LONDON: A former worker at Nusr-Et in London has spoken out about the “toxic working environment” at the famous restaurant and accused it of serving customers “frozen chips with Heinz ketchup.”
The Knightsbridge restaurant, owned by Turkish chef Salt Bae — real name Nusret Gokce — became a social media phenomenon when it launched late last year, largely because of the sky-high prices it charged for everything from fries to baklava.
But former employee Guillermo Perez, a sommelier from Madrid, told MailOnline that the restaurant was a “McDonald’s for rich people” for charging guests extortionate prices despite serving them “frozen chips with Heinz ketchup.”
Specials at Nusr-Et include a Golden Giant Tomahawk steak for £1,450 ($1,935), Golden Giant Striploin for £1,350 and Golden Kafes for £500. A simple burger and Coke will set you back £100 and £9 respectively.
Wines, too, said the sommelier, were subject to an “incredible” markup.
“Bottles worth £1,000 would be sold for up to £3,000, for example,” Perez told MailOnline.
“Of course you can charge people whatever price you want, but it’s pretty immoral when the quality of the food and service does not match the price.”
He continued: “One day I saw a big bag of frozen chips and I thought, ‘Really? That’s what we are serving people?’ And they had Heinz ketchup and mayonnaise, which you can get from the shop.
“I have worked in Mayfair and other good restaurants, but my experience there was very disappointing,” he said.
“I think people there want to show how much money they have, almost everybody paid in cash.”
The restaurant’s high-profile customers include David Beckham, Jason Statham and Naomi Campbell. As well as London it has outlets in New York, Dubai and Istanbul.
It is not clear whether those locations run their kitchens in the same way as London, but one reviewer wrote on TripAdvisor: “The ones in L.A., Turkey and Dubai are amazing and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough but I would never return to Nusr-Et in London.
“I dined here with some business associates and felt embarrassed afterwards that I’d chosen such a god awful place to dine in. This place is all hype and no substance. Give it a miss or dine at your own peril.”
Perez said he spoke out after being fired from the restaurant after eating an avocado in the canteen after 5:30 p.m. He said he had found a new job as a sommelier on a cruise but regretted ever working at Nusr-Et.
“I wish I had never accepted a job there,” he said.
