Keith Lee and 2 Chainz debated restaurant reviews and celebrity perks on Kirk Franklin’s Den of Kings. Here’s what each said, the 2023 Atlanta backstory and what it means for diners.
Keith Lee and 2 Chainz debated restaurant reviews and celebrity perks on Kirk Franklin’s Den of Kings. Here’s what each said, the 2023 Atlanta backstory and what it means for diners.
Stacey
Quick answer: TikTok food critic Keith Lee and Atlanta rapper and restaurant owner 2 Chainz debated restaurant reviews and celebrity perks on Kirk Franklin’s Den of Kings series, in an episode posted Nov. 1, 2026. 2 Chainz brought up Lee’s negative review of his restaurant, Esco Restaurant & Tapas, and defended the special treatment famous people get. Lee said his reviews are meant to show what an ordinary customer experiences, not the VIP version he gets once staff recognize him. Clips spread fast, and by Monday, Nov. 2, both “Keith Lee” and “2 Chainz” were trending in the U.S. on X.
Here is what each of them actually said, why the 2023 Atlanta backstory matters, and what this argument means for anyone who picks restaurants based on social media reviews.
The exchange took place on Den of Kings, Kirk Franklin’s roundtable series. According to the episode description, the episode, titled “I Am What I Am,” was recorded live at Clark Atlanta University and also featured comedians Mojo Brookzz and Desi Banks. The food-review section is one chapter of a longer episode that also covers rejection, social anxiety, faith and fatherhood.
The restaurant debate is the part that went viral. Outlets including Complex, AtlantaFi and ATL Wave TV covered it between Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
2 Chainz opened by bringing up Lee’s review of Esco Restaurant & Tapas, the Atlanta restaurant he co-founded (it was formerly called Escobar). He did not dispute Lee’s right to an opinion. As quoted by Complex, he said:
“I saw you do my restaurant. I saw you do other people’s restaurants. And I really can’t judge it because it’s your opinion.”
He also spoke about Atlanta’s large Black-owned restaurant scene and suggested that owners there are working hard to build their businesses.
The part that drew the most reaction came when he defended celebrity perks. Complex quotes him saying, “I’m an entertainer and obviously we get perks that other people don’t get,” and that he doesn’t stand in line at the airport because he has worked hard to get where he is. ATL Wave TV, which said it worked from an audio transcript, reports that he also pointed to wrestling legend Ric Flair getting served first at a Waffle House. His point was that famous people getting special treatment is nothing new.
2 Chainz also asked whether Lee’s background as a professional fighter, with years of strict dieting and cutting weight, might shape how he judges food.
Lee’s answer was that his reviews are about more than how the food tastes. They are about how a regular paying customer gets treated. Complex quotes him:
“If you Mojo Brookzz, you 2 Chainz, you Desi Banks, you Kirk, if you go in, you going to get a completely different experience than if my mama go in or my wife go in or if anybody in the crowd go in.”
To back that up, he described sending his mother-in-law into 10 different Atlanta restaurants. “She couldn’t eat nowhere,” he said, adding that when he showed up himself, he was told his table was ready right away.
He also explained why he takes this seriously. His followers travel and spend money based on his recommendations, he said, so the review has to match what they will actually get. “I don’t ever want to put nobody in a situation that they get a different experience only because they not Keith Lee,” he said.
On the question about his palate, Lee said his athletic career is what got him into food in the first place. He learned about nutrition while managing his weight, and that turned into a love of cooking. He added that restaurants invite him to review them, so they shouldn’t be upset when his honest opinion isn’t what they hoped for: “You ask me to come get my opinion, but then you get upset because my opinion not what you wanted to hear.”
Every outlet that covered it described the conversation as respectful. ATL Wave TV called it “distinct views rather than a personal dispute.”
This argument goes back three years. In late 2023, Lee and his family spent a week reviewing Atlanta restaurants, and the videos set off a national debate. According to CNN, at one spot, The Real Milk and Honey in College Park, Lee’s family was told the restaurant was closing early for a deep cleaning. Staff offered him service once they recognized him, and he turned it down.
“I pay for my food like everybody else. I walk up in spots like everybody else,” Lee said at the time, as quoted by CNN. Slate and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the visits started local arguments about customer service and restaurant “rules.” Other stops on that trip included Atlanta Breakfast Club, Lil Baby’s The Seafood Menu and Old Lady Gang.
That is why the mother-in-law story landed so hard this week. Testing restaurants the way a regular customer would is the core of Lee’s approach, and 2 Chainz challenged it directly.
Reaction online has been split, but AtlantaFi reported that many commenters sided with Lee, arguing that a review meant for the public should show what an average customer can expect. Others saw 2 Chainz’s point as simple honesty about how fame works. AtlantaFi also noted that neither man had issued a formal follow-up statement beyond the conversation itself as of its report.
The timing kept Lee in the news as well. On Nov. 1, he joined his brother, former UFC fighter Kevin Lee, for the Dallas grand opening of Kevin’s comfort-food restaurant, Braised, according to Local Profile.
Whoever you agree with, the debate raises a useful point for diners. A review from someone famous may not reflect your visit. A few simple habits help:
If you’re planning food stops around a city, our guide on how to plan a Los Angeles food day around mood, budget and neighborhood uses the same idea: match the place to the experience you want. For more seasonal food news, see our Starbucks holiday menu 2026 guide, and for more celebrity headlines from this weekend, read about Heidi Klum’s 2026 Halloween costume.
The restaurant mentioned in the conversation is Esco Restaurant & Tapas in Atlanta, formerly known as Escobar. 2 Chainz co-founded it in 2016, according to AtlantaFi.
It is part of Kirk Franklin’s Den of Kings episode “I Am What I Am,” posted Nov. 1, 2026. The episode chapter list puts the food-review debate at about the 16:32 mark.
No public feud has been reported. Complex, ATL Wave TV and AtlantaFi all described the exchange as respectful, with two different views rather than a personal fight.
Lee has said he wants his reviews to reflect the experience of a normal customer. Restaurants that recognize him may treat him differently, so having family order first shows how an unknown diner is treated.
Featured image: Keith Lee at Essence Fest 2025. Photo by Cameron Woods, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; resized.
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