Internet chef mogul Salt Bae has endured a challenging year at his controversial London restaurant as previous attempts to cut heating failed to inspire more sales of the group’s pricey £680 steaks.
Nusr-Et, based in the affluent London neighborhood of Knightsbridge, reported turnover of £9.3 million for 2023, down from £13.6 million the year before. Profits as measured by EBITDA fell from $3.9 million to £2.2 million.
The restaurant’s London headcount dropped from 93 in 2022 to 84 in 2023, helping the group trim its wage bill by around £800,000.
“The directors believe that the company will be able to operate for the foreseeable future based on the profits generated during the year and management’s thorough review of the cash flows,” the group said in its annual report.
Nusret Gökçe, or Salt Bae, as he is widely known, launched to global fame after a video of him flamboyantly garnishing flaky salt over a steak went viral in 2017. He was soon filmed serving up steaks for footballers and other celebrities with his signature move intact.
He used this platform to launch restaurants in several locations including London, Dubai, New York, and Las Vegas, raking in millions of dollars in revenue in the process.
However, that success hasn’t been without its challenges as the restaurant industry navigated the fallout of COVID-19 and a cost-of-living crisis driven by inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In February, the group said it had taken steps to improve its carbon footprint, likely a result of that spiraling cost-of-living crisis sparked by rising energy bills.
The restaurant said it has “sought to improve energy efficiency at an operational level” in the first half of 2023, which included “turning off central heating after closing or during peak hours when heating demand is lower.”
In its annual report, released this week, the group reiterated its attempts to maximize cost efficiencies, saying it had reminded staff to turn off the restaurant’s lights when it is not in use.
That cost-of-living crisis now appears to have come for customers’ wallets as they indulged less in Salt Bae’s garish offering of pricey meats last year.
Nusr-Et’s menu was widely mocked when the restaurant launched in London in 2021, with many online unable to comprehend why customers would be willing to fork out hundreds of pounds for Salt Bae’s food.
The company’s most expensive steak, a giant Wagyu striploin, is priced at £680. It previously ditched a £1,450 gold-covered steak, perhaps realizing there was a limit to its wealthy customers’ cost threshold.
In April last year, Business Insider released a report from an investigation into the chain, where former staff members alleged they were the victims of tip theft and discrimination at Nusr-Et’s London branch.
