James Corden ‘issues grovelling apology for yelling like crazy at staff’ at New York’s Balthazar restaurant after being banned by British owner for being the most ‘abusive customer EVER’ and berating waiters over his wife Julia Carey’s omelette
- James Corden was banned from New York’s Balthazar restaurant amid claims that he was rude to staff there
- Owner Keith McNally published two reports on Instagram from his managers complaining about Corden
- The fiery restaurateur said in June that the star demanded free drinks and was rude after a hair in his food
- And Mr McNally said Corden was so rude about the cooking of an omelette that he was no longer welcome
- Row was said to be over ‘a little bit of egg white’ in the meal and a mistake to serve it with fries, not salad
- Last night Corden was once again welcome – because he claimed Corden rang him to apologise ‘profusely’
James Corden has been given a ‘second chance’ after a ‘profuse apology’ to a New York restaurateur who banned him and branded him a ‘tiny cretin of a man’ after claiming the British talk show host yelled ‘like crazy’ at staff over an omelette and fries – and previously demanded free drinks ‘this second’.
Fiery Briton Keith McNally barred the star from Balthazar in SoHo, Manhattan, because of his treatment of servers, branding him: ‘The most abusive customer since the restaurant opened 25 years ago’.
In a series of extraordinary Instagram posts, Mr McNally shared two reports from his managers who accused Corden, who earns $36million-a-year as host of the Late Late Show, of being ‘extremely nasty’ to staff.
The first incident, in June, allegedly came after the British comedian and actor found a hair in his meal. According to staff, who were ‘very apologetic’, the star allegedly declared: ‘Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way I (won’t) write any nasty reviews in yelp or anything like that.’
And Mr McNally said that nine days ago there was more trouble when he came in for brunch with his wife Julia Carey but complained about ‘a little bit of egg white’ in her egg yolk omelette. He then allegedly began ‘yelling like crazy’ when they made a new one but served it with fries instead of a salad.
The Instagram post claims Corden told the server: ‘You can’t do your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself’. The couple received a free glass of Champagne, and apologies, but the server ‘was very shaken’.
Last night Mr McNally said he had ’86’d Corden’. Eighty-six-ing a customer is a colloquial term which typically means to stop serving a person, or to kick them out. It is thought to have originated at Greenwich Village speakeasy bar, Chumley’s, on 86 Bedford Street, which was opened secretly during prohibition in 1922 and where visitors were ’86’d’ if they got too drunk.
‘James Corden is a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man, and the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,’ Mr McNally wrote. ‘I don’t often 86 a customer. today I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh’, he added.
In his post Mr McNally went on to share details of ‘the funny man’s treatment of my staff’, adding that Corden had behaved ‘similarly in my former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, a few years back’.
The Instagram post was obviously brought to Mr Corden’s attention because Keith McNally posted an update hours later saying: ‘James Corden just called me and apologized profusely’.
Declaring that ‘all was forgiven’, he said: ‘Having f**ked up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances. So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for 9 months, I’ll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not. But….anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere’.
James Corden and his wife Julia Carey are accused of sending back an egg yolk omelette because it had a ‘little bit of egg white’ in it while dining at the plush restaurant, Balthazar. The situation then got worse when it returned with fries, the owner of the
Corden, pictured left on October 9 during the 2022 New Yorker Festival at SVA Theatre, was branded a ‘tiny cretin of a man’ by Balthazar’s owner Keith McNally, right
In a post yesterday, Mr McNally shared two ‘managers’ report’ accusing the star of bad behaviour including ‘yelling like crazy’ at his staff
Last night he claimed Mr Corden called him to apologise and has agreed to give him a ‘second chance’
Balthazar, located at 80 Spring Street in the SoHo area of Manhattan, has become wildly popular over the last two decades, and has been visited by a slew of A-list names over the years, including Anna Wintour, Zoe Deutch, Sienna Miller, Jared Leto, Mary-Kate Olsen, Tom Hiddleston, and Meryl Streep – to name a few.
Boss of Balthazar tells staff not to treat celebrities differently and gives free Champagne to single diners – ‘but never to Al Pacino’
New York restaurateur Keith McNally (pictured)
The owner celebrity-loved New York eatery Balthazar has rules for his waiters, including not to give stars any special treatment.
Restauranteur Keith McNally, who opened the upscale eatery in 1997, shared some of the things that he tells his staff members to do – and to not do – while dealing with customers at the restaurant.
McNally is also behind many other popular establishments and restaurants, including Augustine, Cafe Luxembourg, Cherche Midi, Lucky Strike, Minetta Tavern, Morandi, Nell’s, Odeon, Pastis, Pravda, and Schiller’s, and he has been branded as ‘The restauranteur who invested downtown.’
