Salt Bae's empire may be under threat amid £5.4 million loss

There was a time when Salt Bae ruled the internet and the dining world, but recent events have shown more than ever that time’s a distant memory.

Nusret Gökçe, the Turkish butcher-turned-viral sensation, became a household name after a video of his dramatic seasoning style took social media by storm back in 2017.

With one slick flick of salt over a perfectly cooked steak, he transformed from a humble chef in Istanbul to an international symbol of luxury dining.

His Nusr-Et restaurants soon became playgrounds for celebrities and influencers, where gold-leaf steaks and eye-watering bills were all part of the performance.

The London Knightsbridge restaurant, which opened in 2021, quickly became the jewel in his crown. It pulled in £7 million in its first year, and by 2023, sales had climbed to an impressive £10 million. Everyone wanted a taste of the spectacle, and for a while, the hype seemed unstoppable.

As 2025 rolled around, though, the glitter had started to fade. Behind the glitz and the Instagram fame, cracks were beginning to show; now, the Salt Bae empire may be in serious trouble.

According to reports from various outlets, summarized by International Business Times, Nusr-Et has recorded a staggering £5.4 million loss at its London flagship in 2024, marking a major downturn for a brand once synonymous with opulence.

The decline has been fuelled by an aggressive push into the US market, which has since backfired. The expansion saw seven locations across America shrink to just two by mid-2025, after high-profile closures in New York, Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Beverly Hills.

The failed venture racked up £6.6 million in exceptional expenses, leaving the UK arm, which technically owned the US assets, in a £5.5 million pre-tax deficit for 2024.

Revenues in affected markets dropped by around 30 percent, as customers struggled to swallow £600/$920 steaks and lavish pricing.

In the UK, the restaurant’s once-buzzy reputation took a nosedive online.

The Knightsbridge branch’s TripAdvisor score now sits at 2.9 from around 400 reviews, with furious diners describing Gökçe as an ‘insult to humanity.’

One viral post from food critic @SouthDallasFoodie celebrated the closure of the Dallas outlet, writing: “Salt Bae’s restaurant ‘Nusr Et’ in Dallas is now permanently closed and I like to think that we all had a part in that. Go team.”

Hygiene issues, questionable management decisions, and tone-deaf marketing have only added fuel to the fire. Set-menu price cuts in 2024 were introduced to win back customers, but the damage may already be done. With reserves falling from £8.1 million to £2.3 million, it’s clear the empire has been badly shaken.

For a man whose brand was built on luxury and excess, the fall from grace has been swift. Analysts warn that without serious reinvention, Nusr-Et’s global footprint could shrink even further.

FOODbible has reached out to Nusr-Et for comment.