Is it excessively opinionated to say that Nusret Gökçe, who is much, much better known as Salt Bae, is ridiculous?
The guy gained fame in 2017 due to a viral video of him slicing steak and then sprinkling it with coarse salt from an unnecessary height. Seriously?
But Gökçe is the head of 17 Nusr-Et steakhouses, the first of which he opened in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2010. In January he announced plans to open new restaurants in Mexico City, Rome, Milan, and on the Spanish resort island of Ibiza. He’s had some hiccups, for sure, including a Salt Bae Burger concept that failed to thrive, assorted lawsuits similar to what many restaurant operators face (discrimination, tip theft — not laughing matters but also not uncommon), and a bizarre incident during the 2022 World Cup final in which he was accused of touching the trophy inappropriately. But he does have a robust restaurant business.
I had avoided going to his restaurants, because anyone who can get attention by sprinkling salt doesn’t need any additional coverage from me. But last week his people told me he was going to be in town, “and would love the opportunity to meet with you and personally serve you tableside.”
I very much doubted that, but I do enjoy steak.
There used to be two Nusr-Et steakhouses in New York City, as well as a Salt Bae Burger, but the one in the Meatpacking District closed last May (I’m told they’re trying to relocate it to Times Square), leaving only the one in Midtown. It’s in a large space that used to be the Jeffrey Chodorow concept China Grill, close enough to Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Broadway to attract plenty of tourists. A manager told me the restaurant gets a solid pre-theater and post-theater crowd.
The interior features a giant portrait of Gökçe sprinkling salt, and a wide display case of the mostly wagyu beef that’s served at the restaurant. Design elements include neon-light hooks that I’m pretty sure are intended to mimic the angle at which Salt Bae sprinkles salt.
It’s all a performance. My Old Fashioned came in a treasure chest enveloped in smoke.
My Smoked Saltbae Old Fashioned
My Smoked Saltbae Old Fashioned
My wagyu carpaccio was rolled and dressed tableside and sliced with exaggerated gestures similar to the way Gökçe cuts meat. My dessert of triangular baklava was sliced in half horizontally by a server who then juggled a slab of ice cream on a knife and fork before inserting it in the middle.
Gökçe himself served, sliced, and salted every steak himself, for every guest, followed by staff holding lighting for optimal effect on social media. When he served me, he whisked my phone away and handed it to an employee to film my experience, leaning in closely and telling me, “You deserve the best!”
[embedded content]But performance isn’t a bad thing. Haven’t we been saying since people came out of lockdown that customers want experiences in restaurants? In Nusr-Et I was reminded, and not in a bad way, of the Cherries Jubilee, Crêpes Suzette, and flaming shish-kebabs that were far too fancy for me to have experienced in real life when I was a kid but were frequently depicted on TV and in film.
And I had been to Gasho of Japan, a teppanyaki place similar to Benihana, when I was growing up in Denver — I think I was taken for my birthday. The flipping of my ice cream at Nusr-Et reminded me of that.
And Gökçe himself brings an extra sensuality to the whole thing. His toned arms are no-doubt one reason his video went viral. He put an arm around me as I was admiring his display case. I asked if he worked out a lot.
“Always,” he said.
As for the food, Nusr-Et does have a point of distinction in that the meat is grilled over charcoal, giving it a smoky quality, which is good if you like that sort of thing.
For those who want to splurge, or show off, the Golden Reserve Selection includes various cuts of steak as well as a burger and a rack of lamb coated in gold leaf after they’re cooked. The Golden Burger is $180, and the Golden Tomahawk is $950. But the regular menu is priced about the way steakhouses are priced these days.
Is it all gimmicky? Sure, but I ate in a pretty full dining room with attentive service. Plenty of restaurants are doing worse.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
