DAK Chicken

I had heard mixed reviews, basically from people comparing it to BC. I decided to try it out for myself since I live so close. I ordered to go and the staff were very nice. I got the hot chicken strips with rice. It was crispy, moist, spicy, a little sweet, and so good. I will be back… A lot. Next time I want to try those seasoned fries because they looked amazing!

Great, quick service and delicious fried chicken strips. Got in and out pretty quickly for a Friday night. A tadbit pricey but it was worth it.

Happy hour: $ 5 appetizers $ 4 drafts (5−7pm)
Had the spicy pork entrée, was really good, tasty, and was a huge portion. Definitely for 2 people. Was not too spicy. Kimchi coleslaw was ok.
Got the chicken strips, ginger & soy, both were really good.
Service was good. So many staff but only one woman was working all the tables.

Well, I initially stopped by the competitor’s location, every chair at the bar was taken. So, I decided to give Dak a try.
Wellllllllllllllllll… I ordered the chicken strips, half soy garlic, half spicy and the kimchee coleslaw. The coleslaw was good. Maybe more flavorful than BC. The chicken, not so much. The soy garlic was bland. The spicy was not so spicy. The batter was more crisp than expected for Korean fried chicken and not so moist.
And no wine on the menu. Just beer and a minimal selection of liquor.
I gave you a try. I’ll return to my tried and true BC.

I love this place, the chicken is always fresh, you have to wait at least 25 minutes for your food but it’s worth it, the staff super nice. The place is small but who cares when the food is great.

Was lookign to eat in another resturant and kind of stumbled on to DAK. It’s a smaller space, with about 8 – 10 tables (each table seating 4 people), a bar area by the kitchen, and three TVs. The night we went in two of the Tvs were playing college football games, and the third was playing Korean music videos. The music from the music videos was being plays throughout the resturant, setting the ambiance. The seats are tucked under the table.
The menu is small, as it wtih most Korean chicken spots. You had your sizes and flavors to choose from. I went with Honeyglaze and soy. With the small size (6 wins) you get one side, with the medium or large you get two sides. Sides were rice, kimchi, coleslaw, and something else. They had potstickers, fries, onion rings and buglogli /​buglogi tacos.
I got soy and honey glazed wings. They were big, and and with a medium order I wasn’t even able to finish one of my sides. If I were to go back, I would probably get a small just for myself. The wings weren’t bad. A lot of people are comparing them with Bonchon (which I haven’t ever had) but the friend I was with said that they were better than Bonchon. There is another Korean wing place that I think is the king (Chi Mc) and is still leaps and bounds better than DAK. To me, DAK is a middle of the pack chicken place, which isn’t always a bad thing. They were able to fill a need in Shirlington that was missing.

Ok ok… here we go. First things first: this place is delicious.
BUT, let’s be real. We all want to know how it compares to the giant elephant in the room. YOU KNOW, the good olé’ BC. You can’t enter the market of DC Korean Fried Chicken (KFC…LOL) without making the comparison.
In my opinion, the only real difference is the portion sizes. BC has huge drumsticks and wings and Dak has normal sizes as you would expect anywhere else.
The flavors were similarly delicious between the two places. But, the seasoned fries at DAK did taste different, full of parmesan-​y goodness. Was one better than the other? No. Not necessarily. Each simply has its own unique flavor.
I didn’t have the opportunity to try more items. But, I was very pleased. The meal came out to roughly $ 15/​person. With that flavor and price, you can count me in any time. Well done, Dak… well done.

Hmm tough call here. I liked it, but it just isn’t on par with you know where.
the soy garlic don’t have great flavor, they were just ok. The spicy had decent heat, but again, I prefer bonchons flavor. The wings themselves were decent, not as crispy as bonchon, but they also didn’t make me feel sick after (maybe a little less greasy? bonus points there). The drumsticks are regular sized. The chicken was juicy and overall a solid wing.
The seasoned fries (parmesan+garlic) were delicious. I can only imagine they would be amazing if they were fresh. Huge portion though I wish these places offered a half size.
The pickled radishes were ok, fresh, but not much flavor (again bonchon wins here). The kimchi coleslaw here is top notch. The kimchi flavor stands out, and is not as hidden as at bonchon. I wish I got two sides of this.
One thing — these chicken places need to figure out a way to keep the food fresh for takeout. It’s a 10 minute drive home, but when I got back even the box they were in felt soggy. Overall a good spot especially if you’re near, but I live closer to Bonchon and don’t eat korean fried chicken all that often so I don’t see myself trekking down to shirlington for this

Hrmmm… normally I prefer to support fellow Korean-​American owned businesses. But today, I can’t.
I went here to try the chicken and see what all of the hype was about. I found their «soft opening» menu to be here for quite some time to the point where I wondered if it was the actual menu. Despite promises from the owner for certain Korean dishes, alas, they never materialized so I never went back.
The soy garlic and hot chicken were good, don’t get me wrong. But the service and ambiance of this place leave a lot to be desired. Well, that and their kimchi coleslaw. That was just awful.
If you want chicken, get it to go. I’m not sure this place is good for anything beyond that.

