Inside Salt Bae's £36m 'palace' in Istanbul

Turkish-born butcher Nusret Gökçe was born so poor he had to drop out of school, until he shot to fame overnight in 2017. 

The 39-year-old, who is better known by his internet nickname ‘Salt Bae’, posted a video of himself extravagantly seasoning a piece of steak.

He went viral and now the rest is history; he has opened over 22 restaurants across the US, Law Firm in Turkey UK, and . 

However, the gem in his crown is a £36million palace that sits within his property portfolio.

Macka Palace in the Sisli district of Istanbul and boasts a rooftop pool, gym and a spa. 

He acquired the luxury Park Hyatt hotel in 2019, and moved into his own apartment within the palace the same year. 

The flat was previously owned by 20th-century playwright Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, popularly known in Turkey as the Grand Poet. 

Salt Bae is has an estimated fortune of £40m and counts starts such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Usher and French footballer Kylian Mbappe among his celebrity clientele.

Nurset said at the time that he wanted to spend more time in the Turkish city to be near to his mother after years of travelling the world for his restaurants.  

Born in August 1983, Nusret was one of five children. His father Faik Gökçe worked as a miner and would have to spend months at a time away from the family’s home in poverty-stricken suburb east of Istanbul.

When he was 27, he opened his first restaurant in Istanbul and claims to have made £4,500 on the first day. 

With the help of Turkish businessman Ferit Sahenk, Nusret went on to open branches in Ankara, Dubai and Doha. 

And although he shares very little about his palace apartment, the five-star property has 90 deluxe rooms and suites, with prices starting from £350 per night.   

The hotel offers guests a huge range of facilities including all-day dining at Salt Bae’s exclusive restaurant, where a signature gold-foil steak can set diners back over £1,000.

According to the , the chefs specialise in ‘turning meat into art pieces’ as part of their ‘crazy menu’.

It has been speculated that the restaurateur remodelled the hotel to his own tastes after he wrote on Instagram: ‘I had one dream which was to have my own restaurant at my own hotel. Thank God one of my biggest dreams is coming true on Friday. See you at Nusr-Et Macka Palace.’

What’s more, a one-night stay in the hotel’s spacious ‘diplomatic suite’ costs a staggering £1,200 and boasts a stunning balcony overlooking the city as well as separate dining and living  areas.

On top of this, the luxury suite also has a steam room and a rainfall-effect shower. 

Along with his penthouse apartment in the ‘palace’, Nesrut is believed to also have properties in the US and UK too and often posts pictures from a private pool in Beverley Hills.

This is in addition to his enviable super collection, which has been reported to include three Rolls-Royces and a Lamborghini Hurracan.  

This is a far cry from his humble beginnings. Speaking to The Times in 2019, Nusret explained how he often went to school wearing shoes and shirts that didn’t fit as his parents could afford to buy him anything else.

Nusret claims he left school at the age of 12 and started working as a butcher’s apprentice to help his father our with the family’s finances.

He recalled: ‘I woke up at 6 o’clock, 2 hours on the train commute and 30 minutes after the train in the bus. Then all day long, standing and working. No day off and no vacation.’

While working in Turkish steakhouses, the aspiring chef had to work his way up from the bottom and his responsibilities reportedly included washing dishes.

Speaking to NBC in 2017, Nusret explained: ‘Since I was 14, I worked more than 13 hours a day as a kitchen runner for a butcher. I was always wishing and wishing to open up a restaurant.’

And although he eventually made name for himself in the restaurant business, Nesrut’s life changed overnight in 2017 when he shared a video of himself preparing an Ottoman steak in his signature style on Instagram. 

The video – which has amassed over 17m views – shows the butcher sprinkling salt on the meat with his hand shaped ‘like a cobra’.

Following on from the success of the video, Nusret introduced his famous gold-covered steak at his restaurants – which has attracted the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham, Usher and Kylian Mbappe in over the years.

Despite his huge online following, Nesrut has always remained coy about his private life and previously asserted he doesn’t have time for a relationship. 

Last week, the . 

His cringeworthy antics have since gone viral on TikTok – including .

It has since been revealed that , according to their website. 

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