From heart-thumping music to tableside beef carving and smoke shows, Nusr-Et’s steakhouses are an experience. Whenever owner Nusret Gökçe, also known as Salt Bae, is in one of his 28 Nusr-Et Steakhouse restaurants, he’ll cut every diner’s meat using the signature style and hand flick seasoning technique that made him a viral internet sensation. After cutting the meat, he’ll use his knife to serve a slice of meat directly into a diner’s mouth. 

This flamboyant dining experience draws crowds, said Al Avci, Nusr-Et COO.

“The first day we opened a location, a thousand people were at the door waiting two hours,” Avci said. “He served everybody one by one. He cuts every single steak. He does table touches. He’s making the guests happy. It’s incredible.” 

Gökçe opened his first Nusr-Et Steakhouse in Istanbul in 2010 with 40 seats, and it was a “huge hit” because of his unique serving style, Avci said. Prior to opening this restaurant, he traveled to New York and Argentina to learn about meat cutting and serving style techniques. From the start, Gökçe aimed to have a presence in the U.S.

“He saw something that other steakhouses didn’t have,” Avci said. “His vision was to serve the best quality steaks with tableside service and with shows.” 

Not long after Gökçe’s seasoning style made him a popular meme in 2017, the company began a growth spurt. In the last three years, the company opened 10 restaurants around the world. From 2018 to 2022, sales grew 57% globally, reaching $225 million, and increased 38% in the U.S., reaching $61.7 million in 2022. 

The company now has seven restaurants in the U.S. in the high-profile culinary cities of Miami, Las Vegas, Boston, Dallas, New York City and Beverly Hills, California. The rest of its restaurants are located around the world, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, London, Turkey and Mykonos. In addition to its high-end steakhouses, Nusr-Et is also the parent company of Salt Bae Burger, Cafe di Dolce and Kapicciiiinoo. 

Nusr-Et has more locations planned throughout the world, and aims to reach 40 locations by 2025. Additionally, the company plans to refurbish some of its flagship restaurants in Miami and New York City (Midtown), as well as in Dubai, to include a designated area for dancing and entertainment.

Why experience is key to fine dining

Nusr-Et is just one of the many fine dining restaurants experiencing rapid growth in a post-pandemic world. Consumer interest in high-priced restaurants, categorized by Yelp as $$$ and $$$$ on its website, rose 10% and 17%, respectively, compared to pre-pandemic, per a June Yelp report. 

“Fine dining establishments with rare or innovative menu items, photo-worthy aesthetics and unique experiences are getting the most interest from consumers,” Tara Lewis, Yelp trend expert, wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive. 

Yelp users who leave five-star reviews for fine dining restaurants tend to highlight attributes like exceptional service, ambiance that sets the dining room apart and food pairings, Lewis said. Oftentimes, fine dining restaurants even make their bathrooms photo-worthy. 

“In a post-pandemic world, people have an increasing appetite for memorable and unique dining experiences,” Lewis said. “Whether it be the remote worker who now pursues dining choices that give them a sense of escapism or just the enhanced, perceived value in top-notch service and one-of-a-kind dishes, fine dining establishments can offer consumers a heightened sense of dining experiences.”

How Nusr-Et creates a one-of-a-kind dining experience

Nusr-Et emphasizes entertainment in just about everything it does. When guests enter one of its steakhouses, they hear music curated by an on-staff DJ. The dining room is a flurry of activity — on one table, a meat cutter could be preparing a steak tartare from scratch. On another table, a server is likely performing a dry ice “smoke show.” On a third table, a server could be rolling a beef carpaccio. In another part of the dining room, a server may be flipping baklava in the air as part of the dessert service. 

“When you come to Nusr-Et, you don’t know what is going on,” Avci said. “You want to take your phone and you want to post that to Instagram immediately.”

What makes Nusr-Et’s dining experience unique isn’t just the tableside service, but also the quality of the dishes. About 90% of all of its meat is wagyu steak, which Avci said has an ideal fat marbleization and meat so tender you can use a fork to cut it. All U.S. restaurants also cook meat over a charcoal grill, adding to the protein’s flavor.

To ensure that every guest has an exceptional experience, the company trains employees in its Nusr-Et Academy, where they learn every cut of the meat, the difference between wagyu and other proteins and how to provide a high-level of service, Avci said. The academy opened in 2012 in Istanbul. 

“Training is key,” Avci said. “That’s how we are successful in what we do in the field.” 

Training aside, the company’s labor practices have drawn scrutiny in the past, however. In April, Business Insider published an investigation that found several lawsuits alleging wage theft, labor violations and discrimination had been filed in response to Gökçe’s business practices. 

Christy Reuter, a lawyer representing Gökçe and his restaurants, told Business Insider that the claims of the lawsuits “were disputed and have long since been settled.”

Nusr-Et’s brings Salt Bae Burger to life

The company’s next phase of growth will be expanding its Salt Bae Burger brand, which launched last year in New York City, and refurbishing existing Nusr-Et Steakhouses. The company closed the New York brick-and-mortar Salt Bae Burger in June — its first and only brick-and-mortar unit — instead moved the concept to its two existing Nusr-Et Steakhouses in New York to be part of the menu. 

“The decision was made based on challenges with the existing location which prevented us from offering the best dining experience to our guests,” Avci said. “The brand is very strong and expansions are coming very soon,” he said. 

Salt Bae Burger is targeting growth within airports, with a unit slated to open in Istanbul International Airport in Q4, Avci said. The company is also exploring various airport locations in the U.S., particularly in cities where Nusr-Et already has a restaurant, such as Miami. Globally, it has its eyes set on airport locations in Ibiza, San Paulo, Paris, Mexico City, Milan and Egypt. 

Airports are ideal outposts because of the global recognition of Gökçe’s Salt Bae persona and his restaurant brand. Returns are also expected to be high in these locations since millions of travelers will pass through airports each year, he said. The Istanbul airport sees 100 million domestic and international travelers annually, for example. Salt Bae Burger is a good fit for the hustle and bustle of airport locations, since travelers would not have the time to sit down for a full Nusr-Et Steakhouse experience.

“Salt Bae Burger will [offer] high-quality wagyu burgers in a fast, efficient service setting,” Avci said. 

While Salt Bae Burger accommodates diners who are pressed for time, Nusr-Et is extending its experience offerings with a dance floor lounge, because people eating in dining rooms often end up dancing in their chairs, Avci said. 

“After years of learning about our customers, we found that our diners love the dining and entertainment,” Avci said. “We came up with the idea to extend our offering with a dance club.” 

The company completed a renovation of its Mykonos restaurant, which originally opened in 2019, during the summer to include a lounge where people can dance after eating their dinners. 

These lounges will be added to its Miami and New York locations — both of which are already six years old and are in need of renovation — within the next 12 to 18 months. 

“It’s going to be a party island,” Avci said.