Keith Lee review of Ace of Wingz in Phoenix has fans heated. But owner still feels 'blessed'

Keith Lee, a former MMA fighter and current social media food critic with 17 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, officially made it to Arizona after teasing his arrival last week. He posted his first two restaurant reviews from two Mesa restaurants — Republica Empanada and Myungrang Hotdog — on Monday, Feb. 26 and Tuesday, Feb. 27.

His third Arizona video posted Wednesday night. Lee tried take-out from Ace of Wingz, a popular Phoenix chicken wing joint with over 59.4K Instagram followers.

Here's what Keith Lee thought of the Phoenix restaurant.

Did Keith Lee like Ace of Wingz?

The video opens with Lee in his car. "The food in this tin was voted on over 15,000 times here in Arizona," he said, referencing a poll he ran on his Instagram story the previous day. The choice was between four Black-owned restaurants: Sugar Jam, Latha, Brunch House and Ace of Wingz, which won the poll by a large margin.

"Before I say the flavors, I will say, they crazy. And that's not an understatement," Lee said.

Lee ordered the VIP platter, which comes with 18 wings in six different flavors: lemon pepper, strawberry hot lemon pepper, hot honey lemon pepper, lemon-lime buffalo elote, hot cherry and sweet garlic teriyaki.

"I like the ingenuity. I really like the thinking outside the box," he said of the unique flavor options.

He was "not a fan" of the hot cherry flavor, which he said tasted like it was dipped in Kool-Aid, nor the lemon-lime buffalo elote or the strawberry hot lemon pepper.

However, his opinion changed as soon as he bit into the hot honey lemon pepper, which he immediately said was "the best one" and rated 7 out of 10.

He also said the regular lemon pepper was one of the best lemon pepper flavored wings he has tried, and rated it 7.5 out of 10.

"At the end of the day, I appreciate the invite and the recommendations. Just because I'm not the target audience, doesn't mean you won't be, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart," Lee said.

Fans reacted quickly to Lee's review of Ace of Wingz

Despite the not-so-positive review, Ace of Wingz posted on Instagram thanking the community for support, and Lee for giving the business a chance, even though he was dissatisfied.

"The fact that 15K plus people voted that enjoy my food speaks volumes. Appreciate @keith_lee125 for giving our restaurant a try and wish him nothing but success and happiness. Thank you," read the post caption.

The Instagram post had over 1,000 likes as of Thursday morning, with fans of the restaurant flocking to the comments to express their support.

One commenter wrote, "Don't let this put you down at all!"

Ace of Wingz replied, "This is a blessing, down for what? I'm sober a home owner and I have a family that love me. I'm blessed."

Another commenter wrote, "I like Keith Lee but that review was whack. He order everything sweet when he doesn't even like sweets. Like other people said, he didn't even try any sides either, not even the Mac. It was goofy from the start. Your food is 10/10. Always recommend you to friends and family. Keep going!!"

(Lee has stated in multiple videos that he is not a fan of sweet things.)

Who is Keith Lee?

Keith Lee started posting food reviews on TikTok in 2021. His videos are unique in that they all take place in his car. He's explained in the past that he sends in a member of his family to pick up takeout and eats it in his car so as to maintain anonymity for an experience closer to that of an average customer.

His TikTok videos have garnered over 699 million likes and he's gotten so popular, the uptick in business at a restaurant he reviews has been dubbed "The Keith Lee" effect by Bon Appetit.

How to visit Ace of Wingz

Ace of Wingz is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.

Details: 8052 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix. aceofwingz.com.

Read the other reviews: TikTok critic Keith Lee was in the East Valley. What he ate, how they ranked

Reach the reporter at endia.fontanez@gannett.com. Follow @EndiaFontanez on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: TikTok critic Keith Lee didn't love Ace of Wingz Phoenix — fans heated