Emily Mack
Balthazar is one of New York City’s most famous French restaurants — and James Corden is not welcome there. The late night host was called out by Balthazar owner Keith McNally for being “abusive” to the staff. In a public Instagram post, McNally went as far as to ban Corden from the establishment.
But after Corden apologized, McNally reversed the ban.
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A Public Shaming
Balthazar is a SoHo mainstay. For more than 25 years, the French brasserie has operated on the corner of Spring and Cosby Street, drawing so many tourists that its eye-catching red awning has become something of a New York landmark. (The steak and frites is worth the hours-long wait.) Suffice to say, Balthazar does not need to cater to rude guests— even if that guest is a celebrity.
Restauranteur Keith McNally, who owns Balthazar, made this clear in a brutal Instagram post on Oct. 17. “James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man,” it begins. A strong opening. McNally goes on to call Corden “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”
Flexing some service lingo, McNally added: “I don’t often 86 a customer, to today I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh.” He also provided two detailed examples of Corden’s disrespect, straight from the Balthazar managers:
“MANAGER’S REPORT # 1:
‘In June, James Corden was here on table 61. (Although this is diabolical, it happens Very occasionally in all restaurants.) After eating his main course, Corden showed the hair to Balthazar manager G. who was very apologetic. Corden was extremely nasty to G, and said:
via Instagram: keithmcnallynyc
“Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way I write any nasty reviews in yelp or anything like that.’ “
“MANAGER’S REPORT # 2:
‘James Corden was at Balthazar with his wife on October 9th for brunch. He asked for a table outside. Brunch Maitre D’ Allie Wolters took the party to table 301. Mr. Corden’s wife ordered an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese and salad. A few minutes after they received the food, James called their server, M. K. and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk. M. K. informed the floor manager, G. The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad. That’s when James Corden began yelling like crazy to 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!” M.K. was very apologetic and brought G. over to the table. He returned the dish, and after that, everything was fine. He gave them promo Champagne glasses to smooth things out. G. said that Corden was pleasant to him but nasty to the server.’ M.K. was very shaken, but professional that she is, continued to finish her shift.’
via Instagram: keithmcnallynyc
James Corden— why would you act like this when you’re going to be recognized? Why?! I hope the free drinks were worth becoming the next internet Karen.
The Damning Post
James Corden’s Apology
Naturally, Keith McNally’s call-out went viral. Fast. And it wasn’t long before James Corden called the restauranteur to apologize directly. And McNally forgave him. Today, he published another Instagram, mostly absolving the embarrassed TV host. It read:
“James Corden just called me and apologized profusely. Having fucked 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. Especially Balthazar. So Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is Forgiven. xx”
via Instagram: keithmcnallynyc
Corden has already announced plans to exit The Late Late Show in 2023… so maybe McNally’s dream will come true.
