Growing up, I always loved eating KFC. Little did I know, I was eating the wrong type of KFC all my life. Bonchon was what really opened my eyes to this realization and I haven't gone back ever since. What I love about the korean fried chicken here is that it's extremely lightly battered but is still coated in just enough sauce (soy garlic is my favorite) to make you keep wanting more. Their wings here go for a pretty standard price of $12 for 8 but where you really get your moneys worth are the drumsticks. These are also sold for the same price and you get 5 pieces, but each one is loaded with meat. I also love ordering their Okdol Bibimbap with bulgogi beef. It comes with the usual assortment of vegetables and if you let the rice at the bottom of the stone bowl cook for a few extra minutes, you'll get a layer of crispy rice at the end of your meal. I wish Bonchon would open up a location in Chinatown but for now, I will continue to return back to the Allston one for their KFC. read more

I don't usually write reviews but I ate Bonchon for the first time in a while and usually it's nice and crispy with a light soy garlic sauce, but today my chicken was drenched with soy garlic sauce making the chicken soggy, way too salty and sweet. I would give a 1 to be honest but I don't want to lower their reviews from my single bad experience here. read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

Mm Mm MMM! So delicious. We ordered the 40 piece option with half hot and half garlic soy. I had the drumsticks too and they were big! The crunch on these bites of joy is amazing. We also had the scallion pancake with octopus. It's pretty large so it's great for sharing. The chicken is 5 stars but the service was terrible. Our waitress barely looked at us and also failed to mention that 18% gratuity was added for parties over 6. So... we all tipped 20% on top of that.... I ended up realizing what had happened and called back and the manager said that we should have been told ahead of time. Anyways he offered to give us a credit for the amount we overtipped, so we will be back! The chicken is so good that I would literally come back no matter how crappy the service is. P.S. I brought the rest for lunch the next day and it was still pretty darn yummy. Less crunchy but still good. read more

Bonchon Allston - Half half! Yum - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

BEST Korean Fried Chicken I've taken everyone I know here and they've all loved it. When I go with a group of people, we always get the half and half (spicy and mild) combo (wings and drumsticks). When it's just me and my boyfriend, we'll get the spicy combo. I've gotten Korean fried chicken at other places and the seasoning and crunch is never as on point as it is at Bonchon. As for their Korean dishes, everything is just ok. Some of the better ones are the tteokbokki and fried rice. I'd recommend trying the surrounding restaurants for Korean food and going to Bonchon for fried chicken. read more

Bonchon Allston - X-large spicy combo - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

So yummy! This place is a staple and definitely worth going. It gets crazy busy during prime hours so I recommend going at a random time or being super patient. The wait was decent even then due to the crowd! The Korean chicken is amazing and it's actually spicy without being unbearable. It's definitely the highlight of the entire menu. read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

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Just ordered half and half. Drum sticks are weirdly large. Cold, over cooked, dry. Taste is terrible. I would never order again. Cant not eat this shit. Wasted my money. This place should close. Bonchon used to be good long time ago and it is unbearable. read more

love the spicy chicken here but haven't been in a while. had some friends working here and they said it is not always the cleanest in the back. but leaving the inside details aside, chicken is delicious here. parking is challenging though in allston. chicken does take a while to make so be patient read more

Korean Fried Chicken. There isn't anything else to say, but this is where you go for consistency. KFC is doubled fried - so be patient b/c it will take a while for it to come out. Give it a good 20-30m extra over your other food. This is dependent if it is busy and this place is always busy. Pros: 1) Chicken wings over Drumsticks and always get the sweet soy! 2) Extra pickled daikons please 3) Seafood fried rice is good Cons: 1) Wait time but they turn over pretty fast 2) Sushi.. it's ok but I would pass here read more

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Every time I go to this place, I always get the soy garlic flavored wings and tendies. The wings are crispy/juicy and packed with a bunch of flavor. The chicken tendies are a bit dry in the inside but it is still delicious! The chicken tendies at the Allston branch is definitely bigger and better than the one at the Harvard square branch. Other dishes: I occasionally get the sushi specifically the dragon maki roll and it is decent. The hot and spicy rice cake (tteokbokki) is always good. I would definitely get the tteokbokki and the scallion pancake if you are extra hungry! Tip: you cannot reserve the restaurant in advance so I would go to the place a bit early to put your name down :) read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

placed a togo order and had 2 mice running around me as I waited, the staff did not care at all stood next to me giggling as we watched the mice together. read more

