Whatever Happened To Salt Bae?

Nusret Gökçe has a phenomenal social media presence. If you take a look at his Instagram account, for example, he boasts around 53 million followers. If you simply search for his nickname "Salt Bae" on TikTok, you'll come across more than 147,000 posts of the steakhouse chef and restaurateur. In most of them, he is wearing sunglasses, sporting his signature ponytail, and performing his signature salt sprinkle (more on that later).

But while Gökçe's social media presence tends to be fun and entertaining, the reality for his employees seems to be far from it. The businessman has been the subject of multiple allegations and lawsuits, and former workers have accused him of everything from racial discrimination to tip misuse.

Keep reading to find out more about how Gökçe went from growing up in a poor village in Turkey, to a viral phenomenon, to becoming one of the most controversial figures in the restaurant industry. Here's what happened to Salt Bae in the eight years since posting the video that made him social media famous.

Long before he became known as the viral social media sensation Salt Bae, Gökçe was born and raised in Paşalı, a village in the Turkish municipality of Şenkaya. The village is small, with very limited resources and a lack of adequate infrastructure. This is still the case today. In 2024, Paşalı made local headlines when it was allegedly denied access to a drinking water project. The locals maintained resources had been restricted for decades on the basis of anti-Kurdish discrimination.

Gökçe maintains it was not easy growing up in Paşalı due to the lack of resources. Because of his family's worsening financial situation, he needed to start working at 13 years old. He got a job as a butcher's apprentice in Istanbul, and ultimately, despite the gruelling 20 hour days, the job was a blessing. It ended up kickstarting his career in the food industry, and after surviving as an apprentice, he eventually accumulated the right experience to take a job in one of the most popular steakhouses in Turkey.

Gökçe would eventually open his own restaurant in Turkey, but not before taking the time to do his research. After working in the Turkish steakhouse, he flew to Buenos Aires to learn more about the meat industry. Argentina is known for its meat industry — but particularly its love of steak. Gökçe also spent time in the U.S., another country known for its love of beef, to learn the steakhouse business. The country is home to thousands of steak restaurants, after all. "I learned the business," Gökçe told Taste and Flavors. "Worked hard with an insatiable appetite to become better and met the right people."

After learning the trade, Gökçe flew back home to Turkey to open his first steakhouse, Nusr-Et, in Istanbul in 2010. It wasn't a big restaurant, with just eight tables, but it attracted some high-end clientele, including an investor who helped him grow and open more restaurants in Turkey, Qatar, and Dubai. But ultimately, it was social media fame that would elevate Gökçe to superstar restaurateur status.

In 2017, Gökçe posted a video of him sprinkling salt on a steak to Instagram, and it's safe to say his life would never be the same again. The video has been viewed millions of times, and shows Gökçe's unique way of sprinkling salt: Wrist and hand back, slowly dropping the salt from three fingertips held aloft over the meat, it glides down his elbow before falling onto the steak. This, of course, is when he earned the internet nickname, Salt Bae.

The video captured the attention of the world, and he quickly accumulated millions of fans, including some of the biggest A-listers. Bruno Mars reposted the video (catapulting it into the public eye at the same time), Rihanna wore a Salt Bae t-shirt, and Leonardo DiCaprio visited Gökçe's Dubai restaurant, for example. Since then, the Turkish restaurateur has been pictured with everyone from soccer legend David Beckham to movie star Jason Statham.

With his newfound fame as Salt Bae, Gökçe moved quickly. Capitalizing on his popularity from that short social media clip, he opened a new Nusr-et location in Midtown New York. But despite his new Salt Bae status and extensive experience in the steak industry, his new U.S. steakhouse wasn't loved by critics.

Robert Sietsema, then a senior critic for Eater New York, described the food as "rubbery" and "low on flavor." New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells praised the steak, but called the potatoes "awful" and the salads "unremarkable." In general, reviewers came to the conclusion that while Salt Bae's theatrics were fun and the actual steak was nice, ultimately, it was all overpriced. In fact, New York Post critic Steve Cuozzo went as far as to call the new Nusr-et location a "ripoff." Many also noted that despite Nusr-et being marketed as a Turkish steakhouse, there was little Turkish influence on the actual menu.

