BonChon Chicken

A group of 14 of us came here for lunch today from our office across the street. The place was less than 30% full when we sat down a bit before 12:00. It took 45+ minutes for most of the food to arrive. After an hour, four of us had yet to receive our food. After ten more minutes two of us had yet to see any food. We canceled and went back to work without lunch… Lunch took over 90 minutes. Unacceptable!
When we asked to speak to the Manager, we were told that the manager was not there, but we could talk to the assistant manager… He/​she never showed…

It’s of pretty good taste. However, 2 flavors only: soy garlic and spicy. I like the soy garlic flavor. Will go there for takeaway wings if there’s a party/​feast going on at home.

So first off, this place looks empty like no one goes. then we walk in and one of the girls tells us to follow her and she basically slams the menu on the table like she doesn’t care. the two girls are on their phones the entire time and barely checking up to see if my friend needs a refill on his soda. These waiters aren’t doing a good job at checking up on us at ALL. Then she finally comes back and says «do you want a refill» well first off the food isn’t even here yet and he already finished his drink so yes is an obvious question.

Food was ok, but the service was very lacking! You shouldn’t have to ask for utensils and plates. Also, had to remind them I had ordered a side of rice that they forgot.

Have gone back a few times since the first review. The staff is better trained and the wait times for chicken have normalized.

I decided to give this place a try although the reviews were saying that they’re not like original Bonchon. It was overall a good experience, food were fresh, chickens wings taste just like other Bonchon. The only thing was the takoyaki was mushy on the inside (like they were not cooked) I’m not sure if that’s what it supposed to be.

Checked them out again and I’m glad I did. Service was friendly and food was great. Portion size was much better than original visit.

The service was okay apparently they were under staffed that’s why our food took too long. Our waitress was super sweet though. Mostly this place got three stars because my whole family got sick shortly after. we have never had a problem before so I’m not sure what happened. The food was delicious and is love to go back once I’m sure I didn’t get food poisoning

I came for happy hour with my friend to celebrate my birthday. I ordered 20 pics hot spicy chicken wings. The wings are so delicious, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside ! Seasoned to perfection you didn’t even need any condiments with it.
Bonchon chicken is addicting crispy and spicy. But I really enjoy that the spicy ones have a strong red pepper paste flavor present in the red sauce.
Bonchon chicken has a unique taste that unlike any Korea chicken that I’ve ever eaten.
On top of that I wouldn’t suggest going with the Hot wings unless you’re a straight up heat maniac likes me. If you can’t handle hot & spicy. I suggest go with Soy-​garlic ones.
Our server was great, quick and friendly. I’m 100% obsessed I always recommend this place «Germantown»

The wings are super delicious! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I personally am not a big fan of spice, so the soy-​garlic sauce is my go-​to. The fries are great too. I’m a sucker for a good battered style fry and these fit the bill.
The reason i knocked it down one star was for the service. When we placed the order everything was good and our waiter was on top of refills and such. After dropping off our tray of wings he disappeared. He didn’t bring any plates and was no where to be found to ask for some. My husband and I just ended up using a napkin to catch the crumbs. About 15 minutes into our meal of wings he popped back out on the floor and came to check on us. After he saw we had no plates he did apologize and offered to get some, but by that point we were almost done eating. He then disappeared again and it was another 15 minutes after we finished our meal before we saw him again to get a check.
Overall, the food is really good and we’ll be back. All the other waitresses were doing a good job from what we could tell, so maybe our guy was just having an off-​day.

It was finally time to check out BonChon and see what all the fuss is all about — and these folks turn out some good chicken.
The food is prepared to order, so it takes a bit of time for your order to reach your table. I got the ten-​piece chicken strips, which were fairly large pieces of chicken breast with a tasty, crispy coating. I opted for the spicy version, feeling that satisfying burn that every good spicy food lover loves with every bite. The spicy sauce was well balanced, and the chicken was nice and juicy. The chicken is served with a side of pickled radish, a good sweet-​ish vinegar-​ish complement to the heat of the chicken.
I’d have to agree with others that the price point is a bit high for what you get, but the quality of the food itself was A-​OK.
I’m someone who usually avoids fried chicken, but BonChon was a surprisingly good treat, someplace that fried chicken lovers should definitely try out.

I liked this bonchon restaurant the best because it looked like a fast food location. I think it was a redone McDonalds or something because normally bonchon is very dark inside. Either way, bonchon is the shit. I recommend this to everyone

Carry-​out suggestions: General guide for locals.
During off-​peak lunch and dinner, call 30 minutes prior to picking up order.
During peak lunch and dinner, call 60 minutes prior to picking up order.
If you don’t know, now you know.

