Acid-tongue Keith McNally claims RATS were unleashed in his upmarket Balthazar ... trends now
Diners at New York's Balthazar restaurant could be heard shrieking on Friday night as rats were seen scurrying across the floor of the dining room just days after celebrity restaurateur Keith McNally branded Jeff Bezos' girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, 'absolutely revolting'.
One eagle eyed diner managed to capture a one of the little rodents running across the white tiled floor as it made a bid to escape.
Waiters dumped their dishes and hurriedly rushed into action to become makeshift rat catchers gathering all the napkins they could find as they attempted to capture the uninvited guest.
McNally was quick to respond to the Friday night's rat report, viewing the entire incident with cynicism.
'A suspicious-looking man of about 40 came and sat nervously at Balthazar's bar last night around 8:30. After paying for one drink he suddenly left very quickly leaving an upturned bag which 5 white domesticated mice ran out from.
Diners at New York's Balthazar restaurant were shocked after seeing rats scurrying across the floor, which were captured on video
Restaurateur Keith McNally suggested the incident was staged, involving domesticated mice coming days after he blasted Lauren Sanchez on Instagram
On Monday night, McNally took aim at Lauren Sanchez in a late-night Instagram rant. In it, the 72-year-old branded Bezos' soon-to-be second wife 'revolting'
'One of the bartenders who noticed the whole episode ran after the man, but failed to catch him. The five domesticated white mice were quickly caught. The entire episode was a SET-UP. I just feel sorry that the 5 domesticated white mice were exploited this way,' McNally wrote.
The rat seen scurrying in the video, however, was brown in color and it is not clear if the incidents are separate or possibly part of a revenge plot following McNally's slights against Sanchez.
'A woman called Michelle Manning Barish seemed to have knowledge that the incident was about to happen because she was standing suspiciously close to where the incident happened with her iPhone ready to take photos… She immediately posted one of the photos on Instagram and DM'd me a photo of a white mouse,' McNally stated.
In what appeared to be a scene straight out of the beloved cartoon Ratatouille, those who were sat at tables trying to enjoy their Friday night dinner were forced to lift their feet as the tiny tearaway raced beneath them, and along the side of the bar.
Those who had cell phones to hand attempted to aid the capture and turned on their flashlights to help the waitstaff deal with the sudden infestation.
Wait staff intervened swiftly, using napkins in an attempt to catch the rodents
Staff used guests cellphone flashlights to help aid the capture of the rodents
The dining room was sent into chaos as diners were forced to lift their legs up from the floor
Waiters could be seen scouring the floor as they desperately searched for the critter
Guests either filmed the drama or used their flashlights to help servers track the rats down
Staff could be seen on the floor as the tried to track down the uninvited guest
The chaos was caught on camera and posted to Instagram in what would have made for a memorable meal at the French brasserie.
'Rats found in Balthazar NYC in the dining room tonight…can't imagine what the kitchen is like. Absolutely 'REVOLTING'', the caption read in the footage posted by Michelle Manning Barish who describes herself as an 'activist' and 'writer'.
Barish later added some words of advice for McNally noting how the 'rat incident' didn't make his nightly report which he regularly posts to Instagram.
'Hey left out your rat incident in the dining room. Also, Why are you so obsessed with Lauren Sanchez? It's creepy. I promise, that while she's living her best life, helping others and having fun, she never thinks of your vocally anti semitic rants, defense of sexual predators, or rat infested restaurant,' Barish wrote.
'You're creepy. But at least you're more consistent than your food. Maybe handle your rat situation and take a break from attacking women on social media,' she added.
McNally then accused Barish of possibly being involved in unleashing the rodents in his restaurant.
'Wouldn’t surprise me she instigated the whole unpleasant episode. Or at least was a party to it,' he wrote in response to a comment online.
Keith McNally shared a carousel of pictures of Lauren Sanchez and her fiancé, Jeff Bezos, and proceeded to skewer the pair on Monday night
On Monday night, McNally took aim at Lauren Sanchez in a late-night Instagram rant.
In it, the 72-year-old branded Bezos' soon-to-be second wife 'revolting', before skewering the pair with comments offered alongside a carousel of recent pictures.
In the scathing rant McNally wrote: 'Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos' New wife - Lauren Sanchez - ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING?'
'What an ugly and F***ing SMUG - LOOKING couple they make. Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?'
He has since sparked fury on social media, with former TV anchor Sanchez sharing a very pointed message on Tuesday night and some of her high-profile friends coming to her defense.
In a subequent post, McNally claimed that a reporter from The Daily Beast came to his restaurant as early as 5 pm on Tuesday and accused her of 'looking for a story that suits her narrative.'
'A lady came early on around 5pm to ask for a reservation during primetime. Because we were full at primetime I offered her a nice table a little later.'
'It turned out that she was a reporter (she later called herself 'a spy ') for The Daily Beast and she proceeded to ask our bar guests if they noticed that Balthazar wasn't busy because of Keith's Instagram post about Jeff Bezos's girlfriend,' the post reads.
