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    1981 K Chicken

    4.7 (96 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Order 1981 K Chicken Takeout or Delivery

    1981 K Chicken Photos

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    1981 K CHICKEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Trendy
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - 1981 K Chicken

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    10 piece wings - sweet chili & soy garlic
    Daniel L.

    Visiting from out of town, but would try some additional flavors if I come back! Owner(?) was very attentive and was super busy when I went for a weekday dinner, though there were a few open tables and I was seated right away. Ordered the signature 10 piece wings - sweet chili & soy garlic. I thought there was a bit too much sweetness and much chili, but overall the crunch was nice and the chicken was super juicy! Got an avocado salad which was said to have arugula but was a basic lettuce tomato onion salad that wasn't too appetizing. Tried the honey mustard but it was too sweet. Got a teobokki to fill my belly. Ordered spice level 2 since the sweet chili was spice level 1 and not much spice noticed, but the spice level 2 was pretty spicy. The rice cakes were soft and chewy - tasty!

    Mike O.

    This place is a total gem! [[HIGHLIGHT]]We popped in on a Friday evening, and were greeted to a lovely, clean, bright dining room![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We were welcomed and seated promptly at a table along the windows. [[HIGHLIGHT]]There's plenty of bright decor, neon signs, and TVs all around playing everything from live sports to K-Pop music videos![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Upon request, our wonderful waitress walked us first-timers through the menu and made some recommendations (spoiler: all were fantastic!). We nabbed a couple appetizers - fries and mac and cheese - and ordered two half chicken servings: one thigh meat, one breast meat. With the chicken we tried four different sauces, and all were fantastic! Our favorites were the spicy sweet chili and the glazed honey soy! The chicken is perfectly fried - super crispy, but still moist meat! They know how to fry up a mean chicken here! We crushed ALL the food, and it was a perfect amount for four hungry people! Although the menu set expectations of the chicken being made fresh and taking up to 20 minutes to cook and arrive, ours arrived much quicker! Props to the cook for the prompt service! Also, I have to say that the value here is outstanding! A FULL family of four for less than $60 is headlining news these days! I guarantee we will be back often to 1981 K Chicken! Food = 5/5 Facility = 4/5 Service = 5/5 Ambiance = 4/5 Value = 5/5

    Jason G.

    [[HIGHLIGHT]]Came here on a Tuesday night and it was empty.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] So we got our food delivered to our table quickly. I had the kimchi fried rice and it was amazing! I'd come back just for that. We also had the wings. Which tasted like candied chicken wings. More like an after dinner wing than an actual entree. But there are several ways to prepare them maybe we just need to try the other versions next time.

    French Fries (L)

    Stopped in for dinner and ordered the family style meal. It came with 24 wings, large french fry, and two beers. The boneless thighs were juicy and fried well. The sauces were flavorful but could have used more on the wings. The french fries were served well before the wings... I wish they would have served them with the wings. We had a couple when they came out and they were very fresh and hot, but quickly cooled down. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The server was attentive, and the restaurant was clean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Their to go ordering system was alarming every order they received (which was a lot) so I did not enjoy that part.

    Signature Boneless breast with honey soy and sweet chili sauce (full portion)
    Brittne C.

    Stopped in today and absolutely loved it. We tried the French fry sampler with cheese sauce, Cajun seasoning, truffle oil, and the classic version, and they were all amazing but truffle was our fav. The chicken itself (even though the menu said "boneless breast") came pre-cut into small pieces, which turned out to be ideal. It made everything easier to share and enjoy, and we were surprised at how big the half-portion was....definitely more than enough. The whole meal made us excited to come back, especially to check out the lunch specials. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Everything felt casual yet fresh, and the portions were generous.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Bonus: there's free parking and a clean, friendly dining vibe.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Totally worth a return visit to explore more of the menu.

    Crispy Fried Wings (Soy Garlic)
    Marcus L.

    Great selection of Korean comfort food. Staff is nice. I enjoyed the rose tteokbokki the most. The fried chicken was crispy and nice. I wish the lunch specials were a little more valuable but they were fine. Food: 4/5 Price: 3.5/5 Experience: 4/5

    Soy garlic and sweet chili wings
    Jeremy D.

    I love Korean Crispy Chicken Wings and 1981 K-Chicken meets my west coast taste standards. Parking was easy. The place is small and could easily run out of tables. Music was upbeat Korean music and multiple TVs. The waitress sat us down as soon as we walked in and she met our eye when we were ready to order. We ordered the melted cheese french fries, mac and cheese, wings of course in the flavors of soy garlic and sweet chili, and Sapporo bottle (wished it was on tap). Fries were fantastic because of a batter that coated the fries and was topped off with nacho cheese. The mac and cheese tastes original and in house made. The wings were crispy & crunchy on the outside and juicy inside which many restaurants get wrong because it's either over dried or not full cooked. I'm very impressed. I'd recommend this place for anyone looking for Korean Wings in the KC area. The prices were reasonable and matched the quantity and taste.

    Spicy soy garlic and regular garlic wings! Very flavorful and chicken is cooked perfectly.
    Rachel K.

    My favorite Korean chicken place in KC. As a Korean, this place really nails flavor and spice when it comes to Korean chicken. Friendly service every time I come!

    Jeff L.

    Service was outstanding as always Wings are amazing All the chicken is incredible. I'm not sure what the oil is but it's very light. K burrito lunch with spicy pork is great, very light - good kick

    Brittney H.

    The amount of times I've been here is actually embarrassing. I've been there enough to fill up the punchcard and get $15 off, I'm actually really proud of this lol. This is the best quality of Korean fried chicken I have had in the Kansas City area. I'm not sure what they put in the batter, but it's what makes them stand out. I also like how the sauce isn't drenching the chicken so much. It has a perfect balance. Also, I go crazy for the daikon they give on the side. [[HIGHLIGHT]]As an avid K-pop fan, I really appreciate how they always have it playing on the TV with the music videos.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] It's also fun to get the gloves so you don't make a mess when you're eating your wings just ask the server for it next time and they will give you a whole packet. As I write this review, I'm really craving it! You might catch me there soon.

    Sarah G.

    1981 K Chicken might be my new favorite place. Life has been busy lately. With a baby and five year old we've been on the go a ton these days. A few weeks ago, we had family in town and my husband stayed over at my sister in law's house with our five year old so she could play late with her cousins and I took the baby home to get her to bed at her bedtime. While I was rocking her to sleep I was getting hungry and thought I'd DoorDash something as it was getting late and I was exhausted. 1981 K Chicken came up as a recommended option and having never been there I thought it might be fun to give them a try. I ordered some of their fried chicken with a kind of sweet/spicy sauce, and a side of fries. I added some extra aioli type sauces on the side and placed my order. It was here in a flash, and was piping hot! First of all, the packaging is adorable, which of course won me over. Secondly, the chicken is INSANELY GOOD. Like, I'm still dreaming about it good. The fries were also great and I had plenty leftover. I'm actually hoping to order from them again soon. Their menu has tons of flavor options and after tasting how crunchy and tender the chicken was I'm 100% sold on everything being great. Bottom line: if you like fried chicken just go here. You'll love it.

    Genuinely, this is our new favorite restaurant in Kansas City! It's owned by three friends whose passion for good food and service is evident. They nail every detail from the chilled beer glass to the mouth watering fried chicken! I've have listened to my wife for the first three years of our marriage say it's better in Korea every time we try her favorite dish ddeokbokki. Today I can officially say this is no longer true. We are exited to go back.. many.. many more times.

    Westyn R.

    1981 Chicken is a local Korean chicken joint that also doubles as a sports bar. Plenty of different Korean sauces for chicken wings, sandwiches, and other various dishes such as tteokbokki or Korean Stew. When I arrived the person working that night was friendly and sat me down and took my order from my table. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I looked over the fairly big menu while the same two songs kept repeating continuously in the background.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I instantly gravitated towards the spicy wings and ordered the 12 piece Crispy Spicy batter with spicy soy garlic and spicy garlic sweet chili. The menu said it should take about 20 minutes for wing order but it came out sooner that expected which was great because I was starving. What came out was some amazing looking chicken wings. They were glistening off the platter they were served on and neatly placed. I of course burnt my finger reaching for them and took a bite anyway. The crunch was perfect. The soy garlic sauce was good but nothing too crazy. Underneath the crispiness was some really flavorful chicken that was mildly tender. The other flavor, the spicy garlic sweet chili was my favorite. The sauce had a good range of spiciness and sweetness that kept me wanting some more after each bite. The sauce and crispiness of the chicken was 10/10. However I wish the chicken was a little more tender and that there were flats and drums instead of the "whole wings" as those are harder to eat.

