2 Chainz challenged Keith Lee over a negative review of Esco Restaurant & Tapas during a Den of Kings appearance, and the exchange quickly turned into a debate about celebrity treatment versus ordinary customer service. Lee stuck to the standard that drives his reviews: what regular people get when they walk in.
Before the Den of Kings conversation, Lee had already taken heat for the Esco Restaurant & Tapas review. The dispute centered on whether a celebrity should expect a different experience from everyone else, or whether a restaurant that invites a reviewer in should expect the same blunt judgment a paying customer would get.
Esco Restaurant & Tapas review
2 Chainz opened the discussion by saying, “I saw you do my restaurant. I saw you do other people's restaurants,” then added, “And I really can't judge it because it's your opinion.” He framed the issue as a clash between personal taste and public criticism, not a fight over whether Lee had a right to speak.
Lee answered by saying his reviews are not built around whether food tastes good. He said he wants to show the experience regular customers receive, and he made the distinction plain: “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,” he said.
Keith Lee and regular customers
Lee gave the clearest example of that gap when he said, “I sent my mom-in-law into 10 different restaurants. She couldn't eat nowhere.” That detail turns the argument from personality to process: if a restaurant handles known names one way and everyone else another way, the review is aimed at the gap, not just the plate.
He also said, “I go in table ready right now,” and, “I don't ever want to put nobody in a situation that they get a different experience only because they not Keith Lee.” Then he drew the line that defines his standards: “You ask me to come get my opinion, but then you get upset because my opinion not what you wanted to hear.”
Perks for entertainers
2 Chainz pushed back by arguing that entertainers are treated differently because of what they have built. “I'm an entertainer and obviously we get perks that other people don't get,” he said, adding, “I don't stand in line at the airport. I don't do none of that because I done work my ass off to do this.”
He also questioned whether Lee's background as a professional MMA fighter affects how he approaches food reviews. Lee answered by pointing to his athletic career, saying it introduced him to nutrition and eventually sparked his interest in cooking. The tone stayed respectful, but the disagreement was real: Lee says restaurants should expect honest criticism when they ask him in, while 2 Chainz is arguing that celebrity access is part of the deal once success changes your standing.
For restaurants, that leaves one practical takeaway: inviting Lee means accepting the same review standard he applies to anyone else. For customers, the dispute is a reminder that a high-profile table can mask service problems that hit everyone else first.
