Nusret Gökçe: the butcher behind Nusr-Et and the ‘Salt Bae’ phenomenon
Nusret Gökçe is the Turkish butcher and restaurateur behind Nusr-Et, a chain of steakhouses that began in Istanbul and now operates in several countries, including the UK. To most of the world he is Salt Bae, the nickname he earned in January 2017 when a video of him slicing a steak and sprinkling salt from his fingertips went viral (TheWrap).
He is a butcher and restaurateur rather than a chef in the sense of the others profiled on this site, and his restaurants are steakhouses rather than showcases of regional Turkish cooking. But he is one of the best-known Turkish restaurateurs in the world, and his story – from a village in eastern Turkey to a steakhouse in Knightsbridge – is part of how Turkish food culture is seen abroad.
Early life and career
Erzurum and Kadıköy
Gökçe was born on 9 August 1983 in Paşalı, a village in the Şenkaya district of Erzurum province, in eastern Turkey (Wikipedia). He left school in the sixth grade to become a butcher’s apprentice in Kadıköy, Istanbul – the same district on the Asian side of the city that is home to Musa Dağdeviren’s Çiya.
Learning abroad
Between 2007 and 2010 he travelled to several countries, including Argentina and the United States, working in restaurants there without pay. He opened his first restaurant in Istanbul in 2010 (The National) and a Dubai restaurant in 2014.
Restaurants
Nusr-Et steakhouses
The name joins his first name to et, the Turkish word for meat. Nusr-Et says it has more than 20 restaurants in eight countries: Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Mexico. In October 2020 a branch opened inside the Park Hyatt Istanbul – Maçka Palas in Nişantaşı, a hotel Gökçe had bought in March 2019; he called having a restaurant in his own hotel one of his biggest dreams (The National).
From viral clip to global brand
When the video took off in February 2017, TheWrap reported that his chain had restaurants in Turkey, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and that – according to NBC – he was planning to open in London and New York (TheWrap) By October 2020 Nusr-Et had more than 15 branches worldwide (The National), and by 2021 it was in nine countries, according to Wikipedia. The company now lists eight.
Nusr-Et London, Knightsbridge
The London branch opened in Knightsbridge in 2021 (Fortune).
Salt Bae Burger
Gökçe also opened a burger bar in Manhattan under the Salt Bae name. It closed in 2023, three years after opening (Wikipedia).
Cooking style and signature dishes
Nusr-Et is a steakhouse, and the food is built around meat and the butcher’s skill in preparing it – Gökçe’s background is the butcher’s block rather than the restaurant stove. The draw is as much the theatre as the plate: steaks sliced with a flourish and finished with the sprinkle of salt that made him famous. The video that started it all was posted as “Ottoman steak” on 7 January 2017, and was viewed more than 10 million times on Instagram (TheWrap).
Gold-leaf steaks have become another trademark; The National listed the “golden steak” among the Nusr-Et classics in 2020. That style of cooking is a long way from the ocakbaşı (a charcoal grill restaurant, where meat is cooked over coals in front of you) and kebab houses that most Turkish families would recognise, but it shares their love of meat cooked over fire.
Where to eat food like this in London
If you love grilled meat, London’s Turkish grill culture goes far beyond one steakhouse. Browse our ocakbaşı and grill restaurants and kebab and döner shops (döner is meat cooked on a vertical rotating spit), or read our guide to the best ocakbaşı in London. To grill at home, try our ızgara köfte (grilled meatballs), Adana kebab or tavuk şiş (chicken skewers).
- Bodrum Kitchen – Turkish ocakbaşı & grill in Leyton & Leytonstone
- Et House Swiss Cottage – Turkish ocakbaşı & grill in Kilburn & West Hampstead
- Aksular Enfield Town – Turkish ocakbaşı & grill in Enfield
- Coco Grill & Lounge – Turkish ocakbaşı & grill in Bermondsey
- Alaz Turkish Cuisine Finchley – Turkish meze & fine dining in Finchley
- Aysu Restaurant Harrow – Turkish kebab & döner in Harrow
See all 199 Ocakbaşı & Grill places in London
Quick facts
- Born: 9 August 1983, Paşalı, Şenkaya, Erzurum province
- Known as: Salt Bae, since a viral video in January 2017
- Trained: as a butcher’s apprentice in Kadıköy, Istanbul
- Restaurants: Nusr-Et steakhouses, first opened in Istanbul in 2010
- In London: Nusr-Et Knightsbridge, opened 2021
- Group today: more than 20 restaurants in eight countries, according to Nusr-Et
Further reading
- Salt Bae – Wikipedia
- Who the hell is Salt Bae? – TheWrap
- Salt Bae opens new branch within his own hotel – The National
- Nusr-Et – official website
Pictured: ızgara köfte. Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
