Out of all the mom-and-pop restaurants in Baltimore, Amanda and Joseph Burton didn’t expect Keith Lee to choose to eat at theirs.

Still, the couple figured they would throw their Hollins Market restaurant, Rooted Rotisserie, into the running when they heard the TikTok food critic with more than 16 million followers was coming to the area.

“We did what the kids call ‘shoot our shot,’” said Amanda, who sent Lee an email explaining the restaurant’s origins and sharing highlights from its menu.

On Saturday evening, Lee surprised the couple with a visit to Rooted Rotisserie. It may or may not be his last stop in Baltimore — on Instagram, Lee was also spotted stopping by Hollins Market street vendor Oh Honey, on the Bay — but it was his first Charm City review.

The Burtons didn’t know he had tasted their food until after the fact: to preserve some anonymity, the TikToker is known to send friends or family members into restaurants to place takeout orders, which he eats, and rates, in his car.

Lee generally gives positive reviews of restaurants, choosing not to post about the places he doesn’t like. But his thoughts on Rooted Rotisserie were particularly glowing. The critic raved about a “fantastic” duck confit gumbo with duck meat “cooked to perfection” and “crispy and seasoned” potatoes.

“This whole thing has flavor throughout, from the beginning to the end. In my opinion, they balance extremely well,” he said, awarding the dish a rating of 9.6 out of 10.

Lee also enjoyed the restaurant’s signature rotisserie chicken (9.2 out of 10), “very refreshing” pineapple lemonade (8.5 out of 10) and curry-toasted fennel wings with housemade ranch (8 out of 10). He rated the customer service a perfect 10 out of 10.

He was less enthusiastic about an order of tinned fish and bread (“It’s not my favorite,” he said, giving the combo a 7 out of 10), and said he wished he had ordered the truffle fries in the restaurant rather than takeout. (He still gave the hand-cut, seasoned spuds an 8.5 out of 10, imagining how they would taste at the dining table).

It was the tinned fish that, in retrospect, seemed a bit unusual to the Burtons for a carryout order.

“I was kind of recommending they don’t take that to go,” Amanda said. “That was a little suspicious.”

When Lee popped into the restaurant after his meal, “it was definitely a shock,” she said. He introduced himself to the couple, took photos with staff and left a $4,000 tip, as well as $2,000 to cover the check for other guests.

The visit comes at a fortuitous time for the restaurant, which will celebrate one year in business on Sept. 20. The Burtons, who met at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, both have a background in hospitality — Amanda in hotels and Joseph as a chef for Giada De Laurentiis’s GDL Italian at the Horseshoe Casino and for the Foreman Wolf restaurant group before that. They decided to open a restaurant of their own after being furloughed during the pandemic and honed in on rotisserie chicken as a staple of the menu after ordering a particularly delicious one in Paris. Joseph says his secret to juicy, flavor-filled chicken is letting the meat sit for a full 24 hours in a brine seasoned with lemongrass.

Business at the 36-seat restaurant had been growing steadily before Lee’s visit. In Rooted Rotisserie’s early days, Amanda would stand outside the restaurant, asking people to come in and see what they had to offer. Over time, food influencers, neighbors and others caught on.

“It’s nice to have the space to grow gradually and to prepare ourselves for something like this,” Amanda said.

They’re already witnessing the strength of Lee’s influence. As of Monday afternoon, the restaurant, which is open Wednesday through Sunday, was almost completely booked through the end of the week.

Now, it’s “all hands on deck as far as staffing,” Joseph said. “Our prep schedule has increased tremendously to make sure we’re fresh, and we’re ordering much more food — much more.”