Invoice of half-million liras by Salt Bae’s restaurant causes uproar

ISTANBUL

An invoice of nearly half-million Turkish Liras ($50,888) asked from four guests who went to a restaurant of world-renowned Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe, known as the Salt Bae, in London sensationalized social media.

People reacted to the invoice, saying, “Dinner in Nusret London is more expensive than flying to and eating in a Nusret restaurant in Istanbul.”

According to the photo of the invoice uploaded to the internet, four people, whose identities were not disclosed, ate gold-plated meats and Turkish baklavas and drank three bottles of expensive Petrus wines.

At the end of the dining, the restaurant charged them 37,023 pounds, with 4,800 pounds (around 62,000 liras) as the cost of the service alone.

Some social media users defended the invoice, saying, “Nusret London is an expensive and luxury place,” and “Someone opening Petrus wines should not complain about the prices.”

But many opposed the bill, saying, “This is theft” and “the result of being rich and dumb.”

Gökçe is a Turkish restaurateur whose preparing and seasoning meat technique became an internet meme in January 2017.

So far, he has 15 restaurants in total: Four in Turkey, five in the United States, two in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Greece, the United Kingdom, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He is popularly known as “Salt Bae” due to his unique salt sprinkling technique.