Comedian James Corden apologises after Balthazar restaurant ban

Comedian James Corden was temporarily banned from a New York restaurant on Monday after being "extremely nasty" to staff on two occasions, the owner said.

Keith McNally, who owns popular New York eatery Balthazar, said Corden had been an "abusive customer" after some errors with his orders.

But he later revealed the actor and TV host had since called and "apologised profusely".

Mr McNally then lifted the ban, saying, "I strongly believe in second chances."

In an earlier post laying out what happened, Mr McNally had described the host of The Late Late Show as "a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man".

He said the first incident was in June, when Corden had eaten at Balthazar and showed a hair to the manager after his main course - the implication being it was in his food.

Mr McNally observed that "although this is diabolical, it happens very occasionally in all restaurants." He said Corden was unpleasant and told the manager: "Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all our drinks so far."

A second run-in followed in October, the restaurant owner said. An omelette was the cause of the alleged rudeness.

"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... and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk," Mr McNally wrote on Instagram.

Balthazar's staff remade the dish, but they "unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad", he added.

"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!"

Mr McNally described the comedian as being "the most abusive customer" since the business opened 25 years ago.

The BBC has contacted Corden's team for comment. He has not addressed the allegations in public.

The row appears resolved from the restaurant's side, with Mr McNally observing: "Anyone magnanimous enough to apologise to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn't deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar."