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James Corden briefly banned from Balthazar restaurant in New York

October 18, 2022

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Balthazar, a legendary haunt for celebrities and influential New York gamblers, briefly banned comedian James Corden after he repeatedly berated employees, the restaurant owner said, calling him “a little moron of a man” and of Balthazar’s “most abusive customer”. the story.

Keith McNally, the owner of Balthazar and other popular New York restaurants, said in an Instagram post on Monday that he doesn’t often “86” a customer – which means banning or denying service to someone – but that Corden deserved it after two incidents. when he mistreated the workers at the French restaurant.

In June, McNally said, Corden demanded that a round of drinks come “this second” and that his previous drinks be compensated because he found a hair in his food – after finishing his main course. Corden was “extremely mean” to the manager, McNally said.

On another occasion this month, Corden came to the restaurant with his wife for brunch and complained to their server that there was “a bit of egg white” in his egg yolk omelet. , McNally said. The dish was redone but sent with the wrong side – home fries instead of a salad – which was apparently the final straw for Corden.

“You can’t do your job!” You can’t do your job! Corden told the server, according to McNally, citing an official’s report of the incident. “Maybe I should go into the kitchen and make the omelet myself!” When Corden barged in to the waiter, complimentary champagne glasses were brought “to smooth things over”. The episode left the server “very shaken”.

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A representative for Corden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Balthazar official declined to comment when reached by phone late Monday evening.

McNally’s ban from Corden wasn’t the first time he’s taken to Instagram to ban a customer from one of his restaurants. Last year, he publicly banned magazine editor Graydon Carter from Morandi, an Italian restaurant in New York, after he said Carter failed to show up for a 12-person reservation. (McNally said at the time that he had brought in extra workers to make sure the lunch went “perfectly for him” and that Carter had reneged on reservations on other occasions at his restaurants, including Balthazar. .)

McNally has a reputation for being provocative, at least in his Instagram posts and defenses of controversial celebrities; he defended Woody Allen, whose daughter Dylan accused him of sexual abuse. Amid a backlash over it and an incident in which he told a woman on Instagram that she looked like a “prostitute”, McNally told The Daily Beast that despite being a Democrat, “I hate cancel culture and political correctness”.

But late Monday night, McNally said he was rescinding Corden’s ban after the comedian called to apologize. McNally said he was “profusely apologetic”.

“I’m a big believer in second chances,” McNally said. He added that “anyone who is magnanimous enough to apologize” to him and his staff “does not deserve to be banned from anywhere”.

Corden, who has gained widespread notoriety for his “Carpool Karaoke” segments, is expected to step down as host of “The Late Late Show” by the summer of 2023, he announced in April.