So far it’s been a colossal waste of money and time. I ordered the takoyaki and the shrimp shumai. The former was a fried ball of mush with one single overcooked ring of octopus suspended in the middle of soft bland white squish, doused in a mayonnaise-​based sauce and drizzled with some sort of barbecue sauce, nestled in an unappetizing bed of squishy steamed lettuce. The latter I ordered steamed for health reasons, but I expected to have some yummy shrimp-​flavored dumpling like thingies. Unfortunately, it seems as though their shumai is not cut out for steaming as they were smushy and generally unappetizing. Moreover, they too were covered in a flood of some sort of honey mustard sauce so I couldn’t enjoy the shrimp flavor at all. If you’ve read this far (thank you) you’ll definitely want to look at my photos. I think they sum it up. Yes, those are to go boxes, but I did open them right away in the car so I didn’t give ‘em time to get like that. I can not be sure, but I have a feeling my foods were microwaved. The shumai which should have come out of a steamer ought to be max 212 F, temperature of unpressurized steam, but they definitely felt closer to 450 °F, the melting point of tin. Perhaps that’s why the Tako was chewy like shoe leather.
I will return once to try the signature chicken, but so far it’s a resounding no.
The one upside was the staff were really friendly and nice while I waited way to long for the crummy food. I especially enjoyed talking to Jin. The cashier gals were dancing and having fun and that are me have fun. That is why I gave them two stars. Good work front of the house. Need help kitchen staff.

Korean food made «hip.» Frankly, I find that the prices at Bonchon are far too inflated, and that’s a BIG problem for new customers who aren’t as familiar with Korean cuisine as much as say, Chinese takeout or Japanese hibachi. I shouldn’t be paying 13 – 15 bucks for the same food I can get in Seoul for 4 dollars. I understand import markup, but this is going overboard.
To be fair, however, the food itself is great. I had japchae (glass noodles with vegetables), and my friend and I split an order of mandu (dumplings) and fried chicken. Everything on the menu was overpriced by a lot, but it was all very good.
So for me, while it sucks to pay such a high mark up, it’s hard to get good Korean food so I may be back on occasion. But the price is a huge turn off
to anyone not versed in Korean cuisine. If it wasn’t so expensive, this place would be closer to 5 stars.

Service is still bad but the quality of the chicken has vastly improved. Wings and drums are generously sized and the batter/​seasoning is on par with what I would expect from BonChon.
The dukbokki appetizer is S P I C Y! BEWARE! I literally had to water mine down once I got home to make it edible. I consider myself to have a pretty decent spice tolerance, but my tongue was burning off after the first couple bites. It was really good though, even with smoke practically coming out of my nostrils.
Call ahead for pick-​up in 20 to 25 minutes if you don’t feel like dealing with a packed house on Friday nights and weekends.

When I found out that a BonChon was opening up near me (and in the same shopping center as Yuraku and Honeypig), I was sure that this was a sign from the heavens that I should stop fighting my weight and just embrace my fattiness.
But then, I came to this BonChon, and I’m convinced that the heavens have a warped sense of humor.
The Good:
1) They are FAST AS HELL. I live less than 5 miles away, and I called them to place my order when I was in my car and driving. I got to the BonChon, and less than 5 minutes later, my order was ready!
2) The hostess/​cashier knows her onions when it comes to customer service. She rung me up, offered me a seat at the bar, then gave me a glass of water while I waited. I’ve never been so taken care of while waiting for my food.
The Bad:
1) The chicken legs (and wings) aren’t as big as the old original Annandale BonChon… they aren’t even as big as the Rockville BonChon. Half the fun of eating BonChon is that they are mutant chicken.
2) The sauce/​glaze seems weaker. Definitely less saucy, and the spicy isn’t as full on spicy as the other BonChons. Not sure if they messed with the recipe, or if the chef needs to take remedial sauce classes from BonChon HQ, but it’s not as tasty.
3) This is the worst crime: the chicken is not tender and moist on the inside, and crisp and crunchy on the outside. I was horrified because the crispiness of the BonChon chicken is the largest part of the allure for me. When I talked to my brother about this, he said that it’s because this BonChon pre-​fries their chicken. The reason why the other BonChons take forevvvvvvvvvver to get your food to you, is because they double-​fry the chicken to order (evidently this is the secret to the BonChon crispiness), but this BonChon fries up the chicken once then sets it aside, and when an order comes it, does the second fry. But the time lapse between the frying (where the chicken can cool) prevents the chicken from crisping up properly, and instead just makes the chicken dry and hard instead of moist and crispy.
BOOOO.
I’m going to give this BonChon a second shot in a few months. I’m hoping that these issues are just because they are new and haven’t worked out the kinks just yet. It would make me so sad if a BonChon that is practically next door sucked.