I wanted to check out the hype… Well ya, nice location, easy parking, friendly and helpful staff and good food… What’s not to like? I love Korean food but I guess it comes down to preference… The food is good don’t get me wrong… I guess I just like my food a certain way.
*Hot wings, not as hot as I would like and the skin wasn’t crispy, but was juicy. Maybe it was just my batch.
*Honey glazed wings, for the milder taste buds are good. A nice option to accommodate your friends that can’t hang…
*Bulgogi, nice size portion. Tasty but they give such a small portion of rice. The Bulgogi portion is big enough for 2 people to share, just order extra rice.
*Calamari fries, good texture and comes with 2 sauces. Was nice and crispy. I preferred their tartar like sauce over their sweet and sour type they offered.
*Bulgogi tacos, they were ok. I wasn’t down with the green peppers in it. I ordered them HOT, eh… Wasn’t so hot but that’s ok, they were still tasty. They come 3 in one order.
If we came back again, I would most likely just come back for the chicken… It’s a great place to go if you can’t get Korean food in your area. Otherwise, like I said it’s a preference thing, I’ll stick with BonChon.

Giving Bön Chon a run for their money, Dak! Chicken is a welcome change to Shirlington and the south-​Arlington area. We have ordered take out chicken and kimchi several times (delicious!) since its opening, and I finally had the chance to dine-​in, ordering the Rice Bowl with spicy pork. This filling entrée went well-​beyond my expectations — just enough heat to perk up the senses, but not so much that it overcomes the flavor. Service is prompt and attentive, and ambience is filled with space-​efficient tables and a variety of entertainment, including K-​pop videos and up-​beat music. This restaurant exudes high-​energy and is a go-​see.

I would have liked the skin to be a little more crisp but will take the blame for that one since it was carry out. I thought the soy garlic was a little sweet, but I’m not complaining, the wings were moist and tender.

Service: Service was good. There were only a few tables that were occupied when we went so the lady was pretty attentive.
Ambiance: Your typical korean fried chicken place with sports on the tv and k-​pop music videos on the the other. The floor was a bit slippery on my way to the bathroom so be careful!
Food: LOVED everything we ordered!
Japchae: The noodles were so chewy and the portion was very generous with a lot of meat! It was a bit salty but overall it was very yummy.
Seasoned fried: We saw this while swiping through the pictures and decided we HAD to get them. I’ve never had seasoned fries like this. Parmesan and garlic seasoning EVERYWHERE. It was SO good. So crispy and flavorful. We managed to finish the entire basket between two people, it was definitely not a good idea but well worth it.
Chicken strips (3 honey glaze and 3 soy garlic): I’ve never seen korean style chicken strips. It was always wings. I was afraid that it was going to very dry but it turned to to be very juicy! The skin was very crispy and the texture isn’t really like your normal korean fried chicken. So that was pretty interesting. I liked the soy garlic flavor a lot more but that might just be because I love garlic! The strips were pretty big so I got full pretty fast. We also didn’t have to wait 25 – 30 mins for our chicken strips but then again, it wasn’t really packed.
Kimchi slaw (it came as a side with the chicken strips): I don’t think I’ve ever had kimchi slaw that I really liked. But i think I may have found it! It’s so spicy and the amount of mayo mixed in it was like a match made in heaven!
Didn’t feel too healthy afterwards and wasn’t able to eat anything for dinner because I was too full. But IT WAS WORTH IT. Between the two of us, we probably over-​ordered like any other foodies would when they visit a new restaurant. I definitely want to try other things on the menu when I’m craving for some unhealthy food!