From not hovering around tables to always repeating orders back to customers to ensure no mistakes were made, McNally took to Instagram to reveal the requirements that he sets for his staffers to make sure that diners have the upmost experience at the restaurant.
‘Be friendly, but never chummy,’ he began in the lengthy post, which he titled, ‘Rules for restaurant serves.’
‘Always repeat the customer’s order back to him. Skate sounds like Steak after one martini.’
The owner added that waiters should never rush a guest and that they should always try to ‘anticipate the customer’s needs.’
‘Good service is based on anticipation,’ he explained, but added, ‘This does not mean hovering close to a table.
‘As a customer, I can’t bear to sense a server or busser lurking a few feet away. I also don’t want him clearing my coffee cup until after I’ve left the table or dropping the check before I ask for it, or to EVER pour my water.’
Another major ‘don’t,’ according to McNally, is interrupting the customers ‘flow of conversation’ to ask ‘meaningless questions.’
‘Customer service at Balthazar begins with the staff I hire. I only hire servers who are natural and not one iota pretentious,’ he previously told Resy.
‘On day one of training, my servers are taught to respect the coworkers below them more than those above them.
‘This means that Balthazar’s dishwashers are given more respect than me. I actively encourage this.
‘As a result, my floor staff end up being more sensitive to the needs of the least confident customer in the dining room than they are to some Hollywood bigwig.
‘That’s why we offer a free glass of champagne to single diners, but never to Al Pacino.’
The dining spot is so popular that it’s nearly impossible to score a reservation and there’s often a line down the block of customers hoping to get a table.
Its firebrand owner is beloved by many of the stars who dine there – but also has a reputation for using social media to name and shame people who behave badly or treat staff poorly.
He has also revealed when customers have been caught having sex in the toilets or run off without paying.
Corden hit the headlines earlier this year for his temper, where he screamed at a boy in London when the youngster knocked him off his rented bike.
The shocking allegations came months after the ‘Into the Woods’ star announced he would no longer be hosting the late-night talk show in 2023.
Tony award-winner Corden, who earns $36million a year, shot to fame in the U.S. on the hit CBS show, and became well known for his cheeky British humour.
McNally, who has a colorful history of booting out celebrities of his exclusive restaurants, claims that Corden also behaved similarly at his former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, on several occasions and left one server ‘shaken’.
He posted earlier on Monday two separate examples of Corden’s ‘extremely nasty’ behavior at the French brasserie in New York’s Soho district on his Instagram account.
The 71-year-old started his post by calling the funnyman a ‘hugely gifted comedian’, before laying into his fellow Brit – who regularly tucks into meals with celebrities as part of a game on the show.
The furious owner said that he ’86’d’ the star – which means you have been banned – and claims Corden found a hair in his main course when dining there in June, before demanding free drinks for the mistake.
DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for James Corden for comment.
In 2017, as the Harvey Weinstein scandal was just being published, Corden joked made fun of the rapist’s victims.
‘It has been weird this week watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water,’ he told a gala in New York City.
‘Ask any of the women who watched him take a bath, it’s weird watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water.’
He later apologised, tweeting: ‘To be clear, sexual assault is no laughing matter. I was not trying to make light of Harvey’s inexcusable behavior, but to shame him, the abuser, not his victims. I am truly sorry for anyone offended, that was never my intention.’
At the end of 2019, he ridiculed the technical team behind the film Cats, in which he starred.
‘I haven’t seen it, I’ve heard it’s terrible,’ he told a British radio show, and then told the Oscars audience while presenting an award: ‘As cast members of the motion picture Cats, nobody more than us understands the importance of good visual effects.’
In September 2021, while promoting his film Cinderella, he dressed as a mouse and danced in a road, thrusting his groin at bemused drivers.
Corden was accompanied by Camila Cabello, who plays the lead role, and Billy Porter, as a character called Fab G.
At one point Corden seemed to take a drag on what looked like a spliff, before dancing some more.
In July this year, he was knocked off his bicycle in London by a fellow cyclist, who swerved in front of him on busy Regent’s Street, nearly pushing Corden into a car.
The comedian was furious, and loudly berated the young bike ride who cut him up.
McNally, in turn, has previous form for banning ‘rude’ celebrities from his restaurant if he believes their behavior isn’t up to scratch.
He ripped into former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter last year after he made a reservation at his plush Morandi restaurant – but failed to show up.
McNally who is the owner of NYC hotspots including Balthazar and Pastis, branded Carter in May 2021 a ‘fancy f***er’ after booking a table for 12.