I was intially worried about visiting this location due to the reviews. However, I had a friend that visited this location multiple times with no issues; so why not give it a chance?
My first impression, from the service, was no bueno. I informed the hostess we had a party of 14 – 16 and her eyes went wide and she started to panic. My hubby and I looked at each other and pointed to a corner that had more than enough space. She kept looking back and forth at us while saying «uhhhhhhhhhh». she then left to ask her manager if it was okay to take the back corner. She walked us over to that section and we started to move tables so we could all sit with each other. She claimed it was the private room however it was all glass with no privacy.
As our whole party arrived, our waitress promptly took our drink, 5 pitchers of beer, and food order with no issue. We found out it was her first day, so we made it more comfortable for her and joked the entire time.
On to the food!!! I was SO IMPRESSED with the quality and size of the wings and drumsticks. They were large, flavorful, and oh so fresh.
I still remember my first bite into the drumstick. AMAZEBALLS. Between the soy garlic flavor and the juiceness of the chicken, I wanted to take the whole plate to myself. Don’t worry, I didn’t!
It only took about 20 minutes for 60 wings/​drumsticks. For a total of 14 people, the bill came out to be $ 19 a person including tip.
Honestly, this location has potential. The staff seems really new and needs to be trained. I won’t take away too many stars because our waitress really made up for the stressed hostess.
I will be visiting again.
Food: A
Service: B
Environment: B

It looks like a Bön Chon.
It acts like a Bön Chon.
The menu says «Bön Chon»
This ain’t no Bön Chon though.
AND it certainly doesn’t smell like a Bön Chon (a rank smell hits you as you walk in)
Trust me on this one, I have always been the type to spot the genuine article. I mean as a little kid at a Milli Vanilli/​Young MC concert, I turned to my mom and told her they were lip syncing, and this is long before the news broke out. I can spot a fake Louis Vuitton from a mile away, and can tell a Prada from a Prado. I got the skills and let me tell you this place is a Milli Vanilli production, and it won’t be able to fake it until it makes it.
I love Bön Chon and I was so excited to eat here last night but I had a disappointing meal. While normally I would give a restaurant one more chance but I absolutely have no desire to return here and here’s why:
First of all as we sat down, per the usual restaurant protocol, the server asked us if you wanted drinks. So we asked for an iced tea. As it turns out they don’t have a tea or any way of making tea nor do they have soda fountains basically all they had was water and some bottles of beer.
Why bother asking then, and setting us up for disappointment? Why don’t you lead with would you like water and/​or beer cause that’s all we got?
I’m not denying the health benefits of water and beer is awesome but sometimes you just need another beverage to balance out those spicy delicious Bön Chon wings.
When a restaurant has less beverage options than my frugal and calorie conscious parent’s house this is a really bad sign. I can at least I can get some tea, persian doogh or refreshing zero calorie Fresca up in there (Fresca is disgusting and tastes like cancer btw).
What’s really strange is that Great Wall Supermarket (or is it an H Mart, I forget?) is literally across the parking lot. When your restaurant has no beverages to offer, maybe you could ask one of the eight employees standing around playing on their iphones to walk over and pick up some drinks in a can. There weren’t many customers in the store (only three tables were occupied), so it was feasible. They have a FULL BAR, with absolutely no mixers. This doesn’t make sense.
Instead, we left and grabbed some ice teas from the neighboring Dunkin’ Donuts and brought them in. At this point I was already a bit annoyed, and if anyone took a break from their facebooking/​tindering/​instagramming to say outside beverages weren’t allowed, I may have just walked out. Luckily they were too engrossed to notice or care. Our server even apologized when she did see the outside beverage on our table.
We ordered Takoyaki ($ 6.95) and Shrimp Shumai, available Fried, Steamed ($ 6.95). Our appetizers came out in 20 minutes of ordering, and the steamed shumai were albino. White, doughy, and gross. They were terrible, just mushy steamed shumai. The takoyaki was half and half ok, some were cooked and some were noticeably undercooked inside, as in the batter was still liquid.
The combo wings/​drums in soy garlic came out shortly thereafter. The wings were tiny, and lightly coated in marinade. The drumsticks were more sizeable. Even though the skin was crisp, they were bland and they came out at a cooler temperature. I did not try the spicy wings and not sure if they had more of a kick, but I’m not wasting my time trying any more of this dry bland chicken. The best tasting things on that table that night were the free pickled daikon and the iced tea we brought in.
Service was friendly and our server moved quickly. We were asked about six different times by six different people if our meal was ok. I should have said the truth. Luckily, the lady behind us at another table got this covered. When the server asked if everything was ok, she commented that «it didn’t taste like Bön Chon at all.» Well put, lady. The server had no response. The only indication I gave that the food blew was when my server asked if she could wrap up my shumai to go for me and I responded with «oh god no». I think even the servers here have caught onto the fact that something ain’t right. Not having any customers is the first big clue. The only positive reviews come from someone who is clearly friends with the chef, Julian, and from people trying bon chon for the first time (I’m not even sure if I would like this if I had it for the first time).
I will definitely visit any other location of Bön Chon when I get a Bön Chon craving in the future, even though this location is the most convenient for me.

I’ve been waiting for a Korean chicken wing place to come to this area! Even though Rockville is not far, I wanted a place I can immediately go to when I crave chicken wings!
Finally, they opened Bonchon in Germantown today. Today is soft opening and they dont have their liquor license yet. My server knew nothing about the menu and what any of the dishes taste like but the chicken is oh so good!
The dol-​sot bibimbap is not great but edible. I think with some training of staff and getting the liquor license, it can be a 5 star joint!!!