Salt Bae Has Sprinkled His Final Golden Steaks in Las Vegas
Salt Bae. | Jean Schwarzwalder/Eater NY The Nusr-Et steakhouse, known for its thousand-dollar steaks, is closing Eight years ago, chef Nusret Gökçe became a meme incarnate when a video of him bouncing grains of salt off his forearm and onto a steak garnered millions of views. The Internet hype was enough to propel the newly dubbed Salt Bae to open restaurants in New York City, Dallas, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas. His Strip steakhouse, Nusr-Et, located at the Park near Park MGM, drew a fair deal of attention when it opened, serving edible golden-covered steaks for over $1,000 each, but has largely faded from relevance in recent years. The company announced that Nusr-Et is shaking up its operations and launching in new markets, which means closing its Las Vegas restaurant. In a release, Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et announced that the company will close its Las Vegas restaurant, with plans to reopen at a new location, but didn’t elaborate on the current restaurant’s last day of service. In addition to closing Nusr-Et in Vegas, Gökçe closed one of his New York restaurants in May and announced Nusr-Et’s closure in Dallas, Texas. He’s planning to expand into the Latin American market with a Mexico City opening slated for 2025. Nusr-et Steakhouse A painting of Salt Bae in Nusr-Et New York. In some ways, Nusr-Et seemed like a no-brainer for Las Vegas. Staff would ferry wagyu steaks to tables wrapped in 24K gold foil and priced at $1,500 — just the kind of spectacle and showmanship that, on paper, should work on the Strip. Dessert could also come covered in gold leaf, like the $75 pistachio baklava, while pricey sides took the form of truffle macaroni and cheese. The $39 prix fixe lunch of an appetizer, steak, and dessert was an admittedly great deal. But this is also in a city already saturated with top-notch steakhouses, where Nusr-Et’s $650 “golden steak” had to compete with acclaimed restaurants like Bavette’s at the next-door Park MGM. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nusr_et#Saltbae (@nusr_et) Despite the charm of having a living Internet meme personally salting one’s steaks, Salt Bae’s brand has not been without controversy. In 2019, a former server at the Manhattan restaurant filed a class-action lawsuit alleging Gökçe was pocketing tips. Two years later, employees filed an overtime wage lawsuit aimed at Gökçe’s restaurants in New York and Miami — it was eventually dismissed. And then there was that time Salt Bae got himself banned from the US Open Cup final after weirdly holding and kissing the FIFA World Cup trophy. The company insists that Nusr-Et will eventually return to Las Vegas. And the brand announced that it is preparing to open new locations in Ibiza, Rome, Milan, and beyond. So that subset of fans of both Internet memes and $1,000-plus steaks shall fear not — Salt Bae’s coming back.
Tomas Kauer - Las Vegas Syndicated News 
The Nusr-Et steakhouse, known for its thousand-dollar steaks, is closing
Eight years ago, chef Nusret Gökçe became a meme incarnate when a video of him bouncing grains of salt off his forearm and onto a steak garnered millions of views. The Internet hype was enough to propel the newly dubbed Salt Bae to open restaurants in New York City, Dallas, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas. His Strip steakhouse, Nusr-Et, located at the Park near Park MGM, drew a fair deal of attention when it opened, serving edible golden-covered steaks for over $1,000 each, but has largely faded from relevance in recent years. The company announced that Nusr-Et is shaking up its operations and launching in new markets, which means closing its Las Vegas restaurant.
In a release, Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et announced that the company will close its Las Vegas restaurant, with plans to reopen at a new location, but didn’t elaborate on the current restaurant’s last day of service. In addition to closing Nusr-Et in Vegas, Gökçe closed one of his New York restaurants in May and announced Nusr-Et’s closure in Dallas, Texas. He’s planning to expand into the Latin American market with a Mexico City opening slated for 2025.
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Nusr-et Steakhouse
In some ways, Nusr-Et seemed like a no-brainer for Las Vegas. Staff would ferry wagyu steaks to tables wrapped in 24K gold foil and priced at $1,500 — just the kind of spectacle and showmanship that, on paper, should work on the Strip. Dessert could also come covered in gold leaf, like the $75 pistachio baklava, while pricey sides took the form of truffle macaroni and cheese. The $39 prix fixe lunch of an appetizer, steak, and dessert was an admittedly great deal. But this is also in a city already saturated with top-notch steakhouses, where Nusr-Et’s $650 “golden steak” had to compete with acclaimed restaurants like Bavette’s at the next-door Park MGM.
Despite the charm of having a living Internet meme personally salting one’s steaks, Salt Bae’s brand has not been without controversy. In 2019, a former server at the Manhattan restaurant filed a class-action lawsuit alleging Gökçe was pocketing tips. Two years later, employees filed an overtime wage lawsuit aimed at Gökçe’s restaurants in New York and Miami — it was eventually dismissed. And then there was that time Salt Bae got himself banned from the US Open Cup final after weirdly holding and kissing the FIFA World Cup trophy.
The company insists that Nusr-Et will eventually return to Las Vegas. And the brand announced that it is preparing to open new locations in Ibiza, Rome, Milan, and beyond. So that subset of fans of both Internet memes and $1,000-plus steaks shall fear not — Salt Bae’s coming back.
