Famous Instagram chef Nusret Gökçe, mainly known under his alias ‘Salt Bae, is opening up a second business in Mykonos.
The Turkey-born Kurdish chef, became famous on the social media platform because of the way he throws salt on his plates and the way he butchers meat. In his Instagram videos he is usually topless, exposing his muscles often, while working out in the kitchen.
While Salt Bae posted on his account that he is looking for workers for his Mykonos restaurant, few suspected he is starting another hospitality venture.
According to Proto Thema, the chef secretly visited Athens back in December and secured a deal with real estate mogul Konstantinos Koroniotis who convinced him to start a second restaurant on the island. Koroniotis, who has a long-standing friendship Gökçe, secured a prime location and a high profile partner for the chef. The third person involved is Cretan chef Manos Pentarakis who is behind venues Lotus, Aroma and Familia. After three months of preparation the three have signed in on the deal and Salt Bae is becoming a reality.
Salt Bae restaurant will open its doors at Goumenio square and its menu will be burger based. The pricing for one of Gökçe’s golden burgers will range from 50 to $245 (170 euros).
Even though the meat-loving chef is followed by over 43 million fans on Instagram his 15 restaurants have sparked a lot of controversy.
His Nusr-Et Steakhouse has received dozens of one-star reviews on travel bible TripAdvisor with many describing their visits to Salt Bae’s Mykonos restaurant, which opened in 2019, as the “worst experience” of their lives.
A former employee of Salt Bae’s London restaurant has called the chef’s restaurant a “McDonald’s for rich people” for serving frozen fries, in an interview to Mail Online.
Guillermo Perez, who worked as a sommelier at Nusr-Et in Knightsbridge until he was fired in January, said the restaurant is “immoral” because of its price markups.
He said it charges £3,000 for bottles of wine worth £1,000, or $1,400.
Meanwhile, charging $850 for a steak and $15 for a can of Red Bull, has seen customers take to the Insider to complain in the past.