Salt Bae has opened his first Boston restaurant, Nusr-Et

Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe, aka Salt Bae, became a global Instagram celebrity back in 2017 when a video of him giving generous and excessive sprinklings of salt on steak went viral and lead to Gökçe opening several restaurants.

Now, Mr. Bae, arguably one of the most recognizable restaurateurs in the world, has opened a location of his Nusr-Et steakhouse in Boston's Back Bay this weekend, and you can see how the crowds turned out:

Nusr-Et has opened up in the opulent Bay Village space at 100 Arlington St. that was formerly occupied by Nahita.

Gökçe opened the first Nusr-Et steakhouse in his homeland in 2010, and Boston will be his 16th restaurant. (It will be the third to open in the U.S. after NYC and Miami.) Carnivores will surely come in for the photo opportunities, not to mention what promises to be an over-the-top assortment of steaks, chops and other meaty bites.

However one may feel about Gökçe, it's undoubtedly exciting for a new, splashy restaurant to open in the Hub during what has otherwise been a difficult 2020. And to have an international celebrity chef dip his toe into the local dining scene is a good sign for a city that some argue lacks the sort of international chains that bring out expense account crowds and starry-eyed out-of-towners.

And we mean, take a look at this dude in action:

Here's one for all the vegetarians out there:

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