Despite the wave of less-than-desirable reviews for his first New York restaurant, Gökçe was not disheartened. In 2020 — just before lockdowns induced by the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world — he opened another spot in the city, but this time it wasn't a steakhouse, it was a burger restaurant, aptly called Saltbae Burger. Once again, critics were less than impressed by the prices (one milkshake cost nearly $100). Sietsema again expressed disappointment at the food, noting that all of the burgers tasted the same (even the one made with wagyu steak). Ryan Sutton, another Eater critic, said the only "good thing" about the burgers was the onions.

Eater was far from the only critic to be underwhelmed by the new burger spot. Others piled on the burger spot, labeling the food as bland and flavorless. In early March 2020, Scott Lynch, a food writer for Gothamist, even declared the spot to be "the worst restaurant in NYC right now."

In 2021, things went from bad to worse for Gökçe and his restaurants. After opening another Nusr-et steakhouse in the Knightsbridge district of London, U.K. (following a period of long delays), the criticism kept flowing.

Once again, Nusr-et was called out for its high prices. One user posted a photo of a bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, which came to a total of £1,576. There were eight people at the table, but still, they had paid £46 for two portions of sushi and £630 for one giant tomahawk steak. Two glasses of Coca-Cola Light came to £18. Another customer posted a bill from the London restaurant, which came to more than £37,000 (which is more than $50,000), which prompted rage from social media users.

But this time, the criticism directed at Gökçe wasn't just because of the food and prices at his restaurants, it was also about the treatment of his employees. Despite charging extortionate menu prices, it was revealed that the Knightsbridge location of Nusr-et was only paying its chefs £12 to £13 an hour. For context, that is just £3 to £4 more than the price charged for one glass of coke. Once again, social media users were infuriated by the news about the chef's wages, with some pointing out that it is roughly the same salary as that offered in a fast-food restaurant.

Gökçe may have been consistently embroiled in controversy, but surprisingly this didn't affect his takings for the first few months of his London restaurant. The restaurant reportedly took in around £7 million (around $8.5 million) within the first four months of opening. This was likely due to the incredibly high prices at the restaurant — bills for more than £1,000 are bound to stack up quickly. It's worth noting that the London Nusr-et also opened just after the U.K.'s restaurant scene reopened after Covid-19 lockdowns, and consumers were especially eager to start heading out to eat again.

The high earnings didn't put an end to the bad reviews. In 2022, one former employee at the London Nusr-et told the media that the internal workings of the steakhouse were similar to McDonald's. They said the fries were frozen and served with Heinz ketchup, for example, and that some of the wines were given an "immoral" £2,000 price markup.

As well as criticism over prices and food quality, 2021 brought with it some serious accusations. Two employees from Gökçe's steakhouse in New York, for example, filed lawsuits against the restaurateur over discrimination. The employees claimed that they had been treated differently due to not being Turkish.

One bartender from the Dominican Republic claimed she had been told to change into revealing clothes and high heels, while other Turkish employees had not been asked to do the same. She said that after changing her clothes, she was subject to harassment from male colleagues. After requesting to wear a different outfit, she was fired. Another employee claimed they were deliberately given access to less lucrative tables in the restaurant.

Also in 2021, five former grillers from the same New York restaurant filed another lawsuit, this time claiming that Gökçe was aggressive and rude to his employees. They also claimed that the restaurateur would frequently blame the wrong person for mistakes.

Gökçe's managerial style isn't the only thing's gotten him into hot water. His restaurants have also been accused of mismanaging tips. In 2022, for example, 24 workers from his Miami restaurant attempted to sue the steakhouse over the misuse of the 18% service charge that was added to every bill. They claimed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that they should have been given the tips in addition to their wages. However, they ended up losing the case, as the court ruled that the fee counted as an extra charge for service, and not a tip for employees.

This isn't the only instance where Gökçe has been called out over tips. In 2019, he ended up settling another lawsuit for $230,000 with four former workers, who alleged that the New York location of Nusr-et had taken money from their tips. When they complained, they were fired. In 2020, another lawsuit was settled for $300,000. On this occasion, one former waiter alleged that Gökçe himself was taking money from his tip packet to give to other employees.

