Keith Lee keeps paying it when he was gifted cash

Popular TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee is known for paying for his food himself when he posts a review and not accepting gifts.

But when a restaurant owner wouldn’t take no for an answer, Lee found a way to make everyone happy.

And by “everyone” we mean anyone who happened to be at Buldogis Gourmet Hot Dogs in Las Vegas at the right time.

Keith Lee reviewed Buldogis in Las Vegas

Let’s start at the beginning.

While sitting in his car in the parking lot, Lee sampled a few of the restaurant’s menu items. He began his video by saying the customer service was “amazing.” Lee visited the eatery for the first time and spent just over $62 on the many breakfast items he tried.

“An Egg Drop Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, a Bacon Egg Drop Breakfast Sandwich, a Tater Tots Egg Drop Breakfast Sandwich, a Bulgogi Hot Dog, a Bulgogi Bowl. I haven’t been this excited to eat something in a long time,” he said.

He started with the sausage breakfast sandwich after showing both sides of the sandwich and how to toast it. It didn’t take long for Lee to roll his eyes, as he always does when he loves something he’s trying. He said it was a 10!

“There’s absolutely nothing I would change about the sandwich,” he said. “This sandwich is perfect in my eyes.”

@keith_lee125 #Stitch with @Unlokt Buldogis Gourmet Hot Dogs Taste Test 💕 Would you try it? 💕 #foodcritic ♬ Original sound – Keith Lee

Then Lee delved into the “Tator Tot Egg Drop” breakfast sandwich, giving it a 9.2 out of 10. He then turned to the bacon sandwich, giving it a 9.5 out of 10.

Lee then tried the Bulgogi dog.

“It’s a very high quality and crunchy hot dog with fresh vegetables, very flavorful bulgogi and mayonnaise, I like that,” he said. “For me, that’s 9 out of 10.”

The last thing Lee tried was the bowl – with bulgogi, rice, vegetables and an egg. He rated it 8.5 out of 10.

“In my opinion, this place offers great customer service, great food, and very reasonable prices,” he said. “I just saw this video on my For You page like everyone else so I don’t know how busy they are but I think they should be out.”

The video of his review shared by Lee has been viewed more than 6.6 million times in just three days. Thousands of comments were left for Lee.

A follower said Lee was changing plans for a visit to Las Vegas. “Vegas used to mean clubs/dayclubs and bottle service. No, now I’m going on the Keith Lee food tour.” Another person added, “We’re going to Vegas this August, I’m hoping we do a Keith Lee foodie trip.”

“A devilish laugh from Keith Lee? Wait times are about 4 hours,” one fan wrote. Another added, “Seeing Keith Lee’s eyes I know it’s good.”

A follow-up video was shared the following day

In a follow-up video shared the next day, Lee explained why he’s back so soon, although that’s not usually the case.

“I wasn’t actually expecting to come back today, but I was running errands with my wife and we were in the area, so I thought I’d like another sandwich,” he explained. “I showed up today, Chaos. The owner and the owner’s daughter were at work today. The owner’s daughter is the one who took my order.”

When the popular restaurant critic called up his order, he used the name Marcus, and when Lee showed up, she was a little shocked.

“The first thing she said was ‘thank you.'” She and her dad told me they got 100 orders in the fastest time ever,” he continued. “I think they were open for about two or three hours.”

@keith_lee125 Buldogis Gourmet Hot Dogs 24 hour taste test 💕 Would you try it? 💕 #foodcritic @Keith Lee ♬ Original sound – Keith Lee

The owner not only thanked Lee for his honest review and for starting the business, but also presented him with $500 in cash. Anyone who’s followed Lee’s story knows that he doesn’t accept gifts from small local businesses that he reviews. But he explained that there was simply no way to say no to the owner.

“I tried to refuse because I never take money from local or small businesses, but he wouldn’t let me refuse,” he explained. “I have been begging and begging this man. I really, really tried to turn it down. He is a 1.90 meter tall elderly gentleman who is much taller than me. And he told me that “no” is not an option.”

So what did Lee do? He took the money but then turned around and passed it on to the restaurant’s patrons. Lee handed out $20 bills to anyone who showed up at the restaurant to order some food.

“I just put $20 on tables and I was like, ‘Can I pay for your lunch, please?'” he continued. “People looked at me and said, ‘Who are you, what do you do?'”

Commenting on the video, the restaurant said: “Our amazing staff loved it so much. Even though we had to work extra hard, everyone had a smile and took care of all customers.”

One of Lee’s followers wrote, “Those restaurants that get good reviews need to put a Keith Lee Approved sign on their window 😂💪🏽.” Another person added, “There’s never been a man on the internet who did that Hype deserved more than Sir Keith Lee.”

TikToker Samantha Bojorquez captured the moment on video and shared it on the app.

@i_am_sammy_jo Amazing people in this world @Keith Lee People don’t have to be so generous and I’m thankful to see kindness in the world. #spreadlove #blessed #kindnessexists #buldogis #keithlee #thankyou #fyp #eatgoodfood #foodcritic #stayblessed #godisgood ♬ Original sound – Samantha Bojorquez

Lee delved into the comments, saying, “No, that’s hilarious 😂 I got caught in 4K, thanks for understanding my clumsiness 😂God bless you 🙏🏽,” to which the creator replied, “It was my pleasure to meet you to meet and witness your kindness. Please don’t stop shining your bright light @Keith Lee.”