Bonchon Chicken

I LOVE Korean fried chicken, it’s just not the same as Popeyes/​KFC — but their pieces do vary in size (the wings are sometimes way bigger than other times)
I asked for a small combo (6 wings and 3 drum sticks) but I did not get the 6 wings, instead I only got 4 wings and 3 tiny drumsticks with the 3 regular drumsticks.
Bonchon is relatively cheap and their menu does offer more than just wings.
It is also a plus that it does not take long for the food to come and their servers are attentive.

If I could leave minus 10 stars, it would match the reception and lack of service I received this afternoon. First I came in, requested a table and the host sent us upstairs to a beckoning waitress (South Asian girl– Indian, bengalí, etc) We requested the open seats at the nalcony, but we were told it was dirty and sat us in the middle of the upstairs section. No problem. Got menus, napkins, chopsticks. All good. 5 minutes go by, 10 minutes, a few glances from the beckoning waitress from earlier. No service. I notices a couple to the left of us received water, then a woman came in alone and the prior service we received was obviously subpar for the «preferred» patrons. She was escorted, welcomed, given a menu, and was alerted twice as a new seating for one in less than 2 minutes.
I was floored. When the host walked by, I alerted him that we had not be served in what had now come to 15 minutes, he spoke with the beckoning girl and I was given a dirty look. The other server, a young Korean guy, looked very uncomfortable quickly came over to assist us. He was polite but by that time I was so disgusted by the others behavior, and politely let them know as a former server (and my boyfriend still employed by the HTC union, service oriented) we are heavy tippers and she has lost out on her best lunch tip thus far.
Bön chon 38^th street. You have lost a very loyal customer, and I will be taking the members of my Asian and African American social group with over 150 members to the Koreatown location for the summer get together. You need to retrain and regroup.

Fried chicken heaven. Seriously, if my mom’s homemade fried chicken got in bed with tempura, they would make Bonchon babies! Hence, fried chicken heaven.
Don’t go to this location for the ambiance or surroundings, just go for the chicken. We stopped in for lunch last week and I was a little hesitant due to the atmosphere that Ashley K. said he would dream about this chicken, but like they say, don’t judge a book.
We spent a good 2 hours here just relaxing, drinking cider and throwing down a massive amount of this finger licking good chicken. Did I mention you have to get the chicken? They give you various options of how you would like your chicken delivered to you: wings, drums, strips or a mix. I am not a huge spicy fan so I went for the Soy Garlic flavor and it was a touch of sweet and savory perfection. We went for the wings and drums and if I were to go again, I would go all drums. More meat! The good think about it is it’s not heavy like normal fried chicken, it’s light and you just want to keep eating more. But, don’t just fill up on the chicken without one other MUST HAVE item…
Enter: «THE» SALMON AVOCADO BALL
Yes, I called it «THE» because it was a creamy satin cloud filled with delectableness. It is a mix of avocado, crabmeat, cucumber and fish roe wrapped in seared fresh salmon, topped with spicy mayonnaise and unagi sauce, sprinkled with crunchy tempura bits. Yep, a delectable cloud of flavor.
Go.

Came back to check out their new offerings as the menu expanded to include more than just fried chicken wings and now they have a bar!
Waiter was cordial but did not catch the fact and let us know that we were ordering from the lunch menu and it was just past 3 PM when the prices went back up. Started with a glass of sangria (good) and ordered onion rings (basic, nothing fancy but good) and the Bulgolgi Bibimbap bowl (filling but be careful of the sizzling hot stone bowl!)
Again a nice experience but just watch the clock when you order so you won’t be surprised when the bill comes and you are charged dinner prices instead of lunch.

If I could give this place a negative star, I would.
The hostess was very nice and hospitable, but as soon as we sat down upstairs, everything turned to shit.
The service was just horrible! H-​O-​R-​R-​I-​B-​L-​E!
We received our napkins and chopsticks, but since we had a child we asked do forks. The server said ‘I don’t know what that is.’ SERIOUSLY! We asked for another set of utensils and she seriously pointed out each napkin as chopsticks that she put down on our table.
We ordered
Half soy garlic and half spicy wings
Salad
2 Regular Fries
Onion Rings
We received
Luke warm wings
Salad
1 order of Fries
We asked several times for our missing items.
Always getting the answer ‘I’ll check, it’s busy up here.‘
As the night progressed, we started to get full and I told the server ‘we don’t want our other orders.’ I saw frustration in her face, she came back 10 mins later with our missing items.
Please note, the spicy wings are a tad spicy. Don’t get me wrong, it was good! We were drinking water like there was no end. When we all ran out of water, we asked for more water. Or so we tried. The server was no where to be found. So I just got up and picked up the pitcher of water.
It was by far the worse service I have ever had!

