Latest news with #Nusr-Et
Eater
2 days ago
- Business
- Eater
The Saddest Restaurant Closures to Know in Los Angeles, June 2025
Los Angeles's restaurants continue to face difficult headwinds, starting in 2020 with the onset of a global pandemic and exacerbating with the Hollywood labor strikes in 2023 , which led to an industry-wide slowdown that's continued into 2025. From the lingering impacts of the Hollywood strikes to adverse weather and increased costs (labor, rent, ingredients, etc.), many variables continue to batter restaurant owners who operate on razor-thin margins. Los Angeles restaurants also continue to struggle with the impact from the 2025 fires , including slow business and devastating property loss. Here are notable restaurant closures for June. For more closure news, visit our 2024 round-up . Nusr-Et— Nusret Gökçe, better known as Salt Bae, has sprinkled his last steaks in Los Angeles. The Beverly Hills outpost of Gökçe's global steakhouse chain, Nusr-Et, suddenly closed on June 4, four years after opening in 2021. The closure comes as the restaurant chain eyes further international expansion into markets including Mexico City, Rome, and Ibiza. Bang Bang Noodles— Chinese hand-pulled noodle shop Bang Bang Noodles has shuttered its location in Culver City's Citizens Public Market. Born as a pop-up in 2020, the Culver City location was the first permanent outpost for Bang Bang Noodles and its signature tingly cumin lamb noodles tossed in chile oil. The Downtown location of Bang Bang Noodles remains open. Verve— Verve Coffee Roasters closed its Downtown LA location on June 1, marking the end of a decade in the neighborhood. The Santa Cruz-based coffee roaster opened its Spring Street cafe in January 2015, serving a signature lineup of coffee drinks made with its own beans, as well as pastries, and juices from Juice Served Here. The cafe's closure was announced in an Instagram post, which reads, 'While the evolving landscape of Downtown has made it no longer sustainable for us to continue operating at this location, we remain deeply committed to our LA community.' Luckily, Verve has another location just a few miles away in the Arts District. Here's Looking at You— Groundbreaking restaurant Here's Looking at You closed on June 13 after almost a decade on Sixth Street in Koreatown. The restaurant, opened by the late chef Jonathan Whitener and Lien Ta, has occupied its corner of Los Angeles since 2016, serving an ever-evolving menu of cross-cultural dishes like uni panna cotta and salsa-negra-crusted frogs' legs alongside an inventive cocktail program to match. The closure coincided with the end of a 10-year lease on the building. Elf Cafe— Echo Park restaurant Elf Cafe closed after 19 years on June 1. Scott Zwiezen and his bandmates Astara Calas and Evan Haros, first opened Elf as a vegan restaurant in 2006, serving a Mediterranean-ish menu, with dishes like a vegetable tagine and morel risotto. In 2020, amid COVID-19, Elf suspended operations indefinitely, transforming into a space for roving pop-ups, before reopening in early 2023. Zwiezen says that over the years, the restaurant has shifted into a place that people only go to for special occasions, instead of a daily stop, though he doesn't point to one specific reason for the closure. La Azteza Tortilleria— Legendary Boyle Heights burrito stand closed its original location on Caesar Chavez Boulevard on June 13. But not all hope is lost — the restaurant has relocated permanently to its second location less than two miles away on Atlantic and Beverly Boulevards. See More:
Eater
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Salt Bae's Reign of Golden Steaks and Arm-Sprinkled Salt Ends in Beverly Hills
