Bon Chon Chicken

Waited 15 – 20 minutes for a table of 4. Not bad when it was really busy. The staff were all fast paced and worked effectively. Keep in mind that the restaurant is really dark. I could barely see the menu (not exaggerating). I had to use my phone flashlight or the candle on the table to see the menu.
The waitress and waiters were very kind. Customer service would be rated 4 out of 5 in my opinion. The reason why I wouldn’t give them a 5 is because the waitresses kept yelling at each other and it was just really awkward for us to watch.
Our food came quickly! Which is a good thing. They were all fresh and hot (especially my mozzarella sticks). Their soy garlic chicken is a must! You have to try them if you haven’t, it’s delicious!
They only serve white rice. So if you’re the type of person that eats brown rice instead of white, no rice for you man.
They have a bar in this restaurant so I wouldn’t recommend this place for kids. However I do recommend it for groups.

Got seated for a party of two very quickly. This restaurant is extremely dark and the only real source of light you’ll probably have is from a single lit candle or if you’re lucky enough and get a seat near the doors where it’s brighter. They were also blasting very loud music in here which became unpleasant at a point. It seemed like the waiters were struggling to hear their customers.
I ordered the large soy garlic mix (wings and drumsticks) for $ 22.99 and an order of seasoned calamari for $ 9.99 which both came together and quickly. The chicken itself was okay. The batter was kind of thick and the chicken was pretty dry on the inside. However, the calamari was pretty awful. It was very dense and rubbery. The pieces were small and there was also weird pieces of very crispy octopus or something and it came with some salsa that tasted like school lunch.
But, they did a good job refilling our waters without us requesting it and gave us cleansing wipes in the end.

This place has seen better days. The menus are falling apart, and the furnishings felt worn. I only came in for their lunch special, so I can’t say anything about their other foods, but their chicken is decent. Not particularly moist or crispy, but certainly flavorful. The spicy sauce had a nice kick to it as well. I’d imagine this would be a great spot if one just wanted to drink and inhale bar food, but for lunch, not so much.

Not bad, but nothing exceptional either.
First, we got the takoyaki and those were straight up AWFUL. For one, the octopus was ICE COLD in the middle. Literally the outside was warm and fried and each of us bit into a cold chunk of tako. Disgusting. They were also overly sweet and sauced. It just tasted like a nasty mishmosh of flavors.
I thought the fried chicken was okay. If anything, it’s OVERLY crispy. There’s not enough meat and way too many fried bits. The non-​spicy soy sauce is good and sweet, but also way too salty. The spicy soy sauce is better, but nothing exceptional. The wings themselves don’t seem particularly high quality in terms of the meat they use and they are tiny. I was thoroughly unimpressed and have had much, much better Korean chicken wings (see CRISP in Chicago!).
Service was also pretty mediocre. They never brought us a check so we assumed that we paid up front. However, as soon as we stood up to go pay up front, we were accosted by our waiter for trying to «dine and dash». Excuse me? We were trying to pay but you didn’t bring us the check for a solid ten minutes! Not a great experience. I wouldn’t say it was horrible — the wings are acceptable — but I can still taste that frozen chunk of octopus in my mouth and it’s making me pretty unhappy.

The chicken was dry and did not have enough soy garlic flavor. The wedges were extremely bland. Can’t even compare to kfc wedges. And for «fast food,» it took a ridiculously long time to prepare.

This place tasted much different than the other Bön Chon locations. This location has better chicken imo than the one we tried closer to Times Square. The chicken was really, really crispy here. The sauce was good and their fries were too. So good, we ordered again after finishing our first order.
The menu and environment looks different here than at the other Bön Chon locations? Is this the same Bön Chon?
We were served promptly and our food came out quickly.
If I visit again. I’m going to this location and not the others.

Well, there goes beach season. I frequent this place many a weekends for their amazing fried chicken.
Space — Two high tables that can comfortably sit 10 people, some booth seating, and two bathrooms.
Service — Polite, and attentive.
Soju — Go with the regular if you don’t like sweet, aloe soju if you like semi, and yogurt soju if you like sweet. Also, note that the fresh soju flavor is also sweet. I wasn’t in a sweet soju mood and made the mistake of ordering the fresh soju. You’re welcome.
Salad — Forgot the name of the salad, but it’s the second to last one in the salad section. Highly recommend as it helps cleanse the palate.
Fried Chicken — I usually order a spicy soy garlic mix and a regular soy garlic mix. I start with a spicy drumstick, then alternate to a regular, then back to a spicy etc. It’s the best way to do it.
For all you fried chicken lovers out there, this place is worth a visit.

