Customer’s shock over £37,000 bill at Salt Bae’s new restaurant has people divided

Diners paid £18 for one order of asparagus at Salt Bae’s newest steakhouse

A £37,000 ($50,000) bill from Salt Bae’s new London steakhouse has sparked a debate on social media, with some suggesting that the pricey receipt must be a “PR stunt”.

The menu prices at chef Nusret Gökçe’s restaurant Nusr-Et Steakhouse London have shocked diners since the new Knightsbridge establishment opened last month, with customers previously expressing their dismay over a £44 ($60) charge for four Red Bulls.

The food is even more expensive, with the chef’s famous 24-carat gold tomahawk steak costing £850 ($1,160).

However, a table of four has since left dinner at the restaurant reportedly shocked after being presented with a bill for £37,023 ($50,888), according to a post shared to Reddit’s London subreddit and reported by MyLondon.

“Nusr-Et steakhouse now this is just outrageous…” the post shared to Reddit reads, with the actual receipt, originally shared to Snapchat, including the caption: “That’s just taking the p*ss.”

According to the itemised bill, the table of four ordered one of the chef’s golden tomahawk steaks, as well as various pricey sides, including three orders of herb-crusted fries for £30 ($41), an order of asparagus for £18 ($25) and mashed potatoes for £12 ($16).

The diners also didn’t budget when it came to the alcohol, as the table ordered one bottle of 1996 Petrus wine for £9,100 ($12,500), two bottles of the 2003 Petrus for £19,900 ($27,000), and two bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé 2006 for £1,620 ($2,200).

For dessert, the receipt shows that the four guests ordered 16 Nusret Baklava for £400 ($549) and an additional four Golden Baklava £200 ($275), while charges for items such as Red Bull contributed to the cost.

Overall, the bill came out to £32,194 ($44,250) before the addition of a 15 per cent service charge, which brought the total to £37,023.

On Reddit, the receipt divided users, with some expressing similar shock over the bill while others accused the diners of knowing what they were doing by posting about the over-the-top meal.

“I am not sure what I find more scandalous, that this place charges astronomical prices for pub quality menu, or that there are people convinced that this is actually good cuisine,” one person commented.

Another said: “Daylight robbery. At least with Michelin you have somewhere that’s been stringently deemed to charge high amounts. And it would cost about 37 times less!”

However, others suggested that the customers couldn’t have expected the bill to be much cheaper, considering the cost of the menu items.

“How is it outrageous, if you go to a fine dining establishment, and you can’t do remedial math, how is that the restaurant’s problem? You spent that much on wine, you don’t get to b**ch about it after the fact. You just are trying to save yourself after being an idiot,” someone else said.

Another Reddit user claimed that the bill is a “PR stunt” on the basis that “no one who buys Petrus or a LITERALLY gold encrusted steak is going to be shocked at the price of either of those two things”.

“All this is doing is trying to appeal to people who already know how much Petrus would cost at a restaurant,” they continued. “You don’t accidentally order the most expensive brand of wine in the world three times. You can google their menu and the prices are all written on it.”

Gökçe’s latest steakhouse is his 15th, with other locations in New York, Los Angeles and Turkey.