Multiple women have come forward to allege that they were sexually harassed and in a few cases even assaulted by famed restaurateur Ken Friedman.

In a New York Times expose, former employees who worked for Friedman at his hugely successful West Village eatery The Spotted Pig claim that they were groped and even forcefully kissed by their boss while on the job.

His behavior was allegedly so rampant and out in the open that workers began to refer to the third floor of the establishment as 'the rape room.'

The Spotted Pig is one of New York's most celebrated restaurants and its investors include Jay-Z, the British mega-DJs Fatboy Slim and Pete Tong.

U2's Bono even taught the bar staff how to pour Guinness, although he was not an investor.

Named: Ken Friedman (above in 2014) is accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees in a New York Times expose

Natalie Saibel (left); Jamie Seet (right) who detailed her experiences with Friedman's temper tantrums

Victim: Trish Nelson said that she reached her breaking point in 2012 after going out to smoke a joint with Friedman in a car outside the restaurant, and suddenly being forced to fight him off as he started kissing her

Dynamic duo: Friedman and the chef at The Spotted Pig, April Bloomfield (above in 2004)

Check on it: Beyonce and investor Jay Z depart The Spotted Pig at around 1:30am in November 2007; Rihanna in 2016 (left)

Friedman, who is also the man behind Breslin Bar & Dining Room, the John Dory Oyster Bar, Salvation Taco and White Gold Butcher, announced soon after the story was published that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence.

'Some incidents were not as described, but context and content are not today’s discussion. I apologize now publicly for my actions,' said Friedman in a statement.

The Times story points out that Friedman had a number of consensual relationships with women over the past 13 years. His wife was formerly a host at The Spotted Pig.

Friedman's business partner at the establishment was April Bloomfield, the highly-revered chef who runs the kitchen.

Nelson claims that she went to Bloomfield with a complaint about Friedman at one point, and said she showed no interest in getting involved with the situation.

'Her response was always the same,' said Nelson.

'"That’s who he is. Get used to it. Or go work for someone else."'

Bloomfield responded to these claims by stating: 'My energies are directed to the kitchen, food preparation and menu development.'

In total, 10 of the women interviewed said that they were subjected to unwanted sexual advances by Friedman while working at the restaurant.

Natalie Freihon, a former food and beverage director for Freidman at the Ace Hotel in New York, said she too spoke to Bloomfield on multiple occasions as workers began to leave because of Friedman's behavior.

'In the two matters involving uninvited approaches that were brought to my attention over the years, I immediately referred both to our outside labor counsel and they were addressed internally,”' said Bloomfield.

'I have spoken to Ken about professional boundaries and relied on him to uphold our policies. Nonetheless I feel we have let down our employees and for that I sincerely apologize.'

A-list Pitt exes: Jennifer Aniston exiting Jake Gyllenhaal's birthday fete in 2011 (left); Gwyneth departing a Jay Z afterparty in 2008 (right)

Reality bits: Kim and Kanye exit the eatery after chowing down in pub fare in 2015

Eternal recurrence: Jessica Simpson in 2017 (left); Taylor Swift in 2015 (right)

'We had to brace ourselves every time Ken arrived,' said Natalie Saibel, a server who claims Friedman groped her buttocks and groin in front of guests.

'When he wasn’t coming on to us, he was screaming at us.'

Saibel claims she was groped in 2015, while the incident Amy Dee Richardson shared happened over a decade prior in 2004, when she claims Friedman 'bit her on the waist as he bent down to duck under the bar.'

Jamie Seet said she was spared Friedman's sexual advances because she was a lesbian, but said she was still left feeling like a 'battered wife' with all of her boss' ups and downs.

Menace 2 society: Mario Batali was called the 'red menace' by employees for his alleghed groping at parties

Sett also revealed that she once had to intervene when she spotted Mario Batali making out with a woman who looked to be unconscious in the 'rape room.'

'We called him the Red Menace,' said Nelson, who was also familiar with the chef's behavior.

'He tried to touch my breasts and told me that they were beautiful. He wanted to wrestle. As I was serving drinks to his table, he told me I should sit on his friend’s face.'

Nelson was the first to publicly speak out against Friedman, posting on Facebook shortly after the first allegations emerged against Harvey Weinstrein.

She detailed that 2007 incident during which she had initially been excited to meet one of her idols Amy Poehler before Friedman shoved her head into his crotch.

'Aside from hanging my head in painful humiliation, I did nothing,' said Nelson in that post.

'I can’t even retell this story now without getting teary. It is one of the many demoralizing experiences that have taken place within my 20+ year waitressing career.'

Anthony Bourdain commented on the allegations against Friedman and Batali in a post on Medium.

'Any admiration I have expressed in the past for Mario Batali and Ken Friedman, whatever I might feel about them, however much I admired and respected them, is, in light of these charges, irrelevant,' wrote Bourdain.

'I will not waste anybody’s time with expressions of shock, surprise, or personal upset, beyond saying that I am ashamed that I was clearly not the kind of person that women friends who knew — and had stories to tell — felt comfortable confiding in.'