Nusret Gökçe, better known as Salt Bae, has sprinkled his last steaks in Los Angeles. The Beverly Hills outpost of Gökçe's global steakhouse chain, Nusr-Et, suddenly closed on June 4, four years after opening in 2021. In early 2025, Nusr-Et shuttered its Las Vegas location, but plans to reopen elsewhere in the city. Gökçe, a Turkish butcher and chef, first infiltrated the public consciousness when a video of him slicing into a steak and then sprinkling salt down his flexed forearm onto the meat waiting below went viral in 2017. His tight white T-shirt and tiny sunglasses instantly became recognizable — he even recreated the infamous post, sunglasses and all, at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Gökçe opened the first location of Nusr-Et in 2010, when only his immediate audience could enjoy his salt-slinging, forearm-seasoning tactics. However, in the years following his sudden rise to fame, Nusr-Et quickly expanded globally and announced a future location for Los Angeles. After years of development and moving on from its planned location in the Arts District, Nusr-Et opened in Beverly Hills in 2021. Gökçe was on-site for the opening weekend to sprinkle meat on request (hopefully, he had a strict forearm sanitation protocol). In Beverly Hills, Nusr-Et served a menu of steaks from the char-grill, including the mustard-marinated Amor (#Saltbae's Private Reserve Cut), a thick-cut wagyu Woww steak, and the #Saltbae tomahawk. The restaurant also served a Golden Experience menu, with enough gold-gilded meat to kick off another Gold Rush. A 24-carat gold-coated tomahawk went for $950, a golden Amor for $1,500, and a four-pound wagyu New York strip steak for $2,000. Meat sushi with Parmigiano (separate from the beef carpaccio on the menu) was also served atop mounds of sushi rice. But Salt Bae's rise and fall from virality wasn't without its issues. In 2019, Mr. Bae was accused of tip-skimming at his Manhattan restaurant. Two years later, in 2021, the restaurant group was sued for allegedly misclassifying employees to avoid paying overtime wages; the suit was later dismissed. And in 2023, Gökçe was banned from the 2023 U.S. Open Cup after he kissed the World Cup trophy. In 2023, Nusr-Et had seven locations in the U.S.; as of June 2025, there are only two remaining, in Miami and New York City. As Salt Bae and his salty forearms bid farewell to Los Angeles, Nusr-Et eyes further international expansion, with new locations planned for Mexico City, Rome, Ibiza, and more. Sign up for our newsletter. 184-188 Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
NDTV
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Vignesh Shivan Visits Chef Salt Bae's Restaurant, Tries His Viral Steak Salting Style
Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, also known as 'Salt Bae', is an internet sensation. Ever since a meme of him sprinkling salt on steak went viral, Nusret was catapulted to instant internet fame. The chef is the owner of a restaurant chain called Nusr-Et, which has 28 restaurants in 7 countries, including the US, Turkey, the United Kingdom, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Greece. Recently, South film director and actor Nayanthara's husband Vignesh Shivan visited Nusret's restaurant in UAE. The filmmaker shared a glimpse of his dinner experience at the restaurant on Instagram. The video featured Salt Bae flaunting his steak-cutting skills on the table while Vignesh curiously watched him do so. Then, Salt Bae asked Vignesh to imitate his famous salt sprinkling technique. Once the filmmaker was done showcasing his amateur skills, the chef took over and flaunted his signature style. The duo even ended the video with a fist bump. The side note read, "Love the style of @nusr_et , the energy, the amazing food. Thank you for being a sweet host and making everyone around happy. #HappyEaster." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vignesh Shivan (@wikkiofficial) Last year, the filmmaker celebrated Nayanthara's birthday in Delhi's Kake Da Hotel. He shared a video from the intimate celebration on Instagram. The clip featured the couple enjoying yummy Indian food spread at the iconic hotel. The dishes on the table seemed to be dal makhni, butter chicken, naan and more. In the caption, Vignesh wrote, "17th November. Smallest birthday eve celebration in these many years. A birthday eve dinner felt genuinely happy, personal, intimate and very tasty too #Delhi … just the two of us :) standing in the queue for 30 mins :) and then get a nice centre table … with a lot of things going on behind! still found a place to feel happy and be present in the moment." Check out the full post here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vignesh Shivan (@wikkiofficial) Vignesh Shivan's foodie trails are one for the books. We are excited to see what's next on his foodie adventures.