The fiancée and I found ourselves here after we both exclaimed «KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN» in our tiny studio apartment.
The above may or may not have happened. But regardless, the cravings struck and we found ourselves on the 6 train down, down to Koreatown. We bumbled our way over to Bonchon, excited and hungry. We marveled at all the food to be conquered — Kang Ho Dong, in particular, to be put away for another day… BCD as a tasty reminder of California… gotta stick to the cravings. Obey the mind and stomach.
We opened the door to Bonchon and were greeted by… empty chairs and a club-​like atmosphere. Surprisingly, this environment made for a nice conversation with the fiancée as we chowed down on their seasoned fries (yum!), kimchi slaw (very yum!) and soy garlic wings. I asked for extra sauces hoping I could get some soy garlic on the side but they presented me with bleu cheese and ranch. (This does not vibe well with the wings.) So don’t be like me – if you want it, ask for it. This applies to life as well.
The wings were large (shoot, the sizes varied from small to omgbbqwhatisthisgeneticmonster huge) and an order of 20 wings is perfect to split with some left over if you have our appetites, which, I may add, are typically strong.
Overall, for the price, a decent deal. Good place to be, but I think I’d like to explore more Korean fried chicken joints in the area before I give this one another go.

Despite the hype regarding this Korean FC chain– the chicken is over cooked, dry, and juice less. The flavour was kinda OK but chicken not being juicy is a big let down for me
Other Ktown bars do it much better… but who am I to argue with the vocal majority

You might want to have your flashlight app handy when trying to read the menu… it is very dimly lit in here. My friends and I always get the soy garlic wings. Other items on the menu can be a bit hit or miss, but the wings are consistently good. I want to rate this place higher, but they basically only have one food item on the menu that I would consistently order.
Something to keep in mind in terms of alcoholic beverages, the soju cocktails come in a variety of flavors and in a bottle big enough for sharing.
I too have experienced something similar to what other reviewers have mentioned in regards to service. The waitstaff is very nice, but they never seem to be around when you need them. I have gone up to the bar area to ask for a soda refill because I spent so long trying to flag down one of the servers.

I have no patience for inconsistency in chain restaurants.
The service here blows… really really blows.
Stopped in around 10pm on a Friday night so I understand it’s busy. They have no type of organization for seating guests or checking in new arrivals etc. My guest & I waited in the doorway for a solid 10 minutes & received no acknowledgement. Finally we found a server & was told 15 – 20 mins. Ok cool, we went next door for a few mins.
Called in to see if our table was ready & was told «you must come back I need to see your face» in reference to honoring the time we were quoted, odd, very very odd.
We return, wait about 10 more mins & were seated. We ordered the entire meal and I had a request for dressing on the side.
Get our food & no dressing, I ask again.
I’ve now eaten about half of the meal & the potstickers are always good. The chicken is VERY hit or miss & I hate itttt. You’re a chain, cook the chicken the same all the time gahhh. Still no dressing so I ask again.
By the time I get the dressing the food was gone, smh.
Anyways, when the chicken is good it’s great. The service always sucks though.

Came in here around 5 ish after NYFW with 2 of my friends. Service was pretty friendly as well. Once you walk in the restaurant it’s pretty dim.
We got the soy garlic chicken wings and fried macaroni and cheese. I rate it ⁴⁄₅ stars. Chicken wings were pretty big and the soy garlic taste wasnt overwhelming. Really love it. As for the fried macaroni and cheese they give u spicy hot mayo sauce with it. It was pretty good as well. I rate it 3.5÷5 stars.

crispy deep fried garlicy glory.
you take a bite into a diminutive wing and get hit with a smack of spice. be sure to have a beer or cold water handy or ur face will go red.
i still think bonchon is better for lunch after this experience. it was dimy lit, vaguely populated and overall a very off night to run on for ktown noms.
the best part of the experience was the kpop videos projecting overhead. they were loltacular, a real conversation piece throughout the evening.
it was a satisfying meal but only so much so. not exactly a mind blowing wing like at pok pok or life changing wing at spice market. it falls somewhere in the middle, only distinguisable for its korean flavors.

After about three or four tries, I felt like it was time to talk a little bit about Bonchon.
As a nationwide chain, I tended to be skeptical. However, I went to their location in Arlington, VA while visiting a friend and thoroughly enjoyed my chicken. I was thrilled to move to New York and have access to my own Bonchon.
Unfortunately, this Manhattan location has consistently been less delicious. The service is a little scattered and the actually chicken isn’t as good. In Arlington, they warn you that the chicken can take up to 30 minutes to make. Here, i got my order in less than 10 minutes and I assume because it’s made with a little less love.
The chicken is nowhere as crispy and the sauce doesn’t glaze the same way. At my last visit, I deduced that it’s likely because everything is made in a hurry and sometimes it can sit. This last time my partner got the wings which were excellent and I got the tenders which half of which weren’t full battered. So the chicken on the outside was super tough and dry because it had been in the fryer. My guess it they cook wasn’t paying attention.
I left it on my plate for staff to see but they didn’t really enquire and I didn’t really feel like complaining. The staff is super young but they are nice so my overall feeling is that it feels like a fast food joint. There’s too many other Korean fried chicken places in this city to waste your time at Bonchon.

