People Are Debating Atlanta's "Toxic" Restaurant Culture After TikToker Keith Lee Called Out Multiple Restaurants For Giving Him Special Treatment

There's some serious drama on #FoodTok, ya'll! So, if you haven't heard the name Keith Lee, he's a TikTok food critic who travels to various cities on his "Food Tour" to try local hotspots and give honest reviews of his experiences.

Well, Atlanta restaurant culture is currently under fire this week after Keith gave negative reviews to multiple Atlanta restaurants for their purportedly poor customer service and strict dining rules. The videos have received millions of views and have sparked a massive debate, with many agreeing with Keith, and others who are not happy with him.

@KevOnStage

Strap in because I'm going to lay out everything that has happened so far:

So, Keith Lee recently traveled to Atlanta and decided to visit a popular restaurant called The Real Milk & Honey. He posted a TikTok review explaining how he intended to eat at the location, but ended up leaving empty-handed. "As you can see, I have no food in my hands," Keith said at the start of the video. "We attempted to call our order in, and we were greeted with an automatic message that said, 'We do not take call-in orders.'"

Keith then went on to explain that he and his family decided to try the location in-person. "My family went inside, and they told them they were closed early for deep cleaning, yet the doors were wide open and people were going in and grabbing their orders."

After Keith's family explained what the restaurant had told them, Keith decided to enter the restaurant himself. "Afterwards, I did walk in, and they recognized me and attempted to service us, but I respectfully declined," Keith said in the video.

After Keith's review of The Real Milk & Honey went viral, receiving over 20 million views, users found and posted what appears to be a list of the unique "House Rules" at The Real Milk & Honey restaurant, with the first rule stating: "We guarantee great food...everything else is left to chance."

@AfricanPrize

In response to the online backlash, The Real Milk & Honey posted a now-deleted TikTok video shading Keith Lee for the negative review by sarcastically asking, "And who is this Keith Lee?"

@therealmilkandhoney via TikTok / @_duchessk / Via tiktok.com

The restaurant released an apology statement after deleting their TikTok video and claimed that the viral list of "House Rules" for The Real Milk & Honey is "outdated."

@Phil_Lewis_

But, that didn't stop users from meme-ing The Real Milk & Honey's response:

RCA / @imeverybottom

Other users took the drama a bit more seriously and highlighted what they saw as a "larger issue" in the Black community:

@RehanaWC

Well, Keith's next stop in Atlanta was the Old Lady Gang restaurant owned by Grammy-winning songwriter and Atlanta Housewife Kandi Burruss. In Keith's video review that has received over 12 million views, he described running into similar customer-service issues, including special treatment due to his influencer status.

@Keith_Lee125 via TikTok / Via tiktok.com

At the start of the video, Keith claimed that representatives from the Old Lady Gang reached out to him to visit the restaurant as soon as he arrived to Atlanta, so he decided to try it with his family: "We called the number that they had connected on Yelp three times — no answer. We tried to order through DoorDash, and they said it was temporarily closed."

Keith then explained how he again decided to send a family member inside the restaurant to see how an average customer would be treated: "My family asked how long it would take to be seated, and they said an hour to an hour and a half," Keith said in the video.

After hearing the wait time, Keith decided to enter the restaurant himself. After taking photos with supporters who were dining, he claimed he was approached by an employee and told a table would be ready for him within five minutes. "I don't want any special treatment. I want to be treated like everybody else," Keith said in the video.

Keith asked the employee how she was able to seat him so quickly when he was told the average wait time was an hour and a half? Keith claimed she responded saying, "Nobody on the waitlist came when I called, so it's first come, first serve now." Keith pointed out in the video, "My family had attempted to eat there less than two minutes earlier."

Keith decided to decline the table due to the seemingly unequal treatment between himself and the average customer. "To be transparent, I'm frustrated. Me and my family are just trying to eat food... I'm a normal person, and I just want to be treated like everybody else," Keith explained in the video.

In response to the online Old Lady Gang critique, Kandi Burruss took to TikTok to address Keith's review, saying: "It is very unfortunate that we couldn't serve Keith and his family, we would have loved to." She explained the reasoning behind some of the restaurant rules and ended the video stating: "Thanks to Keith for even trying to show up and show us love and maybe next time, we'll get a chance to serve you."

Of course, the memes were right around the corner:

Hulu / @DwayneJay

Bravo / @RoyalPrince01

Thousands of users have been in overwhelming support of Keith Lee who has seemingly given a voice to everyday diners who feel some Black-owned restaurants in Atlanta don't treat their regular customers fairly.

@Cai_Lyfe

Another user agreed, writing, "You don't even treat your Black customers right unless there is clout involved."

@ProducedByTip

Rapper Cardi B, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, weighed in on the debate on her Instagram, saying: "I feel like they [Atlanta restaurants] don't like making money. They don't like people, they don't like customers, they just don't like it." She went on to explain that she struggles to order food from many restaurants who have extensive rules and odd hours. "I feel bad for Atlanta residents, thank you Jesus I'm famous, but even me being famous, it's like a hassle!" Cardi said.

@iamcardib via IG Story / @episodesesent / Via instagram.com

Not everyone has been on Keith's side, though. One user argued that Keith should've appreciated the table offered to him due to his influencer status, claiming that: "Keith Lee doesn't know how to use clout correctly." Another user countered their statement, saying: "Keith Lee wants restaurants to service customers equitably, and ya'll don't understand that because ya'll are clout chasers and not community builders."

@Unnnnnnnnck / @KiaSpeaks

So yes, there's been a lot of controversy, but the Keith Lee vs. Atlanta restaurants tweets have been everywhere, so let's check out some of the funniest ones:

BRAVO / @itsKARY_

E! News / @PirateCoop

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images / @b0mbchell_

HBO / @ItsLaDarrion

And finally...

Nickelodeon / @_sinycal

Keith Lee has continued to highlight that his reviews are his own experiences, and he encourages people to visit these restaurants for themselves to form their own opinions. Let us know what you think about this Atlanta restaurant culture debate in the comments below.