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San Francisco chef responds to viral TikTok that hurt reputation
Los Angeles Times
|August 18, 2025
Backlash over alleged rude behavior led the restaurateur to close his business, Kis Cafe.
CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images CHEF Luke Sung, left, poses with Kitty Sung and sous chef Tony Radna in 2004.
A San Francisco chef whose restaurant closed down after he was accused of being rude to a TikTok influencer is now speaking out for the first time about the viral controversy.
In an interview with the San Francisco Standard, the former co-owner of Kis Cafe in Hayes Valley recounted his disastrous meeting with TikTok influencer Karla Marcotte, who posted a video of her “nightmare SF restaurant experience” on July 23.
In her video, Marcotte said that Luke Sung, a James Beard-nominated chef, criticized her follower count and said it was a “mistake” for the restaurant's host to invite her to the establishment.
Sung told the Standard that Marcotte came into his restaurant, sat down and didn’t greet him.
This story is from the August 18, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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