KoKo Chicken & BBQ

Sweet spicy sauce was really good, however I think I’ll give the Sweet Soy sauce (or even go sauceless!) next time to see how the chicken actually tastes. Overall solid meal though, ate my 20 pieces over 4 days! Definitely coming back especially now that I know there’s a location in Garden Grove :)

This place was really disappointing to me. If you’ve never had fried chicken before, you’ll find it being ok. But honestly, I can say with full confidence that KFC is just as good and half the price. I went there last night with a friend for dinner. We ordered the Koko fried chicken (notice how even the initials of that rip off KFC) and fries. Free appetizer of colesaw and radish came. Colesaw was horrible and you would have to pay me to eat it, so it was fitting that it was free.
15? minutes later french fries come. We have a mix of anticipation and suspicion because the fries were $ 5, which was more than double the cost of fries at In-​N-​Out. So I was thinking «goddamn, these fries better be either twice as good or twice as fresh or twice as peeled or twice as… something good». It wasn’t. It was the most deepfried set of fries I’ve ever had in my life. They’re suspiciously similar to frozen french fries I’ve bought from Smart n Finals. I try it with the sauce they give me. The sauce is literally siracha that has been watered down with something else. I can see the siracha bottle from where I’m sitting.
5 more minutes later the chicken comes. It looks EXACTLY like KFC breaded chicken. I bite into it and realize I was wrong. It’s actually EXACTLY like the frozen Banquet Crispy Chicken from Smart n Final. It’s also $ 10 which is at least double what I would have paid for if I made it on my own, which I have done before. Except this wasn’t seasoned in the slightest. No salt, pepper, garlic, anything. So it’s actually a less quality of what I would have made on my own, and still twice as expensive. It’s like they gave me the sauces jokingly like «lol figure it out yourself bro». Again this was deepfried into oblivion, and left a nauseating feeling in my stomach almost immediately after partial consumption.
Service was minimal.
Insult to injury? Upset stomach and diarhea the next morning. Don’t go to this place.

I’ve been on the hunt for fried chicken across SoCal. In the past few months, I’ve gone to places like Pann’s and Honey’s Kettle in LA, to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffle to SOCal Wings and today it’s Korean fried chicken at KoKo.
Typically Korean fried chicken is a bit pricier than «American» fried chicken. Unlike American wing places where they have dozen of sauces, KoKo has just a few like like Soy Garlic or Spicy sauce, and its supposedly brushed on, not tossed in a bowl.
The chicken is made to order, so it takes about 20 minutes. While waiting, they’ll give you a cabbage salad (think cole slaw just not mixed) and pickled radishes to snack on.
My coworker and I came here for lunch. At first I was set on getting their lunch special (about $ 10.99) but the portion looked so small for what you get. Some choices were 5 chicken pieces, or 2 actual pieces of chicken (like drumsticks) with a scoop of rice, salad and 2 gyozas.
We decided instead to split a ½ order of the KoKo fried chicken, which was a leg, wing, thigh, and a half breast split in half, and a 12 piece order of the Soy Garlic wings.
The KoKo original chicken came out first, and it was piping hot! The chicken came with a side of 2 dipping sauces, some sort of spicy sauce, and a sweeter chili sauce. The chicken was crunchy outside, but juicy and delicious. Thumbs up!
As we were down to the last piece of KoKo, the wings came out. We were pretty full and attempted to tackle the Soy Garlic wings. The wings were very tasty, not too garlicky and just a tad sweet. Not sweet like teriyaki, but definitely not a savory sauce. The wings were not small and we ended up taking 7 of the 12 wings back to work.
Our server never checked up on us, nor offered a refill on my diet coke. Otherwise, aside for the so-​so service, this place was great for lunch. Since it was made to order, we ended up taking a much longer hour lunch than anticipated, and got back to work ½ hour later.
KoKo has another location in Fullerton/​Buena Park off Commonwealth and Beach. Unlike this location, which is very dark, the other location is open and full of natural lighting.
With tax our total for the chicken and 1 diet coke was $ 26.99, which was a much better deal than the lunch special. Thumbs up to their food, but not to the service.