I heard so much about bon chon so I decided to check it out on a friday night.
service was prompt. I ordered the drums, which were dry, but i will chalk it up to the time that i got there, which was after 9pm.
the Japchae was really good though.

Okay I had the Japchae served to me by the most fantastic server in the entire NYC. The dish was a surprise, cause I was not expecting what came out but enjoyed every bit of it. It had flavor it was plentiful and I enjoyed. A table mate had what I think was called the Chicken cazu. She enjoyed it. The table also enjoy a order of 30 mouth watering crispy chicken wings. It was all good. Thank you Brian for taking care of us.

I’m conflicted about this place. The food is great and really is addicting but the service is HORRIBLE. It seems like it’s just gone downhill, wasn’t always this way.
1. Visited put in an order for take out and waited at the bar. I see orders go out for delivery after waiting 20 minutes. I ask about my order and after seeing whispers and overhearing that the delivery guy took my order they say «oh we just had a big order so that delayed things». So then I CLEARLY SEE THEM put my exact order into the system and wait another 30 min for my order. This time though the bartender was asking and following up for me and they did comp me a free drink.
2. Came here again and put in an order for take out and told them I’ll wait at the bar. I wait… And wait… And then after 45 min I see the guy that took my order (who saw me at the bar earlier) and ask about my food. He was like oh I yelled your name and didn’t know you were sitting here. I give him a deadpan look and am like «really?» He comps me a pickled radish and I leave.
Overall this place has definitely gone downhill in the past few months. Staff is inattentive and disorganized and even sometimes just plain rude.
As I said I’m conflicted but I may find myself walking the extra blocks to kyo chon instead from now on until they get their shot together.

I never experienced such terrible service and messed up order like this.
I order online on grubhub 30 minute prior to when I was going to pick it up. I went in and ask I’m here for pickup and told them the pick up name. They told me it’s not out yet and told me to wait. I waited, waited and waited. After 30minutes, I asked where is my order. Again they told me to repeat my name and confirms me it’s not out yet. The two three host sees me waiting for atleast 45 min to 1 hour and still says nothing to me. I asked again when 45 mins hit, they asked me for my name and confirms me it’s not out yet. One hour hits, I ask, is it even in the system, giving them my order number. They confirm me it’s not in the system and told me to go call grubhub. I said seriously after all this time it’s not in the system. I only have an hour for lunch and they took the WHOLE HOUR. So she checked again and said «yeah it’s not in the system.» I said to them, «so I should call grubhub? «and they retype the order number the third time and told me, oh it is in the system. So the hostess told another hostess to go check or whatnot. Apparently it was out the whole time and it was another person’s order paper in it? I don’t even know anymore. At this point, I don’t even have time to even eat.
What I don’t understand is, after an hour of what I had to ask atleast THREE times to see where my order was. Type in the number THREE times to see if it’s in the system. What kind of hostess is that?
On top of that when I got back to work, I realize they messed up my order. I order chicken fried rice. Which is correct. (I don’t like the fried rice and it was cold by the time I got it back to the office since it has just been laying there) and I order the bulgogi wrap which turned out to be a chicken cutlet wrap. It also made no sense because chicken cutlet wrap aren’t even on the menu!!! How can this even mess up??? I don’t understand it at all.
I will never order from this place ever again.
Also, i overheard the delivery guy took the wrong order out when it was suppose to be pickup and they were having a commotion.
You guys really need a better system because clearly, your system is not working.

DON’T PATRONIZE THIS ESTABLISHMENT. I DON’T KNOW HOW THEY REMAIN IN BUSINESS STILL. At the very least, don’t come here if you are hungry and you expect to have food in a reasonable amount of time.
I love BonChon chicken, but the service at this location is some of the worst I’ve ever experienced. Myself and five coworkers decided to grab take-​out here yesterday and had a miserable experience. We arrived a little before 12:30 to a mostly empty restaurant. We all ordered, paid, and then waited.
And waited.
Ten minutes. More people come in and place orders. Twenty minutes. Still no food is coming out. When it finally does, there is a general sense of confusion as to who the order belongs to. Thirty minutes. Forty minutes. At the fifty minute mark all but one of us had our food. My coworker was told his meal would take an additional 10 minutes, and that he could wait, get a refund, or have it delivered. He asked if there was anything they could do to make reparations for the inconvenience caused by having waited so long for his meal, and the employee said she’d have to ask the manager. My coworker asked if he could speak to the manager, and was told that he couldn’t, and that the manager would not come out to speak to him. To throw dirt on the wound, he was offered a free can of soda for his trouble. Gee thanks,
At NO POINT during our 50 minute wait were we offered an explanation as to what made frying chicken so difficult as to take almost an hour to prepare, nor were we offered an apology for having waited so long. The fact that the manager refused to come out and speak to his very customers speaks volumes about how this restaurant values my business and the business of my coworkers.
Needless to say, but they lost six customers yesterday, for good. If I could award this place zero stars, I wouldn’t think twice about it.
Also, I’m pretty sure I lost lunch restaurant-​picking privileges at work for at least a month. :(

