Jay-Z and Elon Musk allegedly had a standoff at Carbone over the age-old debate: who pays the bill?
Mario Carbone stopped by the Joe and Jada podcast, where he revealed that once, the two ate together at his restaurant and argued over who would pay the check.
“Hov and Elon ate here once,” he said. “And they were fighting over the bill.”
At one point, Jay even asked Carbone to mediate. “Jay called me out to the kitchen. And he was like, ‘Can you explain to this man that’s been taken care of?’”
“And I was like, ‘Mr. Musk, you realize the position I'm in right now, right?’” the restaurateur added. “Jay had to make sure he paid.”
The original Carbone, which opened in New York City in 2013, has become a popular celebrity hotspot over the years. In 2017, Drake namedropped the restaurant on the More Life album cut, “Do Not Disturb,” rapping, “Last table left in Carbone, callin' plays on the rotary phone.”
According to an Eater article from that year, Drizzy celebrated his birthday at the Las Vegas Carbone in 2015, and in 2016, the restaurant catered his birthday party. Apparently, he even took Rihanna to the New York City location on a date.
Barack Obama has also frequented the eatery. According to the restaurateur, Obama dined there when he was the sitting president, and the whole situation was very cloak-and-dagger.
“I have Secret Service in the kitchen. I have Secret Service at every spot downstairs, everywhere. Cell phone blockers, they shut down all the phones. … To see people's faces, to have the president of the United States walk in out of nowhere—amazing moment. to have the Secret Service back there. Crazy.”
