most anticipated.” Or even “most delayed.” Gökçe’s London restaurant has been a long time coming. The opening was first reported in 2017; with the restaurant being <a href="https://london.eater.com/2018/1/31/16950446/salt-bae-restaurant-london-knightsbridge">given oxygen in 2018</a>, <a href="https://london.eater.com/2018/1/31/16950446/salt-bae-restaurant-london-knightsbridge">2019</a>, and the most recent delay actually coming before a <a href="https://london.eater.com/2019/11/6/20951427/salt-bae-restaurant-london-burgers-mayfair">rumoured burger restaurant on Mayfair’s Mount Street</a> that <a href="https://london.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113216/salt-bae-burger-restaurant-london-audley-mayfair-hauser-wirth">never came to pass</a>. </p>
<p id="fQrbFT">London’s Knightsbridge — on the day lockdown is meaningfully lifted for restaurants — is presumably going to be quite enthusiastic for Gökçe’s prime cuts and seasoning charade. But whether the frontman and his patrons treat the health and safety of employees and fellow guests with the chaotic disdain most recently <a href="https://dallas.eater.com/2021/3/8/22319311/salt-bae-dallas-nusr-et-steakhouse-opening-weekend-lines-few-masks">displayed in Dallas</a> is another matter altogether. </p>
<aside id="GBnbzI"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"eater-london"}'></div></aside>
https://london.eater.com/22321563/salt-bae-restaurant-nusret-london-opening-date-knightsbridgeAdam Coghlan