Atlanta restaurants have been put on notice as popular TikToker Keith Lee lays out the good, the bad and the sometimes unforgiving details of his dining experiences in the city.
Lee, who rose in prominence on the social app in 2022 after two years of making content, is known for delivering reviews of food establishments across the country in relatable and easily digestible videos.
His growing notoriety as an influencer has helped multiple struggling eateries gain traction, but his account of patronizing Atlanta hotspots seems to have left a bad taste in his mouth.
Trending Today:
Restaurants whose quality of service, or lack thereof, dining rules, and food that have been critiqued during his recent trip include Jamaican Jerk Biz, The Bodega, The Dining Experience, The Real Milk & Honey, Juci Jerk Atlanta, The Seafood Menu, the Atlanta Breakfast Club, and The Old Lady Gang.
The latter establishment is owned by “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” O.G. Kandi Burruss and her husband Todd Tucker. Lee and his family paid the near-downtown location on Peters Street a visit on Oct. 28 after they were unable to order their meals via DoorDash and by phone. To their disappointment, they were denied the option to place a to-go order in person due to the weekend rush.
“As you can see, I don’t have any bags in my hand,” said Lee in his video critique. As he has done for all of his reviews, Lee sent his family members into the establishment to avoid receiving preferential treatment.
As a result, his family was told they would have to wait up to an hour-and-a-half to be seated, as there were also no reservations. At that point, Lee went into OLG, took pictures with fans, and shortly after, a staff member notified him that he would be seated within five minutes.
When he inquired about the quick turnaround for a table, it was clear that his notoriety was a factor. “As always, I don’t want any special treatment. I want to be treated like everybody else. I pay for my food like everybody else. I’m a normal person. I’m a normal customer,” Lee said.
The influencer said he declined to be seated and instead told the staff member he was no longer interested in dining at the establishment.
“I’ma be very transparent and honest, I am frustrated. Me and my family just trying to eat food; that’s all we trying to do. At the same time, I understand that we are all humans. I do not agree, I do not support, I do not condone shaming this business based on my experience,” said Lee.
He continued, “Like every city we been to since we been on this food tour, I go to regular restaurants, to mom-and-pop shops, to staples in the community, to super popular, to places nobody knows about. And Atlanta has definitely been a unique experience for me and something I’ll never forget.”
Several fans implored Burruss to avoid the online backlash. One user wrote, “Kandi girl. Go head turn the comments off & don’t fumble the response just be humble about it. Another commented, “Girl the food business just isn’t for you. You’ve failed so many health inspections. It’s just not it it’s embarrassing now customer service.”
That’s the GM at Toast and I will say he flat out told me that they accommodate any celebrity before they take care of their regular customers https://t.co/DIxW5I3FIA
— Coria René (@MissCoriaRene) October 29, 2023
The Xscape singer did not heed the warnings and instead addressed part of the criticism. In a video response, she began by stating that she appreciated Lee for stopping by OLG. “It is very unfortunate that we couldn’t serve him and his family. We would have loved to, okay. But he’s right, we don’t take to-go orders on the weekends,” said Burruss.
The singer-songwriter then explained why patrons are required to dine-in during the weekend. “The simple reason is because we do love and appreciate the people who come and support our restaurant,” she said.
“On the weekends we get a lot of community support, people in our city that show up for us, as well as a lot of people from out of town. So with that being said, we don’t want to overwhelm our kitchen by having to have such long times for people who are actually at the restaurant” in addition to to-go orders that would also increase wait times.
Kandi made a decent attempt to address the Keith Lee visit to OLG … but completely ignored the real critique(s)
— Read the Room (@sir_spnce) October 31, 2023
– staff not answering the phone
– wait time magically disappearing once they knew it was him pic.twitter.com/uzt4h0VJod
However, Burruss was called out for not speaking on her staff’s treatment of Lee’s family, which had been told they were given a significant wait time for a table. She also did not offer an explanation on why the phones at the establishment allegedly went unanswered.
“Kandi made a decent attempt to address the Keith Lee visit to OLG … but completely ignored the real critique(s) – staff not answering the phone – wait time magically disappearing once they knew it was him,” wrote an X user. “Everybody is somebody. That’s his point. Non celebrities are the people who keep restaurants in business. So treat everyone well!” read another comment.
A third critic wrote, “Y’all weren’t going to sit him or his family untill you found out about his status… be honest Kandi…. I been on the wait list for 6 months so don’t lie.” A fourth person sharing their experience posted, “I mean tbh, the service do be kinda bad and the food really don’t be hitting.”
OLG disabled comments on the establishment’s most recent post, but was still accused of deleting unsavory remarks related to the review on an Oct. 1 video on their timeline.
Elsewhere online, separate videos recorded by bystanders show Lee in a lively discussion with Chef Virgil Harper, owner of the Atlanta brunch spot Toast On Lenox, and the manager. Lee later confirmed that he went to the hotspot after leaving OLG.
In one of the clips, the recorder claims that Lee was offered a table as soon as he entered the popular establishment despite the two-and-a half-hour wait time. An X user commented, “That’s the GM at Toast and I will say he flat out told me that they accommodate any celebrity before they take care of their regular customers.”
In another clip of the same encounter, Lee is heard saying, “If they get food first, we sit down. That’s the only way we sitting down,” as he points to patrons who were waiting to be seated.
In the end, Harper shared a post of Lee inside of Toast on Lennox. He also expressed that the TikToker was humble, genuine, and offered constructive criticism that, if taken, can help improve the food scene in Atlanta.
Lee’s review of his experience has not been posted yet.