I’ll be honest. I read some of the reviews and I was hesitant to come. But my friend insisted that they were good. I’m glad she convinced me because it was actually a pleasant experience! Food was good. Service was good. We came at 7:30pm on a Wednesday night in the winter though, so I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it.
My friend jokes that they deep fry their wings 3 times but maybe they do! It’s crispy and delish. Split the medium combo half and half (21.95) with my friend and it was just enough. Get a beer to pair and it’ll be a full meal. The spicy flavor is pretty spicy but addicting. Very flavorful — spicy and sweet. The soy garlic was good but I think the eating the spicy one first definitely overpowered my tastebuds to be a fair judge. Tip: eat the soy garlic ones first!
Yes it’s pricier than a standard chicken wing but Korean food was never known to be cheap anyway.

It’s hard to make bad Korean fried chicken. Sweet, crunchy, crispy. Who wouldn’t like that? So the taste was fine, not bad. You can choose between spicy or soy garlic or both.
But the chicken (both wings & drumsticks) were so tiny. When you factor in the amount of bones, there is no more than a nugget sized amount of meat on each piece. Then take into consideration the cost — about $ 13 for 9 pieces, that’s nearly $ 1.50 for a tiny nugget of chicken. Totally not worth it. I was especially disappointed because this chain does specialize in fried chicken.
We also ordered a Salmon Avocado Ball. It was okay, but it was very strange. It was as if a sculptor took pieces of salmon and avocado as her molding clay and formed it into one odd shape with spicy mayo, then covered the entire thing with tempura sauce & tempura batter. It was interesting to say the least, but I didn’t think it was worth $ 10.
We came in with the intention to have some fried chicken as a quick snack, but service was so slow. The restaurant wasn’t packed, so we were seated within a few minutes. The restaurant seemed inviting, clean, and well-​lit. We were led upstairs to the second floor. We waited patiently, but our order took a long time. I noticed that other parties were waiting a long time for their orders too. After we finally ate, it took an even longer time to pay and leave. It was disappointing.

When it comes to fried chicken I’ve recently discovered that not all Bonchon’s are not built equal…
My first trip to a Bonchon (
) was fantastic: crispy chicken strips piled high and tossed generously in soy garlic. So good! I had no reason to think that my next visit to the chain, despite being about 50 blocks and several train stops away, would be any different. Soooo not the case.
The restaurant itself is nice enough. bright exterior drawing people in, a large counter for ordering downstairs (as well as a large waiting area for pickups); two story dining room with a bunch of tables. Unfortunately when you dine with 7 people there aren’t a lot of table options. We were led to the back of the 2^nd floor — a good sized room with a table large enough for 10, so our group had plenty of room for winter coats and bags. Upon further inspection — the room, being at the back of the restaurant, was stacked high with extra chairs and a couple random tables. It felt like a stock room more than a dining room. Deal breaker? No. I can deal with an unattractive dining room.
What I can’t deal with is mediocre chicken — especially at a place that specializes in chicken! You see I ordered a plate of 20 strips and got 20… ugh, I don’t even know how to describe them. Some pieces were the size of a little chicken nugget. Most were really flat and about half the size of the strips I had at the John St. location. Hubs ordered some wings too — same issue. Teeny tiny wings. Whats up Bonchon? I can understand pricing differences (midtown vs. downtown) but why are the servings so different? So frustrating!
I’m sure theres more Bonchon in my future (the soy garlic sauce is too good to quit)…but not at this location. If you can handle the extra stops on the subway — head down to the FiDi locaiton instead of this one.
— — — — — —
FYI — Bonchon does not give out extra little cups of their sauces for dipping One of our table-​mates asked and was told ‘no, they don’t let us do that.’ However — the waitress did say she’d be happy to toss the wings or strips in extra sauce if one of us wished.