Loved this place! Koreans seem to know fried chicken better than US southerners! The décor is sleek yet cozy, and they have areas that are conducive to privacy if thats your aim. Staff was friendly and attentive. 5 stars based on my Lunch special experience (3 drums/​fries).
The garlic soy drumsticks were fantastic! Lightly crispy garlic soy perfectly seasoned, served with belgium style shoestring fries, it was a pretty decent value at $ 9.99 (¹²⁄₂₀₁₅). A few Unilocalers pointed out that the drumsticks were the better value and I agree. The kimchi cole slaw was amazing, and inspired me to modify my creamy cole slaw recipe I make to include HP sauce (my UK cole slaw variety). Definitley ask for the side sauce (a creamy chili sauce), its great on the fries as well as the chicken.
If you work nearby, or are visiting the Empire State Building, you should definitely consider Bön Chon.

I am a Bonchon loyalist, having never tried Kyochon and rarely having eaten Korean fried chicken anywhere else. This is because the chain has never let me down, and I will continue to stick with them.
I like to keep it simple when I go to Bonchon, ordering a half spicy-​half soy garlic set of drums to split and some spicy rice cake. I understand that some people prefer wings over drums, but I have found that drumsticks always give you more meat for your money. With little exception, the drums are juicy and warm, with just the right amount of crunch for texture. The spice level is at a level such that the spicy-​shy will be able to bear it while the spicy-​brave will get some kick from the heat. Even if the spice level is too high, therein lies the beauty of the half & half option.
The rice cake is less special than the wings. As a major carnivore, I tend to avoid carb-​heavy dishes like the rice cake (dukboki), but when push comes to shove you need something to balance out all that chicken, and this is not a bad choice.
Fried chicken is one of those food where everyone has an opinion. The debate over Bonchon is no exception. I encourage you to try it and find out for yourself. As for me, Bonchon for life.
P. S. Open til 4am on weekends (and in K-​town) = post-​karaōke drunk food!

This was our only disappointment for dining in New York. We went to Korea Town to get some good fried chicken, but the original place we were going to eat at had a wait of over an hour. We headed to Bön Chon since we heard good things about here too. However, it was just OK.
We waited for about 20 minutes for a table. The girl at the front kept us updated throughout the wait to let us know what was going on and when the table was almost ready to leave. I appreciated her continually checking on us!
When we got to the table, they were very attentive and took our order right away. We got the following:
— Wings in Soy Garlic: sauce was good on the chicken, but the flavors were just okay…
— Bulgogi Rice Bowl: the beef was wayyy too sweet
— Yogurt Soju: delicious as always!
In the end… probably wouldn’t come back. Service was great, but food wasn’t anything special or memorable.

The décor here is like a bar. Pretty dark and music is loud. Anyway I was welcomed and acted immediately by the hostess.
Ordered half garlic soy/​half spicy fried wings and popcorn shrimp and onion rings. The wings tasted good but nothing like «the best in the US» — I would like to say that it’s below the level I had in Zion Market in SD or LA. The garlic soy was too sugary and a little bit sticky on the surface. On the other hand, the spicy rings were not spicy at all… maybe it’s just an Americanized version? Lol
The popcorn shrimps and onion rings were big in portion but also tasted bland. However they were not as pricey as expected.
Maybe this location was not the best choice. Would try other Korean fried chicken places next time:(

This place has grown on me. For nearly a decade I have been choosing the wing spot down the block over this one.
Bön Chons longer hours and more flavored wings have won me over this past year! Heck even their price is like 10 – 20 percent better.
If you love wings and if you love garlic and soy sauce in your food this is a must try.
Vibe is cool and laid back. Waitresses are alert and wings typically come out pretty quick when dining in. Check it out and let me know what you thought?

I come here every time I come to Manhattan and it blows my mind every time. The mac and cheese wedges appetizer is so tasty and the spicy mayo dipping sauce it comes with is perfect. We ordered half spicy and half soy garlic wings and I preferred the soy garlic wings since they were more savory.
There are lots of Bön Chon places but this is definitely the best one. The service is attentive and quick – plus the place has a cool vibe and décor. It’s on the pricier side but it’s worth it.