Chef Known for 'Salt Performance' Selling 130,000 Won Milkshake Finally Went Bankrupt

Unique Cooking Performance Sparks Buzz
Controversy Over 130,000 Won Hamburger Sprinkled with Gold Powder
"Having Such a Restaurant Is a Disgrace to New York"

The New York handmade burger restaurant of chef 'Saltbae' (real name Nusret G?k?e), famous for his unique performance of sprinkling salt with his elbow raised while seasoning food, has closed after three years. Despite pursuing a luxury strategy, such as selling milkshakes sprinkled with gold flakes for $99 (about 130,000 won), the local consensus is that the taste was lacking and the prices were outrageous, which led to its failure.

According to the New York Post and The Guardian on the 17th (local time), Saltbae's handmade burger restaurant 'Saltbae Burger,' located near Union Square Park, ceased operations in June.

When the food and beverage magazine Eater visited in June, a notice stating 'relocation' was posted at the store. The new address was that of Saltbae's main restaurant, Nusret Steakhouse. This means that the burger menu will continue to be sold there, effectively marking the closure of 'Saltbae Burger.'

[Photo by SaltBae Instagram]

Saltbae gained fame for his distinctive salt-sprinkling gesture while cooking and currently has 52 million Instagram followers. Leveraging this fame, he operates Nusret Steakhouses in 20 cities worldwide and opened 'Saltbae Burger' in late February 2020, declaring he would find the best burger.

Although there were operational difficulties such as New York's lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic after opening, local experts believe the decisive reasons for failure were the poor taste and exorbitant prices.

Saltbae Burger sold milkshakes coated with gold flakes for $99 (about 132,400 won) and gold leaf-covered Gold Burgers for $100 (about 134,000 won). However, it received harsh criticism for its poor taste relative to the price.

Scott Lynch, a food critic for New York local media Gothamist, said, "The mere fact that Saltbae Burger exists in New York is an insult," and advised, "Never dine here." The outlet criticized Saltbae Burger's food as "designed solely for SNS uploads," adding, "It tastes worse than hospital food I ate a few weeks ago."

There was also controversy over gender discrimination. A burger called Lady Burger, made with pink buns and only vegetables, was offered free only to women. Food critic Scott Lynch ordered this burger separately for $14.50 and questioned, "Isn't giving it free only to women illegal?"

There were also reviews that the store atmosphere was not special. Robert Sietsema, a food critic for local media Eater, said, "I expected fun elements like at Nusret Steakhouse, but it was no different from an airplane hangar," and pointed out, "There was no distinctive feature like Saltbae's salt-sprinkling performance."

Meanwhile, Saltbae became a hot topic domestically when the South Korean national soccer team, which secured advancement to the round of 16 at the Qatar World Cup last year, visited his restaurant in Doha, Qatar. At that time, Saltbae posted videos on his Instagram showing himself slicing meat and feeding it to Son Heung-min, as well as Son imitating Saltbae's salt-sprinkling performance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.