TIPS! Read before you order:
Hit and miss: don’t get the 24 wings. Get 12 then order another 12. Sometimes the 24 pieces don’t get marinated well/​sauced up well because of the large amounts being cooked together.
Soy sauce flavor: Must Try!
Water: sometimes tasted oily? Like ⁷⁄₁₀ times. Order a drink instead. They have soju but it’s not on the menu!
Enjoy.

Fried chicken is always juicy, i love love the koko chicken wings with their spicy sauce.
Fries is really good too, i always dip it in their spicy sauce
I’ve been to this place a few times already and i’ll def come back again for some juicy fried chicken wings!

Just tried this place and not super impressed. I do feel like it has potential so I will be back again.
We tried the original fried chicken and the kimchi pork belly with tofu. Food was not bad, nice crisp to the chicken, juicy. The kimchi pork belly was tasty.
When we arrived it was pretty slow, just a few tables. I had asked for lemon wedges that never came. After all our food came, nobody came by to check on us or to refill water.
During our dinner, a big group came and we saw the waiter go to them a few times. It seemed like they were friends. We rang the service bell 4 times and finally he came but by that time we just wanted our check.
It seemed like there were only 2 guys working but the place wasnt even half packed so i think it was just poor service. Maybe next time will be a better day.

I never realized the was such a thing as Korean Friend Chicken, until a friend suggested Koko’s for dinner. We just ordered the Koko’s Fried Wings (24 pieces for $ 20.99) & the corn cheese. The chicken was so tender and juicy with a great crunch on the outside. It was delicious! It tasted so fresh and crispy! The corn cheese is exactly as it sounds, corn with cheese melted on top. So tasty as well! I am definitely coming back to try their soy wings & chicken with sauce that I’ve read about!
— Plenty of parking in the lot
— Buzzer on each table to call our server
— Quick service
— Granted there weren’t many parties eating at the restaurant, our server was by herself manning the floor, and she did a great job getting to everyone in a timely manner

I have had plenty of Korean fried chicken. The chicken is NOT like the neighborhood KFC or Popeye’s. It’s made to order so it’s fresh and crispy every time no matter where you go. This was no different at Koko’s. But what I have come to expect is more than that. I want fresh AND tasty. I can say that BBQ Chicken (double crunch flavor) sets the bar for flavor.
So we came to Koko because a friend recommended saying that Koko’s was better than BBQ. We ordered 12 Koko wings and 12 soy wings. They were just okay. I give them full credit for fresh but when it comes to flavor, it fell short. The Koko wings were a little boring and the soy was a little too sweet. This was the 4^th Korean fried chicken spot I’ve tried and now I know I won’t be satisfied unless I go to BBQ chicken. Sorry Koko!

I’m in love with the KoKo *fetty wap song plays*
I must admit this place has good chicken! It’s so juicy and tender and crunchy/​crispy! I usually get the whole chicken because every part of the chicken is juicy and tender and you get more when you get the whole chicken.
I also like the grilled gizzard that comes in the stone plate. I’ve tried that and the fried gizzard with the batter around it and I liked the grilled more.
I didn’t really like the sauces it came with. Hot sauce and sesame oil so I dip my chicken with ranch and ketchup.
Overall this is a chill place to eat and come watch sports. They have like 4 TVs here.

WHERE HAS KOKO’S BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE. My friend was craving Korean fried chicken and suggested KoKo’s. We ordered the half chicken with sweet soy to share and some fries. You also get free salad and pickled daikon.
The chicken is cooked to perfection, tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The sweet soy sauce was also delicious. It was so memorable that I was still craving it that same night and came back again the next week!
Their Original fried chicken is just plain fried chicken and isn’t really anything amazing without the sauce, so I definitely recommend getting the fried chicken with sauce! The second time I was there, they actually had the tornado fries available and I liked the texture and taste of those better compared to the regular fries. They came out piping hot so had to restrain myself from eating them right away.
I felt bad for the worker there, he was the only one working and had to go out to pick up lunch for the elderly couple that was there (maybe his parents?) We had to wait for him to come back to get our check but we didn’t mind as much since we knew he was the only one working. The elderly mom acknowledged us and knew we wanted the check but she didn’t speak English lol No biggie. Definitely recommend this place if you’re ever craving Korean fried chicken!