    Spicy Rice Cake

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    1 month ago

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    1 month ago

    Was in town for a CEU, and saw this nearby. It was so good! I took it to go, and the chicken was still crunchy!

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    Ask the Community - 1981 K Chicken

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    Choga Korean Restaurant

    Choga Korean Restaurant

    3.0
    (323 reviews)
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    Came here because I wanted to check out the Korean food in the area. Our praty of 3 did not opt for…read morethe AYCE bbq. When we arrived on a weekday for dinner, it was pretty empty so I would say no need to make reservations. The vibe is a no frills place. Oddly too quiet, they should've played some music or something. There were lots of people coming in and out for pick ups so perhaps that's what this place is known for. We ordered a variety of things. All in all, the food wasn't bad. They had a good variety of banchans. (Only allowed 1 refill of each though? Saddened my Korean heart). The stew we got was great. Maybe the prices were a bit high? All in all, I had a good experience. Not sure if I'd go back again (would be curious to try other Korean restaurants in the area) but I do commend their authentic dishes!

    Edited: 15 min after leaving the restaurant, I'm holed up in a random grocery store bathroom,…read morerethinking my life. My stomach is gurgling for round 2 for the toilet! I remember when this place used to be good. If I could rate this a 0 stars, that is what I would give it. Complete trash service. They changed their time limit from 2 hrs to 1 hr without informing us when we sat down. They cut us off after the hour from when we arrived, even though the menu says 1.5 hrs (See photos). When we told the server girl, she said it was the owner who is strict on the time limit and nothing she can do. In the amount of time, slow to bring our order (only got in 4 orders), but so quick to bring us two billing receipts (which was a duplicate). Got a 5th order after we complained about the time limit and slow service to bring us our next orders. She also say the cooks are the ones to prep the orders, so she had no control on how quick to bring them out. We were the only customer from when we started to when they cut us off at 1 hour (See video on Google Reviews*). The server was terrible and unprofessional. She was on the phone the whole time we were there and had it on speaker like no one was here. Eating at this place costed us $42 per person with an automatic 18% service fee. Definitely not worth the tip, the girl never once came by to ask if we were okay or needed anything. I was the one to always get her attention. She had a bad attitude and had the nerve to roll her eyes at me when I was nothing but nice when asking for things. If they refused to service we should be able to refuse to pay the automatic 18% gratutidy. P.S. This place used to be so busy, now look at it (See video on Google Review*)... that says a lot. Now both my wallet and stomach are empty. *Link to video: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yjJZH9GkVd5QG9aU6?g_st=ac

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    92 Chicken

    92 Chicken

    4.1
    (95 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$
    Locally owned & operated
    Family-owned & operated

    So like Joe K said, it's great to see more Korean chicken places in the Kansas City area. (S)KFC is…read moreamazing - the crispness of the chicken, the fantastic sauces. It's special. I'm excited just thinking about it. But oh man was I hoping for better. And I think this place could get there, if they can change some things. Joyce and Brandy laid it out well, so I'll just echo some main points: - The food could be better. Apparently it has been before. What I saw felt pretty low effort, the crispiness wasn't there. (South) Korean Fried Chicken is amazing because even with those delicious sauces, the chicken stays crispy. Best of both worlds! These wings were soggy. I didn't feel great after eating the meal. It wasn't ideal. - The service was nonexistent. I came up to the human at the counter, who directed me not to talk to her but to put in my order on the screen to the side. I hate these. I hate them so much. The UX on the terminal was clunky, the navigation in particular was so bad that there were whole sections of the menu that seemed to be missing. I now know to swipe left on the headers to scroll right to a second page of root-level categories, but be honest, just reading that in a sentence is confusing and annoying. Some people may like kiosks. That's fine! But mandating them is awkward and obnoxious. - I'm still on the service. There's a big menu. There are paper menus. There are little signs advertising fun looking items. I already know what I want. It is so much easier and more enjoyable to order with a real human and get their help. Why put the added friction of learning a clunky interface? An employee would be fluent in the system even if it's bad. And if my case is any indication, it's not helping their sales. I would totally have ordered more dishes if I'd known that was an option. It just looked like they were out so it wasn't available. - After putting in the order, I was prompted for a tip for the service. Which just felt like a coup de grace to my psyche. - It felt like there was no heart here. That's probably an ownership issue. I'm sympathetic to a point, it's not easy in general and there's a lot of pressure to cut costs (especially with the tariff arsonist disrupting supply chains). But the vibe here was dismal, you could feel it in the food and the staff. The space itself seems set up well to have large groups and good times. Could be a fun spot. But right now, the impression I get is that aside from the wings the kitchen does a lot of prepackaged instant food. So I'm not sure what they're trying to be - a decent wing place, or more of a fast-food/gas station type of spot. A vending machine with a deep fryer. Like I said before, this place has potential to be great if they can change some things. They're just going to have to want to. I'm rooting for them.

