A TikTok food critic boasting millions of followers made his first stop in the Bay Area Monday to review a San Francisco restaurant. He showcases a diverse array of mom-and-pop restaurants on his TikTok page, which usually see a jump in business after he posts about their food.
That’s what Double Decker, the San Francisco spot he visited, hopes to see.
Double Decker opened its Mission District location just before the Pandemic. But, lately, sales have been slow.
Enter, Keith Lee.
Lee is a former MMA fighter with 15 million TikTok followers who travels to different cities to try small, diverse restaurants and share his opinions.
After asking for suggestions in the Bay Area, he chose Double Decker for his first review — discreetly ordering the food and trying it in his car.
John Situ owns the Double Decker and he says owning a burger joint is his lifelong dream.
His 19-year-old son emailed Lee, asking the critic to stop by.
“I was surprised that my son actually emailed him,” Situ said. “I didn’t know, he did it all by himself.”
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Lee’s review wasn’t exactly glowing, appearing not to like the onions.
“There’s some sort of onion sauce or onion component that wasn't on the original burger that was on here ” he said in his review. “I like onions, but don’t like what they did here.”
But, as usual, he said that was his opinion and that his family liked it more.
“I had my cousin taste it and he gave it an 8.5,” Lee said.
Situ said he understood, but still stood by his hand-made patty served with fresh ingredients on a brioche bun.
“Maybe I can change it a little bit, maybe put a little less onions,” Situ said, and laughed. “But I don’t know, some people like it, some people don’t. But I’m just happy at the end of the day that my son did this for me, and he came through.”
When Lee reviews a restaurant, it typically sees a surge in popularity.
Kim Jones, who owns Sista Kim’s Kitchen in Las Vegas, knows that well.
Lee reviewed her bacon cheeseburger two weeks ago and now she’s making more of them than ever before.
“Great things like this, helping small businesses that are struggling and have no idea how to keep the doors open. This changes lives,” Jones said.
NBC Bay Area wasn’t able to get ahold of Lee for comment. But, top reviews or not, Situ hopes it leads to more interested customers stopping by and is grateful for the exposure.
“My son and wife were telling me, ‘oh, we’re so happy for you.’ People were texting me just yesterday and we’ll see what that brings us for the future,” he said.