Keith Lee is tipping D.C. restaurants thousands of dollars
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Keith Lee (center in red) at Jerk At Nite. Photo: courtesy Jerk At Nite
Viral food influencer Keith Lee is touring DMV restaurants, often leaving tips in the thousands of dollars for businesses in need.
Why it matters: The TikTok star boosts business at restaurants across the country — known as the "Keith Lee Effect" — and targets struggling, minority- and family-owned businesses to lend support.
Catch up quick: Lee, a Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts fighter from Detroit, turned to critiquing restaurants in the pandemic.
- His TikTok has 16.5 million followers. When he announced a DMV trip seeking suggestions for mom-and-pops that have "great food and service, but could use the marketing," over 20,000 replies flooded in.
Zoom in: Lee is known to pay his own way and remain anonymous when ordering. Reviews, often posted over takeout in his car, rate dishes on a scale of 1-10. So far in the DMV he's reviewed:
🍜Okonomi Asian Grille, a new fast-casual in Fairfax that's fallen victim to a fake DoorDash scam. Lee gave some bowls 8.5/10.
🚚 Flavor Hive, an Alexandria food truck where customers BYO chips and get toppings for $10 (Lee bestowed mixed reviews, Axios D.C. liked it better).
🇪🇹 Dukem, one of U Street's classic Ethiopian restaurants. A family member made a viral TikTok about their restaurant struggles. Lee crowned it "The best food we've had in D.C." (short ribs, 9/10).
🍗 Hong Kong Carryout, a Southeast takeout where Lee got a D.C. must-try — fried rice, wings, mumbo sauce — that he said tastes like McDonald's sweet-and-sour (not wrong, 8.6/10).
🍦 Smize & Dream, Tyra Banks' new Woodley Park ice cream shop, where Lee left $1,600 to give out free ice cream to customers.
The intrigue: Lee often leaves generous tips with specific instructions. In his posts, he's announced gifting $2,000 to Okonomi to pay for free food for customers, plus $1,000 to help with losses from theft.
- At Dukem, he tells staff he'll tip them $500 each while also paying for the restaurant to give out free food. At Hong Kong Carryout, he paid for neighbors to eat for free.
Friction point: Lee, a teetotaler, criticized D.C.'s dining scene while reviewing Cane on H Street, saying that the city's restaurants are all "geared directly towards alcohol," and that, "If you don't drink, it seems like it's slim pickings."
- It didn't go over well.
- Lee clapped back at the critics who accused him of not doing his homework while also showing several bad dining experiences at unnamed spots — smelly fish, an unclean food truck — that he declined to review because "it's not constructive at all."
What's next: Lee is heading to Baltimore, but he's still dropping D.C. reviews. Jerk At Nite owner Denville Myrie tells Axios that Lee visited his Caribbean carryout in Northeast and tipped $2,000 for the restaurant to give out free food today, starting around noon.
- Money may also help cover costs from a devastating fire that closed the H Street location, which they're hoping to reopen.
What they're saying: Myrie, who lobbied hard to get Lee in the door, says that Jerk received over 230 orders this week with Keith Lee's name — customers whom he suspects wanted favorable treatment, but a Keith Lee boost all the same.
- "You don't have to be Keith Lee," the Howard alum tells Axios. "We come from such humble beginnings, everyone is important to us."
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Lee visited Hong Kong Carryout's Southeast (not Northeast) location and to remove an incorrect rating for Smize & Dream.