News18
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Vignesh Shivan Meets The Viral Salt Bae Chef, Praises His Energy And Amazing Food
Last Updated: Vignesh Shivan called Salt Bae a 'sweet host' and praised him for making 'everyone around happy.' Vignesh Shivan, the South film director and husband of actress Nayanthara, seemingly celebrated Easter in Dubai. Taking to his Instagram account on Tuesday, April 22, the Paava Kadhaigal director revealed that he had met with one of the world's most celebrated chefs, Nusret Gokce, also known as Salt Bae. The latter owns a chain of luxury steakhouses named Nusr-Et and Vignesh happened to visit the one in Dubai. In the reel which the filmmaker shared, Salt Bae could be seen showcasing his striking cutting skills while Vignesh curiously watched him do so. After the chef had finely cut the steak, he placed the pieces on a hot sizzler plate. Following this, Salt Bae, who is most popular for his unique way of sprinkling salt, asked Vignesh to imitate his way. Once the 39-year-old director was done showcasing his amatuer skills, Salt Bae took over and flaunted his signature style of sprinkling salt. The two even shared a fist bump towards the end of the reel. In the caption, Vignesh wrote, 'Love the style of @nusr_et, the energy, the amazing food. Thank you for being a sweet host and making everyone around happy #HappyEaster." The Naanum Rowdy Dhaan director set the reel to one of Pushpa's BGM mixes and turned off the comment section of the post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vignesh Shivan (@wikkiofficial) Speaking of his professional front, the 39-year-old director announced that his upcoming film Love Insurance Kompany has entered the post-production stage. The Tamil-language rom-com film will feature Pradeep Ranganathan, S. J. Suryah and Krithi Shetty in lead roles. Yogi Babu, Gouri G. Kishan, Mysskin, Seeman, Anandaraj, Sunil Reddy and Shah Ra will be seen in other key roles. Taking to his Instagram account just a few days back, Vignesh shared a post, expressing gratitude to all those who gave their all to the film. Sharing a series of behind-the-scenes pictures from the sets with the cast and crew, he wrote, 'Abundance of passion, love, honesty and hard work from each and everyone has built #LoveInsuranceKompany every day of shoot had a lot of challenges! But we never forgot to have a smile and also enjoy the process! Without the support of everyone in these frames, whatever magic we tried to create wouldn't have been possible!" He continued, 'Without compromising even for one frame, we are proud that we have put in our best efforts to make an original, fresh, entertaining movie 🙂 Post-production works kick start with all your love and support! To Bring it to you on a festival date to celebrate more with your friends & families." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vignesh Shivan (@wikkiofficial) Love Insurance Kompany is being produced by Nayanthara in collaboration with Seven Screen Studios, and is scheduled to be released sometime this year. First Published:
Leaders
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Leaders
Salt Bae Eyes Saudi Arabia Return: New Ventures Ignite Culinary Passion
Famous chef Nusret Gökçe, known as Salt Bae, has revealed that he is preparing an exciting comeback to Saudi Arabia with determined, innovative spirit. The Turkish butcher-turned-restaurateur confirmed he is in talks to bring his signature Nusr-Et steakhouse to the Kingdom with potential openings in Jeddah, Makkah and even the ambitious NEOM project. This follows the closure of his Riyadh steakhouse in April 2024, which operated for under two years. His Nusr-Et Steakhouse chain spans 28 global locations. By 2022, it achieved $225 million in sales, marking 57% growth since 2018. Recent expansions target Mexico City, Milan, and Rome, while operations paused in Dallas and Las Vegas. In an interview with Arabian Business, the Turkish chef confirmed his potential return to Saudi Arabia. 'We're in talks with the Saudis about the future. We will come back soon and strong,' he said. 'We have a very good relationship with the Saudi people,' he explained, adding that plans are already underway for venues in Jeddah, Makkah and NEOM. Luxury Dining and World Cup Controversy Gökçe defended his high-end pricing, stating, 'Our product is the best. You pay for quality and service.' Menus feature gold-leaf steaks, like the £850 Tomahawk, drawing global attention. Despite criticism, his Instagram-driven brand thrives, leveraging celebrity visits from Lionel Messi and Leonardo DiCaprio. Airport expansions, including a 2023 Istanbul outlet, aim to broaden accessibility. Outside of his restaurants, he faced criticism in 2022 for appearing on the pitch at the end of the World Cup final in Qatar. Salt Bae admitted, 'It was my mistake. If I knew the rules, I would never have touched it. Normally, people talk about the World Cup for a few months. But since I touched it, people are still talking about me. 'Next World Cup, even if I have the chance, I'll never touch the World Cup. I will go to the stadium to see the match, but I'll never touch it again.' The incident fueled lasting media scrutiny. However, his social media mastery—boasting 50 million followers—continues to drive engagement, blending culinary artistry with viral theatrics. Future Vision: Culinary Innovation and Community Impact Beyond expansion, Gökçe emphasizes sustainability, redirecting food waste to shelters and recycling oil into biodiesel in Turkey. He aims to replicate these initiatives globally, aligning with Saudi sustainability goals. His temporary Jeddah Season pop-up in 2019 hinted at deeper regional ties, now solidified through the potential partnerships. Ultimately, Salt Bae promises a dynamic return, igniting local pride while elevating Saudi Arabia's gourmet landscape with fervent innovation truly. Short link : Post Views: 4