**2.5 Stars**
I called this restaurant while I was driving over. We wanted to get our order in since there was traffic and the chicken does take 25 – 30 minutes to make (IF the chicken was anywhere crispy as bonchon). A lady picked up and I tell her my order and I tell her it is for dine– in. Immediately, she says no she cannot take call aheads b/​c there’s no guarantee that we will show up. The kicker is that they DO take to go orders. LOL Isn’t that the same thing? Payment isn’t made until to– go orders are picked up! She claims that the chicken doesn’t take long to make over the phone when she found out we wanted to dine– in and claimed it takes only ’10−15 minutes’ when she said our ‘to go’ order would take 25 minutes (this was before she found out my order was for dine– in). Anyways, I don’t argue and we arrive 20 minutes later. It was empty and I have to say the interior looks like a bonchon too.
We put in an order of large and medium wings with spicy, soy garlic and honey glazed along with a side of parmesan fries. I wanted beer with my chicken but they don’t even have beer yet and they’ve been open a month already! The whole point is to have beer and chicken together and I do think that is very important to have at least beer ready during the soft opening.
The parmesean fries come out crispy and hot and taste like bonchon’s seasoned fries. The chicken comes out 25 minutes later. The spicy is SPICY. The soy garlic is only okay, I would say Bonchon is better in terms of flavor. The honey glazed had good flavor too. However, the chicken came out crispy, it definitely was NOT as crispy as bonchon chicken, DAK chicken has a thinner layer of crispy so it comes out crispy but 20 minutes later, the crispiness is gone completely since the sauce is soaked into the skin. Bonchon chicken stays crispy until the next day!
if DAK chicken tried to copy Bonchon chicken, it definitely did not meet BonChon’s standards. However, the chicken is still moist, the sauce is good but don’t go to DAK chicken expecting Bonchon chicken b/​c you will be disappointed.
I would also suggest using larger plates. We received teeny appetizer plates and although there’s a bin for the bones, I think bigger plates would be much easier since patrons have more room on the plates in general.

Chicken wings!!!
I came here because of a friends post on the good Facebooks. His exact words were, «better than Bön Chon».
Better than Bön Chon? If you know anything about Korean fried chicken you know that BC sets a high.
That being said, their spicy wing is actually spicy. And the flavor is on point. The honey bbq and soy garlic are on par with you know who as well. The sides were nothing to write home about. You got your rice, Kim chi cole slaw and pickled radishes. All good but not any better than anyone else.
The short of it all is that this place was really good. While it suffered in the crunch department it kicked butt in spicy flavor.
While its still too young to topple the champ give it a little more time and they’ll be a threat for sure. For now, definitely going into my personal rotation.

I’ve been wanting to check out DAK!, ever since they opened up shop in Shirlington. A KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) joint that was super close by? Woot! The hubs and I came here for a late dinner as well as for lunch a few days later, and we noticed a little easel sign up at the front, stating that they had updated the ‘soft’ menu with ‘Bulgogi Tacos’ and ‘Japchae.’ The other items include Wings/​Chicken Strips (Small gives you 6 pieces, a Medium gives you 10, and a Large gets you 20 pieces), and you can choose Soy Garlic, Honey Glazed, or Hot for the sauce flavor; French Fries, Seasoned Fries, Potstickers (Korean pork dumplings that are pan-​fried, glazed with one of the 3 sauces (same ones for the chicken), Spicy Pork entrée, a Bulgogi Entrée, and sides (pickled radish, cole slaw, kimchi cole slaw, kimchi, and white rice). We tried a Medium order of the Soy Garlic wings (the soy garlic was pretty okay, but the skin/​batter was on the thinner side; also, the wings were a little too big for me, and I wished they could have cooked it a little longer (as requested)), the Potstickers (with the Soy Garlic; these were pretty okay, and definitely ‘different’ with the bathed sauce); the Seasoned Fries (they were just sooo crispy and sooo amazing — each were coated generously with Parm cheese and garlic, and it comes with a side of refillable spicy mayo — yum!!!); the Bulgogi Tacos (I actually really loved these the first time around (but, sad that they’re a little inconsistent, as the second order didn’t come with cheese, and the meat could have simmered and be cooked a little longer) — came in a crispy corn shell, filled with well-​marinated strips of bulgogi, kimchi, freshly-​diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and cheese, and sour cream, you can also opt for the flavor of the bulgogi (the 3 sauces) — these were really yummy and I could have eaten like 10 more plates of these (the dish comes with 3 tacos)); Bulgogi entrée (one of the best bulgogi entrees I’ve had, it had a nice balance of soy sauce/​sweetness with lots of onions; great to use the juices to mix in with your rice!); Jahpchae entrée (I wasn’t really a fan of this, as I prefer cold versions of this dish; also, it had too much beef!); and, for the 2 sides, the cole slaw (had bits of corn in it and was fresh) and kimchi (still under fermented, the taste was good, but I just wished it was ripe!). When you walk in, you are greeted warmly right away, and you get to choose any of the tables (I loved those tables, as they are a rounded cube with perfectly-​fitted chairs!). They also have little trash/​bone buckets, and you receive a moist towelette at the end. Our servers was Jee Hee and Jae Hyun, both who were super sweet! Definitely check them out: D
+Seasoned Fries (with spicy mayo)
+Bulgogi entrée
+Bulgogi Tacos (a little inconsistent)
+KFC — large wings
+under-​fermented kimchi
+friendly staff: D
+limited street parking on Campbell

Yes, me and my friend came here after eating dinner at Lotus across the street. We did so because of course we were curious and who can resist fried chicken.
We only ordered 6 soy garlic wings with a side of rice. First of all my friend noticed that the rice was not warm and did not fill up the bowl, secondly the presentation of the rice did not look good. The owner came by and I told him 1) the rice was not warm 2) the presentation needs to be better with the rice and try and white bowl and lastly 3) more rice. Hopefully he takes my advice.
While walking to the bathroom the place on the side where they keep the dishes, condiments, etc. just look disorganized. Perhaps these shelves need be turned a different way or just covered up with a curtain or something.
Overall the chicken was sweet to me and not enough flavor on the chicken itself. I know its not supposed to taste like the other Korean fried chicken place so I based my review strictly on the chicken. I may come back and try the other things on the menu.

