Police called to Salt Bae's Nusr-Et restaurant in dispute over $3,000 golden steak bill

One diner in Florida insists he did not order the 24K gold steak and assumed it was just served that way

The golden steak is one of Salt Bae’s signature dishes and sells for Dh1,250. Instagram / @nusr_et    

Turkish butcher and restaurateur Nusret Gokce, better known as Salt Bae, is famous around the world thanks to his restaurant theatrics and extravagant steaks.

But it seems not everyone is impressed by his Nusr-Et restaurants, with one man point-blank refusing to pay for his 24-carat gold steak, resulting in the police being called.

Duane Miranda visited the Florida branch of the restaurant chain, which opened in 2018, for what he knew would be a pricey dinner. But was shocked when he was landed with a $3,000 (Dh11,017) bill at the end of the evening.

According to a lengthy Yelp review left by Miranda, he ordered two regular tomahawk steaks and a rack of lamb, but was presented with and charged for the 24-carat gold-coated version. Rather than question the gold, he assumed that was “normal presentation for the order”.

“They insisted that we ordered the ‘Golden’ option and charged us $1,000 for each. We absolutely DID NOT order that option.  Although we did eat what they brought to the table thinking this was the normal presentation for our order, it was clear that the waiter was trying to take advantage of the situation,” he wrote.  “After disputing this misunderstanding with management, they decided to involve local law enforcement, rather than do the right thing.”

He claimed the restaurant had contacted law enforcement 11 times over disputed bills in less than two years.

Miranda did pay the bill in the end to “avoid further conflict”, but said he would warn people to be careful when eating at Nusr-Et in the future.

A spokesperson for the restaurant told the Miami Herald that all the prices were clearly marked on the menu and there were no hidden items.