Restaurant creates cheaper version of Salt Bae’s £850 gold-covered steak

‘This time last year people couldn’t afford to feed their kids and now social media is full of receipts for how much they’ve spent at a restaurant,’ says owner

(AFP via Getty Images)

A restaurant owner with eateries in Durham and Sunderland has created a budget alternative to Salt Bae’s famous 24-carat gold-covered steak, which costs £850 at his Knightsbridge restaurant.

The menu prices at chef Nusret Gökçe’s restaurant Nusr-Et Steakhouse London have shocked customers since it opened last month, with customers previously expressing their dismay over a £44 charge for four Red Bulls.

Meanwhile, a table of four recently left the restaurant with a bill for £37,023, according to a post shared to Reddit’s London subreddit and reported by MyLondon.

Now, John Stirk, a butcher and steakhouse owner at Stirks Italian Steakhouse in Sunderland and The Butcher’s Deli in Durham, has offered a cheaper version of the famous dish, which feeds two and costs £100.

Named the “Stirk Bae,” the 38 ounce dish is also recommended to particularly hungry diners who are keen to try it on their own.

“I love it when people post pictures of the food they’ve had and give us a good review,” Stirk told The Guardian.

“What annoys me about the restaurant in London is that there’s a lot more pictures of people posting receipts for how much they’ve paid for the food rather than the quality.”

He went on to criticise the hype that has surrounded Salt Bae’s menu prices.

“This time last year people couldn’t afford to feed their kids and now social media is full of receipts for how much they’ve spent at a restaurant,” he said.

“It just feels wrong. It doesn’t sit right with me.”

Explaining why he wanted to create a cheaper alternative, he said: “For me it was about showing that the gold-covered steak could be done cheaper and could be done better. It doesn’t have to cost the earth.”

So far, Stirk’s take on Salt Bae’s famous dish has been selling very well.

“The reaction has been out of this world. We sold about 30 over the weekend,” he said.

“The sentiment behind it wasn’t about putting a gold, flashy steak on our menu, it was about quality of food.”