Salt Bae's Knightsbridge restaurant where customer slammed steak with 'too much salt' suffers 'huge drop in turnover'
Celebrity chef Salt Bae's Knightsbridge restaurant is said to have suffered a 31 per cent drop in turnover towards the end of last year. Nusr-Et in West London became an Instagram hotspot and a favourite among influencers when it opened in 2021, four years after Salt Bae first became a viral sensation with his 24K Gold Tomahawk Steaks being the talk of the town.
Salt Bae's technique for seasoning and preparing the mammoth gold-foiled meat won him tons of admirers. Diners wouldn't just take selfies in his London steakhouse - one of 30 he operates around the world - but often they would also share snaps of the bill, in some cases running to tens of thousands of pounds.
Leisure and hospitality analysts Propel have produced a report which states turnover at the restaurant fell to just £180,000 in one week last year - despite its desirable location in one London's most affluent areas, The Evening Standard reports.
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Propel's report states that turnover in the Nusr-Et's first 13 weeks of trading amounted to £633,000 a week, totalling £8.22 million. It was around £262,000 per week through 2022. But since then, Propel's report reveals a drop in turnover, with pre-tax profits down from £3,329,381 in 2022 to £1,685,616 last year.
Salt Bae, 41, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, trained as a chef in his native Turkey before gaining experience in Argentina and the US from 2007 to 2010, when he opened his first restaurant in Istanbul. In Britain, he has been a constant fixture in the headlines since opening Nusr-et in 2021, with tales of diners being outraged after being handed bills costing £37,000. After visiting in December 2021, a diner left a review entitled ' One of worst places I have ever eaten', claiming the 'meat was bad' with 'too much salt'.
In July last year, MyLondon reported Salt Bae had cut the prices of a number of his dishes, revealing a new menu choice in a bid to make the dining experience more affordable. The steakhouse made the decision to U-turn to “entice customers back through its doors”. Changes included a set lunch menu priced at just £39 per person and is available Monday to Friday between 12pm and 5pm.
Guests are able to enjoy a starter, main and dessert for just under £40. Or diners can order a burger and fries for £45, while certain starters, such as their tacos and steak tartare, are set to be on offer for around £35 a dish.
'No plans' to close Salt Bae's London restaurant
A spokesperson for Salt Bae said: "Our London restaurant remains a key destination for both local and international guests, well known for its premium dining experience and premium cuts of meat. Based on our 2024 figures; Nusr-Et London continues to perform exceptionally well, with a 17 per cent increase in covers in 2024 compared to the same period of last year, resulting in increases in both revenues and profits.
"We don’t have any plan to close the restaurant, on contrary we are very happy with its performance."
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