The owner insists that waiters should never rush a guest and that they shouldn’t give stars any special treatment. He is seen with Anna Wintour at the restaurant
Mr Mcnally with Dorinda Medley and Sienna Miller at Balthazar
The restaurant, pictured on Monday, is a popular spot for celebrities, tourists and locals alike – everyone from Anna Wintour to Sienna Miller has eaten at Balthazar
Balthazar’s owner, Keith McNally, regularly shares updates from his staff – including, on Monday, excoriating James Corden for his behavior
But the owner, who was formerly a close friend of Carter, said that he had asked staff to specially prepare the restaurant to impress him.
In another scathing Instagram post he said: ‘Because Mr. Carter’s a restaurateur himself, my chef, manager and floor staff were eager for the lunch to go perfectly for him.
‘Extra staff were brought in to help with service, and two tables of six were meticulously set up and ready for Graydon Carter by 1 p.m. Only he didn’t show up at 1 p.m.’
Carter got his assistant to call the eatery to say that the editor had ‘forgotten to call and cancel’, with McNally left seething.
He claims that Carter ‘upset the equilibrium of the restaurant’ and ‘cost Morandi money’, before revealing that he had previous for failing to show up to reservations.
Balthazar: Fancy French brasserie-style diner in trendy Soho district
Balthazar owner Keith McNally made a raunchy Instagram post detailing how a couple used the men’s room at the swanky NYC restaurant as their private sexual oasis over the long Fourth of July weekend
Balthazar is a French brasserie-style restaurant housed in New York City’s Soho neighborhood.
The restaurant opened in 1997 in a building formerly used as a tannery, a place where animal hides are treated.
It has since become one of owner Keith McNally’s benchmark brasseries.
The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as being ‘quintessentially SoHo.’
The menu features pastries, seafood and other French-inspired delicacies.
McNally has since other Balthazar locations across the globe, including in London, UK.
His culinary empire also includes NYC hot spots Pastis and Minetta Tavern.
In February 2021 he defended Ghislaine Maxwell, in jail awaiting trial for sex trafficking with Jeffrey Epstein, and insisted she was ‘currently innocent’.
He then praised Woody Allen and Soon-Yi for appearing at Balthazar, captioning a picture of them at his restaurant: ‘I’ve never been as happy at Balthazar as I was last night to see the beautiful Soon-Yi and her husband dining there.’
That post was covered in the May 15 issue of Air Mail, run by Carter, which described McNally as ‘going off the menu.’
McNally was referred to as a ‘sometimes dour 69-year-old with fewer than 15,000 followers on Instagram’.
Carter said in a statement to Page Six: ‘My office did forget to cancel the lunch reservation until a bit after 1:30, which is wretched and we will be making a donation today to the restaurant’s tip pool to cover what the staff would have made.
‘As a fellow restaurateur I fully understand the implications of a large party no show.
‘As for the rest of McNally’s deranged rant, it is pure fiction.
‘I rarely eat at his places and this all stems from the story we did about his most recent Instagram controversies in last week’s Air Mail.’
McNally also delights in telling tales from his establishments.
In July this year, he claimed that staff at Balthazar were looking for the couple who left behind their wedding ring after having sex in the bathroom.
McNally alleged they ran off before staff had a chance to catch them in the act. But in their hurry a wedding ring was left on the restroom floor.
McNally claims the restaurant manager, Zouheir Louhaichy, told him about the encounter in a note detailing what ensued at the SoHo hotspot over the Independence Day weekend.
‘We had one alleged report of a couple having sex in one of the men’s stall downstairs,’ Louhaichy reportedly wrote.
‘But when I asked floor manager Greg to rush down and check what’s going on the couple were nowhere to be found so they remained a mystery.’
‘But oddly enough, Greg found a small wedding ring on the floor of the bathroom stall,’ he added.
Louhaichy said the ring was placed in the restaurant’s lost and found.
The couple’s sexual escapade wasn’t the only chaos staff were met with over the weekend.
Corden, in his mouse suit, is seen with Camila Cabello and Billy Porter in a street performance to promote his new film, on August 27, 2021
Tony-award winning Corden has risen to fame over the past ten years after moving across the pond, and becoming famed for his cheeky smile and stream of A list pals
Louhaichy told McNally they had to ‘cut-off’ a woman at the bar who was ‘clearly intoxicated.’
‘She was swaying and two other ladies at the bar grabbed her to help keep her upright,’ he recalled.
‘She threatened to call her lawyer and then when she was leaving she looked towards the podium and said to me: ‘I would like to be escorted out, a**hole!”