    One thing that I love about this place is that they have a kiosk to order from. I love being able…read moreto scroll through a menu, especially when it's a new place with a lot to choose from. I found that very convenient and much more relaxed than ordering at a counter with a line behind you. We ordered the wing portion of Soy Garlic Chicken and Pork Dumplings. I have never had wings like this before. They were breaded, and just the right amount of saucy. I liked having disposable gloves as an option to handle them, that is a game changer for me. They were very sweet, which I am not the biggest fan of. They did have a decent amount of heat, which I was warned about from other reviews. It was the perfect level of heat for me, I don't know if I would try their spicy version. I thought the Pork Dumplings were the star of the meal. They were large in size and cooked perfectly. They had just the right amount of crunch and filling. The sauce that came with it was also on the sweeter side.

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    Remodeled inside counter and expanded dining area
    Remodeled inside counter and expanded dining area
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    Cafe Vie

    Cafe Vie

    3.6
    (386 reviews)
    1.7 mi
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    I have been coming to this café for years and I'm not sure why I've never posted a review. This…read moreplace is phenomenal. The first time we went. I got the beef pho my husband got the beef Bulgogi. The pho is delicious massive portions with amazing flavor, perfectly cooked noodles and delicious tender cuts of meat. I feel like most people are coming here for the pho. I tried his Bulgogi. It was just as delicious very tender. You can definitely taste all of the flavors in it. It came with rice and some kimchi. Also cooked perfectly, and the kimchi was punchy and crunchy. Every other time that we have visited here, we have gotten the pho. I've also tried the chicken. It's just as a delicious. I know this place has won some awards for its food and I can see why. I did recently try some crab Rangoon's. They were delicious as well not too greasy just the perfect crunch and flavor I come here about twice a month and I will continue to do that because the quality and the price is perfect.

    I was really excited to come here, and so disappointed by the pho I got. The noodles were sticky…read moreand a lil bit overcooked. Sliced beef was dry. I am glad that they have chili oil very easily with access. The broth is okay. The veggies for the pho were fresh and the portion size for a medium is huge. Overall, good value for money, but under par in terms of taste. There's a lot of easy places to sit. The place is pretty bustling, and it's super easy to place an order. The staff is lovely, tables are cleaned. Parking lot is easy too. I just wish I could have enjoyed the food more.

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    Chingu

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    4.5
    (140 reviews)
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    Really enjoyed my experience at Chingu!…read more The brussel sprouts, which came in a sweet savory sauce. They were cooked very nicely and had great texture and flavor. The tofu was amazing, it had a great light breadcrumb like texture, and was soft and delicious. I well say the dish tasted amazing but a dipping sauce would've really elevated the dish to the next level. The chicken wings were great as well, they had a sweet glaze on the outside with a light crunch to the skin. Perfectly cooked! The drinks were a bit hit and miss but I enjoyed the Take Two and the had a nice variety of foreign beers and some good local beers. Our waiter/ bartender was awesome, he was super patient and guided us to some great options on the menu. I look forward to going back and trying more of the menu!

    I visited Chingu to celebrate a graduation; we invited guests from out of state to dine with us…read more Food was delicious (as always). We had the option to pre-order since our party size was 18. We enjoyed HH kimchi fries, HH sliders, LA Galbi, Korean Fried Chicken, and pork belly--all winners. We also enjoyed soju in white grape, grapefruit, strawberry, and plum. Our group was split between plum and strawberry as our favorites. Service was patient and courteous in person. Customer service over email was helpful, though a bit informal. Environment is charming and modern. Music was good!

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    1981 K Chicken - korean - Updated July 2026

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