Diners at trendy New York restaurant Balthazar were left speechless when several men began fighting in the street right next to occupied tables – and the owner says James Corden is to blame.
Stunned onlookers said the men got into a fistfight outside the SoHo restaurant on Saturday afternoon.
Video of the incident has been widely shared and shows the altercation as several staff members attempted to restrain the man using metal bollards and chairs.
The video shows customers fleeing the area and screaming as rioters crashed into tables at diners’ feet.
Here you can see the staff trying to restrain the fighter (face out of frame, in jeans) as he flees.
Restaurateur Keith McNally, who owns Balthazar in New York along with a number of other restaurants, shared an image of the fight on his own social media.
Restaurateur Keith McNally, who owns Balthazar in New York along with other restaurants, shared an image of the fight on his own social media.
“There was a huge fight outside Balthazar on Saturday night after a customer expressed support for James Corden,” he said.
McNally publicly ridiculed Corden in October 2022 after a particularly unfortunate encounter at the restaurant and revealed that he had banned Corden from entering.
He said: “James Corden is a very talented comedian, but a tiny little jerk. And the most abusive customer to my waiters at Balthazar since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”
The restaurant owner said he was initially hesitant to publicly criticize Corden, but did so out of “loyalty to restaurant servers everywhere.”
Stunned onlookers said the men began beating each other early Saturday night outside the SoHo restaurant.
“There was a huge fight outside Balthazar on Saturday night after a customer expressed support for James Corden,” he said. McNally publicly ridiculed Corden in October 2022
Hours after the initial post, he revealed that Corden had called him personally to apologize and as such, he had reversed the ban.
A customer who witnessed Saturday night’s fight firsthand said she was extremely disappointed in how staff and management handled the situation.
The woman said the least the staff could have done was “offer us a complimentary glass of wine or something because we were caught in the middle of everything, just to take the stress off of us after this or make our evening a pleasant experience.”
“They fell to the ground right in front of us, just before I pulled out my phone. It was very unexpected,” he said.
‘My first and last time in this horrible establishment. SoHo is no longer a safe place.’
Video of the incident has been widely shared and shows the fight taking place as several staff members attempted to restrain the man using metal bollards and chairs.
The woman was criticised for her “out of character” response to the incident, with some witnesses arguing that “waiters had to fight to fend someone off”.
Can you imagine having a bad day like that at work and being sad that you didn’t get a free glass of wine?
Police were called to the scene around 4 p.m. Saturday regarding a harassment complaint.
New York police said the man entered the restaurant and was charged with causing a nuisance and alarm.
The man is not wanted by the police and there are no further investigations.