Ordered the Duk as an appetizer, sopporo beer, and an 8 piece chicken drumstick plate. The duk was okay, I’ve had better. Beer was good. I was really disappointed that the 8 piece chicken came slathered with sauce on it. The servers are definitely Korean, and I think there might have been a communication problem here. Make sure you bring a Korean friend here, or your order will be wrong.

I enjoyed my meal here but the fried chicken tasted okay to me. It wasn’t mind blowing awesome. Servers were also nice.
Fried Chicken — (No sauce) — $ 20 for family deal — Average ³⁄₅
While good, the chicken wasn’t anything out of this world awesome. I enjoyed the chicken but it wasn’t anything memorable. As such, not sure if it’s worth the $ 20 price tag.
French Fries — $ 5 — solid
The fries are good. They have a slight chicken taste to them (probably from the oil/​batter).
Dukkbogi -$ 15 Decent ³⁄₅
Rice cakes & fish cakes. Enjoyable also really spicy.
Appetizer — Fried cartlidge — Decent ³⁄₅
TIPS:
–They have a decent selection of beers on tap and even Ballast Point Grapfruit IPA ($ 25 per pitcher).

Not amazing, but not bad either.
Super chill place to eat and drink & they’re open late too! Chicken is good — crispy and moist. Could be seasoned more, but you can also ask for dipping sauce on the side so that helps a bit. Tried the koko wings, ½ original and ½ sweet spicy and my favorite was the sweet spicy. Tried the hot sauce on the side and it was just okay. Sweet soy tasted exactly as it sounds. Like sugar mixed with soy sauce. Sort of like teriyaki sauce?
Service is also kind of slow, despite it never being tooo crowded.

Great chicken but they tend to run out of items on the menu quite frequently! I’ve called for take-​out on two separate occasions and they were out of chicken strips one time, and chicken wings the other.
I recommend their lunch combos; they’re a good deal for the price and you get a variety of items (chicken, rice, salad, dumplings). The first time I went here they actually forgot my dumplings and I didn’t even know I was missing them, until the server brought it out at the end of my meal.
The chicken itself is juicy and flavorful, I like the hot and soy wings here the most. My boyfriend enjoys the chicken strips since he doesn’t like picking at the bones.

I’m not going to lie… My first time here was a mediocre, MEH experience. The service was slow and inattentive, the food was so so. We got the cheese corn that arrived lukewarm, the grilled chicken gizzard and garlic dish was rubbery, and the chicken itself was forgettable. We got the half and half of the extra hot and sweet soy flavors.
The second time around though. Boy was that totally different. This time, I just got the wings, and these were big, juicy, hot and fresh! I got the 6pc. original crispy wings and just got the sauces on the side. This was worth it. Was able to try the sweet sour, sweet spicy, and hot (which was like a gochujang sauce). And the service was a lot more prompt and friendly. Food came out faster as well.
Also… GET THE FRIED JALAPEÑOS, cause I was honestly MINDBLOWN how simple but oh so good this was… LIKE REALLY GOOD. Dipped in ranch, you get the crunchy, sour, spicy from the jalapeños, and then you get hit with the coolness of the ranch. Quite addicting actually.
Great place to grab a snack and a drink. This place is huge but never seems to be crowded.

Alright. I’ve come to the decision that Koko deserves 5 stars. I ordered for pick-​up yesterday night and cannot explain how impressed I was with the clever packaging and that they included condiments and utensils in my take-​out order without me having to ask. The chicken boxes were so cleverly made that it kept the chicken crunchy and piping hot! YAS!!!
Something to note after coming here so often: Most Korean restaurants (including Koko) are equipped with call bells at each table. Don’t wait for the servers; ring the bell!
P. S. The free pickled daikon will stink up your home. We had several people come into the house exclaiming, «What’s that smell!?” – not in a good way. It will literally make your home smell like fart. Fart I tell you.

