Few people can draw a crowd to a restaurant like Keith Lee. The TikTok food critic—who has 16.5 million followers—is known for highlighting under-the-radar mom-and-pop shops and family-owned businesses that need a marketing boost. The “Keith Lee Effect” is well documented. Lee, who often reviews carryout dishes on a scale of 1 to 10 from his car, will frequently draw lines down the block for restaurants that were on the verge of closing. He pays his own way and often leaves tips of hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
Although Lee is based in Las Vegas, he and his family have been traveling around the country, from Dallas to Chicago and beyond. And now, they’ve arrived in the DC area. “My level of excitement is through the roof,” he posted on TikTok. (Washingtonian reached out for an interview, but we have not yet heard back.)
Lee has already kicked things off in Northern Virginia. First stop: Okonomi Asian Grille in Fairfax, a build-your-own bowl concept with Asian flavors. One regular customer wrote Lee a letter, which he posted online, explaining how owner Alex Kang often works 80 to 100 hours per week and had recently been the victim of DoorDash thefts and scams. Lee’s review video of Okonomi has been viewed more than 2 million times after one day.
@keith_lee125 Okonomi Asian Grill taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic @Okonomi ♬ original sound – Keith Lee
Lee also made a pitstop at an Alexandria food truck called Flavor Hive, where you bring any bag of chips and they’ll add toppings and sauces, Frito pie-style, for a flat $10 fee. (The Halal truck also serves quesadillas, rice bowls, and Egyptian bread pouches.) Lee called it one of the most unique concepts he’d seen in a long time and a huge value, but offered some mixed reviews.
Where else might Lee visit? He’s already posted an Instagram poll asking his followers which DC-area restaurants embody the food scene: Legacy Carryout for wings and subs in Waldorf and Fort Washington, the Breakfast Club serving all-day breakfast in Silver Spring, Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen for soul food staples in Southeast DC and Maryland, or… Le Diplomate?
Meanwhile, Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant on U Street is a frontrunner in Lee’s TikTok comment section with plea for a visit that’s gained more than 15,000 likes. The owners’ daughter, Lydia Tefera, had posted a video on TikTok days before Lee announced his DC-area tour, talking about how her dad passed away in 2022 and her mom had been trying to keep the restaurant afloat on her own. “Nearly almost 30 years in, it’s coming to the point where we don’t know how much longer this business is going to last,” she said. Ethiopian should definitely be required eating for Lee in DC, but we’d love to see him also visit some excellent under-the-radar spots like Gueny’s and Sora in Alexandria.
Wherever he ends up, we hope puts a spotlight on all the international flavors that make this region’s food scene so special. Maybe Guatemalan at Maltiox in Shaw? Or Cameroonian and Caribbean cooking from Motherland Kitchen in Frederick? There are also plenty of old-school places that could use some renewed love, like Greek Deli downtown or Fish in the Neighborhood in Park View. And please, Keith, get yourself some mumbo sauce.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
