Food critic Keith Lee stopped by three Ontario restaurants and here's how he rated each one
He's a big fan of Toronto's food scene!
Keith Lee trying food at Sumaq Iraqi Charcoal Grill. Right: Keith Lee at Afro's Pizza in Toronto.
Celebrity food critic Keith Lee is in Toronto and he's giving his honest take on the restaurants and cafes he's dining at.
Lee spent the weekend visiting various independent restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and left a $3,000 tip at his top-ranked food stop.
Lee, who is a former MMA fighter, is famous on TikTok for sharing his food reviews with his 16 million followers.
The American food critic typically gives reviews of restaurants in the U.S., but his Canadian fans are thrilled that he's decided to cross the border to check out some of GTA's best spots.
So far Lee has been to three Canadian eateries where he's ordered a variety of dishes and ranked each one out of 10.
Sumaq Iraqi Charcoal Grill
@keith_lee125 Sumaq Iraqi Charcoal Grill taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic @SUMAQ IRAQI CHARCOAL GRILL
Price: 💸-💸💸
Address: 1961 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Why You Need To Go: Sumaq Iraqi Charcoal Grill is a restaurant that shares authentic Iraqi flavours through its dishes. They have two locations in Ontario, one in Scarborough and another in Mississauga.
On Friday, Lee visited the location in Scarborough after saying one of his most recommended dishes since he's been in Canada was shawarma.
Lee got a veal shawarma, chicken shawarma and a mixed shawarma with both types of meat in it.
"That's good. That's real good actually," he said after taking his first bite. "That chicken has a lot of flavour."
He gave the chicken shawarma an 8.2 and the veal version an 8.4 out of 10. In the end, Lee said he preferred the meats separately and was not a huge fan of the mixed shawarma and rated it a 5 out of 10.
Sounds like Lee was also a big fan of Scarborough, saying it was "overloaded" with eateries.
"I feel like this is gonna be one of our most interesting food tours yet, by far. It's all kinds of cultures and backgrounds and different ethnicities and different foods I've never tried before," he said in his TikTok video.
"That's why it's going to be a first time for a lot of things."
Biscuits to Baskets
@keith_lee125 Biscuits & Baskets taste test 💕 would you try it 💕 #foodcritic @mixinthe6ix
Price: 💸-💸💸
Address: 49 Beatty Rd, Ajax
Cuisine: Coffee and chocolate shop
Why You Need To Go: This small chocolate shop is located in a shed on the owner's property in Ajax. It offers a variety of coffee flavours, pastries, and cakes.
Lee visited Biscuits to Baskets over the weekend and said the customer service was "over the top."
He also shared that what he ordered was out of his wheelhouse since he doesn't typically drink coffee or eat sweets.
The food critic ordered a Korean Sponge Coffee Latte, which he called "unique" and said it didn't taste like a latte. He gave it an 8 out of 10.
When it came to the various cake flavours like carrot and banana, Lee said they were a bit too sweet for him, but he loved the Ajax cafe.
"This is super Canadian cause you're in somebody's backyard. They say Canadians are some of the nicest people and I see why," the TikToker said in his clip.
After he had done his taste test, Lee went back inside to speak with the owner and left him a $2,500 tip.
Afro's Pizza
@keith_lee125 Afros Pizza taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic @Afro's Pizza @mixinthe6ix
Price: 💸-💸💸
Address: 107 Mutual St, Toronto
Cuisine: Pizza
Why You Need To Go: Afro's Pizza is a popular pizza place in downtown Toronto with Detroit-style deep-dish pies.
In his video, Lee shared the pizzeria gives back to the community and has a goal of getting a bigger location in the future.
The TikToker noted that many people told him it's the best pizza in the city so he had to check it out.
Lee ordered the mac and cheese, two versions of the Davis Junior personal pizza (one with pepperoni and another with beef), chicken and waffles and Shenaz's samosa pizza.
The food critic was a big fan of the mac and cheese and gave the dish an 8.5 out of 10.
"This is really good pizza in my opinion. It's sweet, it's saucy, it got hot honey on it, it got that jalapeno, meat is fresh," he said about the pepperoni Davis pizza.
He also added that it was his first time giving a 9 out of 10.
"If you ask me that pizza is crazy. It's different, it's unique. I have never had anything like that before."
Lee went inside afterwards to chat with staff and left them a $3,000 tip.
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