Most of the criticism directed at Gökçe and Nusr-et has been due to behavior that has taken place inside his restaurants. But Gökçe has also been called out for the way he has acted outside of work. In 2022, the restaurateur somehow managed to make his way onto the pitch at the World Cup final in Qatar. He was seen attempting to celebrate Argentina's victory at the event, but in doing so, he grabbed the World Cup trophy, kissed it, and pretended to sprinkle salt on it.

To put it mildly, FIFA, the international organization responsible for governing soccer championships, was not happy with Gökçe's behavior. There are strict rules around World Cup trophies, which are only supposed to be touched by players and FIFA officials. There are also strict rules about who gets access to the pitch — Gökçe had not received prior permission to celebrate with Argentina during the final. As a result of his World Cup antics, Gökçe was banned from attending the U.S. Open Cup final.

Remember the burger restaurant we mentioned earlier? It turns out, the "worst restaurant in New York" didn't have much of a shelf life. In 2023, just three years after opening, Saltbae Burger closed its doors. At the time, the restaurant claimed its menu would be moving to the New York Nusr-et Steakhouse. At the time of writing, the Midtown restaurant is still open.

In the same year, however, the Boston location of Nusr-et also got into trouble and was listed for lease with a local realtor. Even though a spokesperson claimed it might relocate at the time, in 2025, there is no Boston location of Nusr-et currently in operation. Once again, the steakhouse seemed to only survive for around three years, as it opened its doors at roughly the same time as Salt Bae Burger. It had a tumultuous journey in its brief life — just after opening, it was shut down briefly for failure to comply with Boston's Covid-19 hygiene regulations.

In 2023, an investigation from Business Insider continued to pile on Gökçe and his steakhouse empire. The publication spoke to multiple former employees, who accused the social media personality and restaurateur of creating a culture of fear in all of his businesses. One anonymous source, who used to work as a manager for Nusr-et, said that Gökçe had developed a "godlike complex." Another former bartender told Business Insider that working in Nusr-et's Mykonos location was like working in the world of the dystopian "Hunger Games" series.

One former employee told the publication that being there left people expecting to be fired at any time. Another recalled an incident when Gökçe let someone go simply because he didn't like their shirt. Some female former workers claimed that the boss created a hypermasculine atmosphere, and didn't respect employees who were women.

Through his lawyer Christy Reuter, Gökçe responded to the allegations published by Business Insider, calling the claims "salacious" and "meritless."

The restaurant closures didn't stop in 2023. In early 2025, Gökçe said a final goodbye to his Dallas Nusr-et spot. Just after that, it was revealed that his Las Vegas steakhouse would be closing down, too.

Right now, Nusr-et currently has three locations open in the U.S. The New York Midtown spot is still going despite criticism, and so is its Miami spot. Its third U.S. restaurant is located in Beverly Hills. After the Las Vegas closure was announced, Gökçe's team claimed that a new location would likely open in the city, but no details have been revealed yet.

Right now, most of Nusr-et's restaurants are in Turkey, where the chain has eight locations (five of which are in Istanbul). It also has three restaurants in the Middle East, in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, as well as one in Mykonos, Greece. Its London restaurant is still currently open, too — although it has now slashed its prices.

There is no doubt that Gökçe has been at the center of many different controversies — from discrimination allegations to tipping misuse accusations to simply offering diners overpriced, low-quality food — and yet, he perseveres. Nusr-et is still expanding. At the moment, the chain has its eye on the Latin American market. In particular, it is eyeing up Mexico City, where it plans to open a new steakhouse later in 2025.

Nusr-et also hasn't given up on Europe. According to the steakhouse chain, it is planning to open new locations in Ibiza, Rome, and Milan. According to Nusr-et, the closures in Las Vegas and Dallas, and the new planned openings, are all part of a plan for strategic future growth. Nusr-Et board member Akın Tavuz said in a press release that the expansion represents Nusr-et's "dedication to delivering exceptional dining experiences."