What does 86 mean in a restaurant? James Corden reputation comes under scrutiny as comedian's terrible behaviour surfaces online in wake of Balthazar ban

James Corden blasted by Balthazar owner for creating a ruckus at restaurant (Image via The Late Late Show/YouTube)
James Corden blasted by Balthazar owner for creating a ruckus at restaurant (Image via The Late Late Show/YouTube)

James Corden has come under fire from restaurateur Keith McNally for his repeated bad conduct at the former's NYC restaurant, Balthazar. Subsequently, McNally took to social media announcing that the comedian has been “86’d” from the popular eating location.

On Monday, October 17, the Balthazar owner took to Instagram to slam Corden, referring to the television host as a “tiny Cretin of a man” and “the most abusive customer.” He added:

"I don’t often 86 a customer, to today I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh."

The term "86" was first coined in the 1930s. It is a slang term that is used to refer to a product being nixed. It is also another way of saying that the kitchen has no supply of a specific ingredient.

"86" has now evolved into a phrase that is used for people the restaurant wishes to cut off either because they were rude, inebriated, or could not pay the bill.


What did James Corden do in the restaurant?

Speaking of the “funny man’s” antics at the up-scale restaurant, McNally shared two instances where the 44-year-old was less than a delight to serve to.

The first time Corden created a ruckus was when he found hair on his main course. After eating the food, when he showed the hair to “manager G,” the latter was “very apologetic.” McNally then went on to write how Corden was "nasty" to the manager.

"Corden was extremely nasty to G, and said, "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.""
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McNally also shared another instance of rude behavior. On October 9, during brunch with his wife, James Corden complained to the server that his wife’s egg yolk omelet had some egg white mixed in it. When the dish was taken back to the kitchen, they returned it with the correct omelet but unfortunately with a side of home fries rather than the ordered salad. The post continued:

"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!""

The restaurant manager then proceeded to offer Corden and his wife “promo Champagne glasses to smooth things out.”

Along with being a bad customer at Balthazar, McNally wrote that the The Late Late Show with James Corden host reportedly did something "similar" at Cafe Luxembourg.

Ever since news of Corden's bad behavior surfaced online, netizens have also shared other stories of the comedian's less-than-ideal behavior. In one such story, Corden was called out for poorly treating waiters at a restaurant, whereas in another, he was seen being indifferent to his own baby.

At the time of writing this article, James Corden had not publicly responded to McNally’s dismissal of him from Balthazar.


Netizens react to James Corden’s restaurant escapade

Internet users were happy to hear that the talk show host was getting ousted from the celebrity-favourite eatery. Many claimed that they believed that Corden portrayed toxic behavior towards employees. Some also dubbed him as the “male Ellen DeGeneres.”

Twitter users flooded the social media platform with several memes. A few read:

After the matter gained traction on social media, McNally shared on his official Instagram page that the comedian "apologized profusely." The restauranteur added that he believes in "second chances" and will "rescind his ban."

The Blathazar owner added that he had forgiven Corden's behavior.

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