With only 3 hours before the flight back home to Houston, we quickly made a pit stop here to pick up some to-​go for the plane ride home. I was extremely afraid that we were cutting it way too close because we still had to take the train and bus to the airport! THANK THE FOOD LORDS WE DID! I was starving on the plane and that small combo hit the spot. We got the small combo, half and half. With two hours for the chicken to sit and get cold, it was amazing delicious still. The skin still had some crisp to it, and the chicken tasted extremely fresh. The spicy chicken was ridiculously too spicy for me. I felt like i was eating peppers, raw. The soy and garlic was so sweet and amazing. I literally licked and chewed every end of that chicken to ensure I didn’t miss a single piece. I wished I could’ve tried this place sitting down and fresh, but the to-​go chicken surely hit the spot!
The restaurant was very modern and had really friendly service! My only complaint was that the restroom was not well maintained. Perhaps it was a bad coincidence, but toilet was not kept. to its standards!

We came here about 6pm (right before the rush) and we were glad we didn’t have to wait to get seated. They have a bar downstairs and some tables but the main dining was upstairs were we sat. Nice décor and they have TV’s along the walls. They have booth seating but the seated chairs with the wire waffle back were uncomfortable. They did have a private area in the back for larger parties.
Wings Wings Wings! They are my favorite! And Bonchon sure makes some savory sweet crispy chicken wings. We ordered about 40 wings to share amongst the group. The wings were delicious and go great with their regular french fries. Service was so-​so. Would always have to flag down for water or place an order.
Overall; okay service, good food, a fan of their wings.

Based on my take-​out experience, I give a 3 stars based on food quality and waiting time.
I pretty much doubt that it is a korean food chain line until i saw their menu. Yah, they do offer several korean dishes and fried chicken looked legit for some point. As soon as I made sure that maybe this place is worth to try, I ordered my dish — rice cake (under the appetizer).
For an appetizer valued 10+, I bet the portion is huge or it is just pricy. When I first opened up, it does have a big portion but the big part of the portion is soup… and the # of rice cake is only 8, fish cake is even less.
NOT ACCEPTED
Plus, I waited 30 mins for one dishes… EXCUSE ME???
I’d rather take a 10 minutes walk to korean town to get some real food

Great location for after 8pm dinner with friends. Anytime before that its packed and you need to wait. As all other Bonchon Locations, this one does not disappoint. Dont show up with more than 4 as you might have a seating issue.
Chicken was great and service was even better. Quick turn around for food and as i mentioned the server is new but she really helped everyone fast and with a smile. Some show up and dont even want to tip after making a big fuss but she killed them with kindness.
I have been here a few times and every single time it has been great.
Definetly a place i want to keep coming to

Lunch specials are quite good here. I got a bibimbap, some wings and fries to share with my friend and thought everything was quite good. Spicy wings are a bit too spicy for both of us, so I’d actually recommend just getting the soy garlic. The seats are really limited and they get filled up quickly. You can call to order for pick up, it’ll be faster than dine in.

After a rough week at work, I was desperately craving for some fried chicken and beer (my guilty pleasure). Let me just say, Bonchon did not disappoint. I shared a pitcher of Sapporo with my friend and ordered the medium chicken wings platter with half soy sauce and half spicy. The spicy side had a little more of a kick to it. Other than that, the two flavors tasted really similar to me. Similar tasting, but DIVINE nonetheless. Each piece was perfectly fried, crispy, and flavorful. I loved how the batter was thin and it almost felt like I was biting into an egg shell. The server also gave us a complimentary platter of kimchi coleslaw. That was tasty too.
Even though it was a Friday, we only had to wait ~15 minutes for a table. The servers were attentive and didn’t hustle us to leave. The place was a bit noisy though, with everyone chattering and the loud music playing. I found myself pretty much shouting at one point. Bonchon is probably not so great for an intimate date night, but it is the perfect place to unwind and chat over fried chicken+ beer. Can’t wait to come back!

This is some top notch fried chicken. I’m not mad at it.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not better than your grandma’s fried chicken down south, but it’s probably crispier and definitely has more flare than the old family recipe. This is, however, better than any fried chicken joint or Chinese food spot in any hood, and that’s a fact. I came to Bonchon with a group of five, and split my order with one person. We went with three small drumsticks (soy garlic), six wings (spicy and soy garlic) and an order of zucchini fries (yes, yes, YES). Everything was perfect, except for the service. Our waitress was just not that into us. Can you believe she filled in the tip portion of my friend’s credit card receipt without confirming with her? Insane.
The chicken is what matters though.