The manager said the drunk woman had been escorted out of Balthazar on a previous visit as well.
Despite the few unpleasantries, Louhaichy claimed it was a successful weekend for the establishment. They served 480 dinners and many customers issued ‘happy comments about the food and service.’
McNally’s Instagram posts have become popular with some users alleging there’s a ‘novel in every post’ and the stories should be used to ‘produce a series for Netflix.’
However, the eccentric restaurateur has cautioned that most social media posts are complete lies, including his own.
‘Eighty percent of Instagram posts are lies,’ he told The Wall Street Journal last month.
‘People post stories and photos of how they want to be seen by others, not of how they really are. Mine included. But at least I recognize it and try to change it.’
It is unclear if how much of McNally’s post about the restroom lovers in factual, but the internet seems eager to believe the story is real.
From accusing other restaurants of ‘having Putin-like power’ to people having ‘sex in the bathroom’… Keith McNally’s history of surprising claims
New York restaurateur Keith McNally has been known to make some egregious statements on his Instagram page.
He was slammed in March after going on a bizarre rant against British restaurant critics and claiming he ‘bought’ reviews when he opened Balthazar in London.
In a scathing attack posted to his Instagram page, he said ‘four or five of London restaurant critics have so much Putin-like power that the people who slave away cooking and serving the food are scared s***less to publicly find fault with them.’
He launched a tirade against Evening Standard and Tatler food critic Fay Maschler, claiming she only gave his restaurant a ‘stupendous’ review because they were good friends.
He also claimed Italian restaurant Brutto ‘greatly benefited’ from the owner’s friendship with Sunday Times’ restaurant critic Marina O’Loughlin.
In a scathing attack posted to his Instagram page , he said that ‘four or five of London restaurant critics have so much Putin-like power that the people who slave away cooking and serving the food are scared s***less to publicly find fault with them’ and said that Italian restaurant Brutto ‘greatly benefited’ from the owner’s friendship with Sunday Times’ restaurant critic Marina O’Loughlin
McNally, last November, took to Instagram to revoke real estate millionaire Michael Shvo’s VIP status at his eateries after an incident of misconduct.
The Balthazar maitre d’ alleged Shvo sat himself at the eatery’s best table without consulting restaurant staff.
Shvo then dismissed staffers’ efforts to check him in and reseat him, saying ‘he always got a booth.’
‘How F. presumptuous!’ McNally said at the time, adding that Shvo’s ‘obnoxious, entitled behavior is the Height of Arrogance.’
McNally then implored Balthazar staff to ‘Please have Mr Shvo’s AA status torn to shreds.’
Brazen businessman Michael Shvo (pictured third from left, with wife Seren by his side) has been known to frequent a slew of the boroughs most distinguished eateries, including Wall Street’s posh Cipriani and McNally Balthazar’s. Here he accompanied by his wife, Margot Adams (far left), and renowned New York publisher Jason Binn
McNally posted a scathing statement to social media Sunday night after learning from one of his maître d’s that millionaire mogul Michael Shvo arrived at the establishment for a one ‘o clock reservation but did not wait to be seated
In August 2021, McNally slammed the public pressure that led to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, claiming the governor’s actions didn’t stack up to other prominent cases of sexual misconduct.
Keith McNally facetiously congratulated the ‘self-righteous hypocrites’ who wanted the governor’s ‘head on a platter’ in an Instagram post.
‘Of course I don’t think sexual harassment is ok. But I hope that one of my 3 daughters would have to the strength of character to deal with it on the spot without turning herself into a victim,’ McNally said.
‘We not talking about a f***** Rapist like Harvey Weinstein. We’re talking about someone who, according to the state attorney general’s investigation engaged in….unwelcome and non-consensual behavior by touching and making numerous offensive COMMENTS of a suggestive and sexual nature.
‘If he exhibited this behavior to one of my daughters I hope they would just say, ‘F*** OFF’ and be done with it.’
McNally is known for his colorful commentary amid photos from his restaurants on Instagram
The restaurateur also banned former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter from his restaurants, calling him a ‘fancy f*****’ after he allegedly booked a table for 12 in May 2021 and never showed up for his reservation.
McNally wrote a furious post on Instagram, denouncing the behavior of someone he previously considered a friend.
Carter had booked for 1pm, and his assistant did not call to cancel until an hour later.
‘Perhaps, being something of a social bigwig, Mr Carter thinks he is above having to cancel restaurant reservations,’ wrote the London-born restaurateur.
‘Perhaps. But I’ll tell you one thing. The fancy f***** will never be allowed to make a reservation at one of my restaurants again. Never.’
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