Oh God, why.
Hot lava.
Out of every orifice of my body.
My friends and I went on the soft opening night last Saturday. The place seems really rushed (i.e. paint slapped on the walls, shoddy construction) and the «pod» chairs/​tables are somewhat uncomfortable. We ordered soy garlic and hot and spicy strips. It took almost 45 minutes to receive the food, and while the staff was friendly, service was extremely slow.
The soy garlic, while not on the level of Bonchon, was good. The spicy, however, wow. While it went down OK, after about three minutes it left an acrid taste of death in both my mouth and stomach. I love all things spicy, but this… this is some atomic waste from a fallout site circa 1954. Is this there where Kim Jong Un is hiding his nuclear weapons?
It’s not that spicy, but it must be the chili oil that they use or something from the depths of Hades. My vomit burned.
Jesus Christos.
To top it off, about an hour after eating, I got the worst food poisoning that I’ve had in years. I didn’t even sleep on Saturday night. Sunday was spent recovering — drinking Gatorade, sipping broth, and being a whiny child to my roommate.

Taking into consideration Dak! Chicken is still under a soft open, I wasn’t expecting things to be perfect. The décor is sparse and the paint slapped on. There are a handful of small tables with uncomfortable chairs that are supposed to be stylish, but not very practical. The walls have two TVs that were playing sports and the bar wasn’t open as they didn’t have their liquor license yet. None of these things are war stoppers and can be fixed if they care to.
We weren’t able to decide between the garlic soy wings or the bulgogi, so we got both to split, getting the cole slaw and kimchi as sides. While everything was good, it wasn’t spectacular and certainly not worth the price. I can get a steak at Outback for $ 10, so $ 16 for bulgogi and a small scoop of rice is a op it of a ripoff. The chicken was extremely crispy and moist, but the flavor was mild. While the cole slaw was average, the kimchi was spicy and not too funky.
They said they expect to have an expanded menu after the soft open, so I’m curious if they’ll add Korean tacos or the like. Hopefully they’ll spend some more time on their décor, lose the TVs (it’s not sports bar), and reassess their pricing. I understand Shirlington is probably not the cheapest place to operate a business, but $ 9 for six wings and $ 16 for bulgogi with tiny sides isn’t going to make me a repeat customer. There’s promise, but they’re not there yet.

I came here with another person on (soft) opening night, and we were very happy and satisfied! Upon walking in, there was a sign that said we could seat ourselves, but we were led to a table anyway. It was circular and meant for four people; I’m glad we got a larger one because we ended up ordering a ton of food. I don’t even recall if there were tables meant for two people, and they were unique, but if you have a bigger group, you can’t really push the tables together and have them line up. The overall décor is kind of hip and modern and reminded me of a night club. The music matched — think top 40 pop hits.
The menu was abbreviated but all of the main chicken options were there. We ended up ordering the parmesan fries and pork dumplings as well as honey-​flavored chicken strips, soy-​flavored wings, and spicy wings. We got three sides too — kimchi, kimchi coleslaw, and rice — because each chicken dish comes with one free side. Drinks weren’t really available, but that wasn’t a big deal. Because everything is so heavy with salt or is fried, I was glad the water cups were huge. I drank a TON of water throughout the meal.
Everything was really tasty! Warning: the spicy flavoring is TRULY spicy. It is not for the faint of heart! I enjoy spicy food, and even I couldn’t imagine eating all 6 wings. I recommend sharing your chicken because after a while, the flavors become one-​note. The chicken strips were really good — the meat was tender and the outside crispiness was awesome. All portions were oversized; we had a good bit of leftovers! I would suggest skipping the appetizers unless you have several people, because it just gets to be too much food. The sides were good, but I didn’t find them necessary. I’m looking forward to trying other main entrees.
The service was decent, and everyone was helpful and friendly. The food came out rather quickly at the height of dinner time on a Friday night. I think some more attention could be paid to filling up the waters. I also think offering wet wipes would be nice because you eat the chicken with your hands.
Bottom line: after eating here, you will be super stuffed and feel like you never need to eat again. Everything is delicious (spicy=honestly spicy!)!