[imagesource:youtube/nickdigiovanni]

Sprinkling salt over gold-leaf steaks in aviator sunglasses and form-fitting white shirts has netted Nusret Gökçe “Salt Bae” over 52 million followers on Instagram, but the viral Turkish celebrity butcher and restauranteur couldn’t keep his NYC burger joint open.

Salt Bae Burger, once called “the worst restaurant in New York City”, has shut its doors for good. A sign on the door says the controversial Manhattan business is “moving to a new location”, but it’s actually just Salt Bae’s preexisting steakhouse, Nusr-Et Steakhouse. A spokesperson for the brand told Eater that the steakhouse will serve the burger chain’s menu.

The Union Square burger joint was binned by food critics for its OTT pricing, incredibly pretentious vibe and shallow only-for-Instagram menu, with the Gothamist calling it “the worst” in the city and a 2020 Eater review saying it “had all the charm of an aeroplane hangar”.

Check out this YouTube review to see for yourself:

Salt Bae Burger opened a month before the pandemic first shut down restaurants for indoor dining:

Among the offenses: a wagyu beef burger wrapped in gold foil, a vegetarian “ladies burger” that was free for women, and “golden” milkshakes that cost $99 at the time of opening.

The worst might just be that time Salt Bae was slammed on social media after sharing a bill of about R3 million (615 065 United Arab Emirates dirham).

The salt-flinging restauranteur still has his restaurant chain Nusr-Et Steakhouse with more than 20 locations worldwide. However, problems are aplenty. The restaurant’s parent company, Nusr-Et, was hit with multiple lawsuits over allegations ranging from sexual harassment to wage theft. The group’s CFO dismissed those complaints in 2020, saying there was “no problem whatsoever” at Nusr-Et restaurants.

Anyway, if diners want a taste of Salt Bae Burger, they’ll have to travel all the way to Dubai, where the only existing location of the restaurant is.

[sources:eaterny&robbreport]