A steakhouse that found notoriety for feuding with internet chef Salt Bae claims to have had £5,000 worth of luxury meat stolen.
In 2021, Relentless Steak and Lobster in Portsmouth publicly criticised Nusret Gökçe, the internet sensation known as Salt Bae, after he started selling a gold-covered steak for £630 at his Nusr-Et restaurant in Knightsbridge, central London.
At the time, the owner of the steakhouse, Scott Matthews, accused Mr Gökçe of “taking the mick” and re-created the dish himself for £500 less, which he sold to customers.
Now, the restaurant is appealing to social media to help recover a haul of meat that was stolen from the site in the Port Solent area of Portsmouth, between 11pm on Thursday and 5am on Friday.
The stolen produce included tomahawk steak, one of the most expensive cuts of beef, which is sold on the restaurant’s menu for £55. Fillet steaks and chicken wings were also taken.
The restaurant said the meat was supposed to be for Christmas office parties and a christening.
In a post on Facebook, it said: “Urgent, we need you. We were broken into and over £5,000 worth of meat has been stolen. Share now to make it too hot to sell on.
“These are our tomahawks and you can’t buy them anywhere, so if you see them, you know it’s Relentless stock. This was our weekends and Christmas parties stock that has been stolen and pre-ready for office parties in November as well as a christening booked in.”
In a later update, the restaurant posted: “Our Port Solent branch is open and still trading; we won’t let scum bags kill the brand.”
“Big massive thank you to our suppliers for quickly responding to the emergency and supplying the unit so quickly with meat to keep us trading.”
Hampshire Constabulary have arrested a 44-year-old woman on suspicion of burglary who has since been released while the investigation continues.
A spokesman said: “We are investigating a report of frozen meat being stolen sometime between 11pm on Thursday 24 October and 5am the following morning.”
“As part of our enquiries, we have arrested a 44-year-old woman from Portsmouth on suspicion of burglary. She has been released under investigation while our enquiries continue.”
Despite the arrest, the restaurant said it had still not recovered the meat.
In 2021, Relentless Steak and Lobster started selling a 1.2kg tomahawk steak, covered in gold leaf, served with two sauces, sides and triple cooked truffle French fries for £120.
At the time, Mr Matthews said: “We saw Salt Bae’s restaurant and we thought they’re taking the mick there. For him, that’s got to be about £500 profit in each steak.”
