Ultimate Chicken Bistro

My friends and I went on a whim because we read a review that claimed that the Korean fried chicken here was better than Bön Chon Chicken. I agree 101% that it is better. The wings are saucier, but still very crunchy. And there is a great variety of sauces that you can have your wings tossed in. At Bonchon you have to choose between a sauce that is not spicy at all and a sauce that is liquid fire. I love that Ultimate Chicken Bistro has different levels of heat in their sauce offerings. I have been there a handful of times and I cannot convince myself to order something new!
The staff isalways friendly and the restaurant itself is clean. You can kind of watch the chefs preparing your food in the kitchen from most of the tables.

Every now and then there is a place that will bring me out of Unilocal review writing dormancy! And, this place is it. Before getting into this review, I would like to say that I wanted to take an objective point of view on Ultimate Chicken Bistro and not compare it to any of its obvious competitors such as Bön Chon Chicken. In all respects, I don’t think it is fair to judge a newer establishment with biased opinions that my lean more toward the popular brand or competitor. And we all know what business establishment I am speaking of here. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Bön Chon, but equally Ultimate Chicken Bistro has definitely made me a new fan as well. Now that we have gotten the comparison factor out of the way, let’s get to it.
Ultimate Chicken Bistro is in a unique class of it own when it comes to frying chicken and definitely the Korean Fried Chicken space. This establishment has made their mark unique by way of the customer service and food. Both were exceptional. They offer a pretty good variety of items on their menu beyond just chicken (i.e. Korean Short Ribs! Seafood dishes, Fajitas, Peruvian chicken and many other items). I used a Scoutmob offer in which I got a sweet deal of 50% off my meal. Of course being half-​off, I tried order the entire damn menu to get a taste of everything –but my server quickly put me in check! I simply ordered 10 wings (spicy garlic soy flavored) and a side of shrimp fried rice. It was more than enough food and even had leftovers.
The side came before the main dish, as to the food is made to order and the chicken required 15 minutes cooking time. The shrimp fried rice came out first. As plain and simple as shrimp fried rice can be, «SLAM ON THE BRAKE IMMEDIATELY» their take on this classic dish was killer! I would give it 5 stars and a return to their establishment for the rice alone! I was even more impressed because it was a special order. Believe or not, shrimp fried rice is not a menu item at Ultimate Chicken Bistro. They offer up only a plain fried rice option… capital BOOO, boring. So I requested this side item and they obliged… of course at a extra cost of only $ 3.00 for the shrimp. Imagine that…“Pimped for some Shrimp!” LOL… But, it was all good because believe me it was worth every penny, well seasoned, and taste out of this world.
Finally the star of the night arrived! The starring menu item was Korean fried chicken (half chicken, $ 9; whole, $ 16; ten wings, $ 9; 15 wings, $ 16). The unique difference of Korean Fried Chicken vs. the American version is the crust! Their crust make the chicken in my opinion. And in this case, it was the highlight of the meal… the cracklin’ crunch of every bite in my mouth… topped off with a explosion of flavor that had me in bliss. The flavor of the chicken profile boasted 27-​spices and comes plain or spicy soy-​garlic, firecracker hot, and/​or a sweet soy flavor. Your choice.
«I recommend the spicy soy garlic flavor… HANDS DOWN!!»
Overall, the food was great and well seasoned. Definitely worth a visit if you are a «chicken-head»…like yours truly! LOL! I would come back for a repeat visit… the food and service made it all worth the drive.
I may be a Magna Cum Laude graduate by education rites… BUT I am a «YES LAWDY FOOL» when it come to good fried chicken! Take a plunge to this place and try it for yourself. All fried chicken is not the same… even Korean Fried Chicken. Just sayin’! Dueces!
Credits:
Review inspired by fellow Unilocalers: Victoria B., Lia M., and Bobby K. Thank you.
–
DC

Where to start with this place… lets cut to the chase…
I tried the Teppanaki… and lets put it this way… what you pay for $ 30 to $ 40 for a japanese steak hosue. You get for less than $ 20 here. The food is prepared, presented and tastes the same. When I asked how this was possible… it’s because the owner was a japanese steak house chef before and he knows what it’s suppose to look and taste like!
So… on my groupon deal… I decided to get the crème brûlée. I was easily blown away… for a desert that I would probably pay $ 10 to $ 12 for at another place. They were serving it here for $ 5. You can definetely taste that there desert was not a prefrabicated desert.
Then to top it off… $ 4 beers!!!
So the bottom line is this… I can’t find a better place that serves this kind of quality food for the price they offer.
This place will definetely be one of my favorites.

I like this place a lot! It’s super close to my house, and I like that their «thing» is doing chicken of all kinds — chicken cordon bleu, sandwiches, korean chicken wings, you name it! The wings aren’t AS good as Bön Chon’s (though, let’s be fair, what is?) but they have a variety of sauces and they were still very tasty. Plus, the wait-​time is waaaaay less!
The staff was nice, the place was clean, and the prices seemed fair. I really don’t have any complaints, I just wasn’t totally blown away by this place (probably because of the Bön Chon comparison).

This is one of those restaurants that suffers an identity crisis. Instead of focusing on one cuisine and doing it great, it offers several different cuisine leaving you confused. Italian, Korean, Chinese, American. What is your specialty here?
Thankfully, the food was good. I would give it a 3.5, but notched it down .5 just because of the odd variety it has. The Korean Fried Chicken is good, and it rival’s bon chon’s easily. This is easily a good place to go to if you don’t want to wait 40 – 45 mins for Bön Chon or want something different but good. I don’t know about trying Italian food here though…

I really tempted to «Meh. I’ve experienced better» this place… but I think that might be a little too harsh.
Bottom line:
–Chicken Bistro is not close to Bön Chon, and this place is attempting to incorporate too many difference cuisines (Japanese, Mexican, Chinese, and Korean).
Groupon lured me here, but I doubt that I will ever be lured back.

Wow. Unilocal definitely led me astray with this place. I had to use the salt shaker… so you can figure where this review is going.
Fire Cracker Shrimp? Weak. The supposed «spicy» sauce which clobbered the shrimp skewers was not only lacking the whole «fire cracker» concept but also had absolutely zero flavor. The balsamic side salad which accompanied it was just ok. Waste of calories.
Whole Korean Fried Chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and veggies? Weak, weak, and weak. Let’s get some clarity here on the «Whole Chicken» we ordered. They actually don’t take a whole chicken and submerge it in their deep fryer like they lead you to believe. No, it’s more like pieces of a whole chicken set in the fryer. As for that soy garlic glaze that’s getting all this hype… there’s really nothing all that great about it. The chicken was perfectly fried, but all the sauces were just mediocre.
The side of veggies and mash? I was about to go Emeril with the salt shaker. Yes. Ready to take a big pinch of salt and BAM! Because that salt was the magic in these flavorless sides.
Cool, so they do a banana flambé here. Fire! That’s exciting. What’s not exciting is the dessert itself once it hits your mouth. Weak… and I couldn’t even do anything to fix it. The ingredients just were not that great… and it’s a flambé, there’s not much to it.
Food aside, the restaurant itself was pleasant. Modern. The service wasn’t bad, the staff seemed a little unorganized like they’re still getting into the swing of things, but they were pretty friendly — so that counts for something!
2.5 stars at most but I really don’t have enough reason to go back. My palate wanted more… and by more, I mean something other than the extra salt I was adding on everything.