There used to be a BBQ Chicken down the street from here and I was excited to see KoKo came to Garden Grove’s version of K-​Town.
KoKo looks like they are trying to capitalize on The Past Memories and Soju Belly concepts – food is still a definite draw but they want you to keep drinking your heart out. There was something about the restaurant that didn’t quite get it to that party atmosphere that Past Memories and Soju Belly does… maybe it is the music… or lack of TV screens playing kpop videos. Either case, if you’re not focused on the party aspect, then it won’t matter much to you.
Taste wise, I was a bit disappointed in the chicken (got the ½ ¹⁄₂). The original fried chicken I was expecting a bit more olive oil flavor that I remembered from back in the day. It was still there but much more subtle. Usually not a big fan of the sweet and spicy chicken and KoKo didn’t change my mind. As you would expect, you get coleslaw and radish to eat with your chicken. Took about 15 or so minutes for the food to come out.
P. S. The fried jalapenos are good, but you probably shouldn’t order it without 4 people… and P. P. S. don’t eat too many of them, TRUST ME!

This review is based on our to go ordered of 24 piece KoKo Wings. I usually sit down and eat at the Buena Park location to get that optimal fresh and crispy texture as well as flavor straight from the kitchen. I’m happy to report that even though we drove 25 minutes to get home, the chicken was still warm, juicy, and best of all, CRISPY. This did come at the expense of my car smelling like fried chicken due to the open holes in the container but I don’t mind the delicious smell of KoKo’s Chicken reminding me great things that await me.
On both stops, I noticed that this location is a bit larger than the Buena Park location but considerably less crowded. Both times there were only 3 – 4 tables seated which isn’t a good sign for this delicious restaurant. It’s been a good minute since I’ve stopped in to any KoKos location and it was pretty cool to find they offer Grapefruit IPA… at a KOREAN establishment.
For the chicken itself, the 25 minute drive did nothing to take away from what I’ve grown to love. It did take a while to receive our order even when we called it in 10 minutes prior. Though not as hot as it would have been if I ate it the second it was served, this spared me from burning my mouth, the chicken was still warm, moist, and crispy. Like the Buena Park location, it’s still one of the best if not THE best fried chicken I’ve ever had.
The only complaint that I have about this to go order was that they charged us extra for additional sauce. For 24 pieces we only received two medium 3.25 oz containers of sauce which is definitely not enough, especially for a party of 6. When we dine in they usually give these out like Costco Samples. This time around it was $ 3 extra for a few more containers of hot and sweet and hot sauce.

Korean fried chicken and beer. Need I say more? My friend and I ordered the half original and half sweet soy chicken ($ 19) with a pitcher of Hoegaarden ($ 16?) and it was sooooo good. Batter was nice and crispy while the chicken was still juicy! I definitely would say that that was a bit much for two people though… I made my friend eat most of the chicken and drink most of the beer lol.
Looking at the menu I definitely think this is a great place to hit up for lunch. Their lunch combos are served from 11:30AM to 3PM but most items are $ 10 for rice, salad, and your choice of meat!
Service can be a bit slow but it’s not terrible so check this place out! My only suggestion to Koko’s is to have ketchup already out at the table. Ketchup with the original fried chicken? Get in my belly plzzzz.

The best things in life are Fried!
Koko is a pretty big restuarant, it’s not a very busy restaurant so there is no wait. My party consisted of 4 people and we wAnted to share a 20 piece where half was sauced and half was original but they said the could give us a 10 whole piece and cut them in half and all would be original so we would just need to get the sauce on the side. The sauce we got were the sweet and spicy and then spicy. The spicy was the best sauce and ghe sweet and spicy is just a Thai sweet chili dipping sauce. The chicken itself was good and but I was expecting it to be crispier. When I think Korean fried chicken I think CRISSSSPPYY! At least the meat was moist and not dry.
I also ordered fried jalapeños and French fries. The fried jalapeños are worth ordering but the French fries we definitely didn’t need. Oil overload.
I would probably come back and get an all sauced chicken. The prices are very affordable besides the specialty items like fried gizzards which I think were way too expensive.