food critic keith lee

Keith Lee gets jerk chicken from 'hungover' staff at Toronto restaurant

Food critic Keith Lee has chosen a jerk spot for his latest Toronto restaurant review, but people in the city are confused about his choice.

It was only a matter of time until Keith Lee had to try some jerk while in Toronto reviewing restaurants, but following a lackluster review, many people are wondering why he chose the restaurant he did.

This time around, Lee visited Scarborough's No.1 Jerk for a feast of a barbecue jerk chicken sandwich, curried goat roti and oxtail rice and peas plate.

The review begins with Lee noting the "interesting" customer service his sister received when picking up the order, claiming that the woman working behind the counter told Lee's sister she was "hungover."

Then came the food, which drew consistently middle-of-the-road reviews from Lee, with the curried goat pulling in the highest rating at a 7.5-out-of-10. 

@keith_lee125 No 1. Jerk taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic ♬ original sound - Keith Lee

While the review wasn't a terrible one by any means, people in the comment section of Lee's video were quick to offer their thoughts and feelings about the review.

"As a Canadian, telling a customer you’re hungover while still giving good service seems like typical Tuesday in Canada," one person comments.

"That is so disappointing… out of all the Jamaican food places to try in Scarborough [you] should've gone to Island Spice," writes another.

Other people, still, note that No.1 Jerk only has a three-star rating on Google, while there are plenty of better Jerk restaurants in Scarborough, like Chris Jerk, which is currently ranked #1 on our list of the best Caribbean restaurants in Toronto.

Upon the review going live, the owner of No.1 Jerk promptly took to their Instagram story to apologize for the experience, explaining that they were out of town and had to get someone in last minute to operate the restaurant.

"Please, next time you come to visit us [,] I will personally serve you," they write, later listing the menu items, including jerk chicken, fried chicken and fish stew, that he should have tried.

"Again apologize for your experience and we are beyond grateful you came," the post concludes.

If you'd like to see whether No. 1 Jerk lives up to its name, you can visit them at 5859 Kingston Road.

Lead photo by

@keith_lee125


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