I absolutely love Bonchon and the food that they serve. I've been here a couple times and there has been a wait every single time. It's annoying but I guess it is worth it for the food. During the most recent visit, I opted to sit at the bar which helped me avoid the long wait to be seated. We ordered a medium combo of drumsticks and wings with a Soy Garlic sauce which is absolutely bomb af. I literally had to channel my inner discipline to hold back my urge to not eat like a pig in front of everyone. I also ordered a roll to which I forget the name of but I do remember that it was also delicious. We got two bowls of white rice as well for the fried chicken and in my opinion, I think they could have used better rice or it was too dry. The four star is due to average service and the long wait every time. FOOD: 9/10 SERVICE: 7/10 RECOMMENDATION: Get the chicken. read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

We took a friend to Bonchon (ignore the bad English on the website!) for chicken wings and apps. Fried oysters - just what you want, crispy outside, tender inside. Dipping sauce was a bit sweet and savory. Octopus wakame - thin sliced octopus salad with wakame seaweed. Corn butter - baked corn dish with butter and cheese. Soy garlic and hot chicken wings - great crispiness outside, juicy meat inside, salty soy garlic, hot was too spicy for me, but others love it. They are in the process of renewing their liquor license, so for the time being there is no alcohol. This is definitely a minus since this is exactly the type of food you want with a cold beer (or some soju). Alcohol should be back in a couple months. It can get VERY busy there and the wait area is very small. read more

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I can finally say that I am a fan of bonchon chicken. For the longest time, I didn't know anything of bonchon chicken. What it is or where I can get it. When I finally learned of it, I didn't get to even try it since Privus, recommended by a friend, lost its lease and closed down. Then my boyfriend tried making bonchon chicken watching a youtube video because we were so fascinated by this double frying technique to give bonchon its unique crispy texture. His variation turned out awesome and tasty but we had never had bonchon so we have nothing to compare it to. But with my luck, I learned of Bonchon in Allston, Brighton, and I knew I had to try it. I was not disappointed at all. The smartest thing to do is to place your bonchon order in advance. Should be the first thing you order since it can take half an hour or longer. I prefer the spicy flavor but the garlic flavor is also good. You can select half and half the first time. Personally, I like to order wings as opposed to drumsticks (drumsticks looks bulky and funny when plated next to the wings). Additionally, it feels less greasy when I eat the wings as opposed to the large drumsticks, also you might get full quicker if you eat the drumsticks. There are sides of cole slaw and pickled daikon that comes with the bonchon to cleanse your palette if the chicken is greasy in between bites or in between pieces. Use them well. Some great appetizers that I have tried and recommend you order after you make your bonchon order are as follow: Pork Buns - Juicy slices of pork meat topped with greens all inside of a sweet rice flour pancake. Comes with a small house salad on the side. Crispy Salmon Salad - Avocado salad (avocado, mayo, tobiko, and crab meat mix) wrapped with seared salmon outside and topped with salmon roe and toasted sesame seed. You have the smoky flavor and crispy texture of the seared salmon on the outside and buttery flavor from the ripe avocado inside. Your regular fare of shrimp and vegetable tempuras is also quite delicious. Could be a tad bit oily, just a tad bit. Edamame - Soybean, it's a fun snack. Seaweed salad - nothing special but good none the less if you are a fan of seaweed salad. Beef Tongue Shioyaki - Once you get over the fact that it's beef tongue, it's pretty good. Like a small beef salad. But it's not something I would normally order if it was just me. Not something I would crave for like the bonchon chicken. Kyushiyaki Combos: Bacon & Quail Eggs, Chicken Wings, and Garlic. Who knew grilled garlic could taste this good. Garlic is good for you. Eh, bad breathe, but tasty. Bacon & Scallop, chicken pieces, and scallions. Was okay. Beef Tataki: Comes with ponzu(?) sauce for dipping. Light and clean. Salmon Tataki: Seared salmon, red onion, radish sprout, scallion, mixed vegetables with balsamic dressing. Another light and clean dish to try. Salmon maki - Fish quality is decent here. Spicy Avalanche Maki - Soft shell crab tempura, spicy snow crab meat, crunchy tempura flakes, multi color tobiko, scallion, with creamy lemon sauce. This is a crispy buttery and satisfying maki roll. I would order this again. Dishes I do NOT recommend: Spicy Tuna Ceviche ----very confusing dish, both presentation and taste. Such a waste of tuna. The thick sweet sauce masks the flavor of the tuna completely and the assortments of vegetables services only to clutter, perhaps disguise the red sauce at the bottom. Unforgivable. I have tried the Boston Maki. Although the Boston Maki was good, I would not eat it again. I think the lettuce threw me off a bit but everything about it was good. Definitely coming back. See my pic. read more

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$18pp for a number of shared dishes? Nice! The soy garlic wings exceedingly crispy, even my last one, which I had saved for the end of the meal and was now at room temperature. The seafood scallion pancake $13.95 went fast at one large triangle apiece. The Agedashi Tofu $5.95 arrived 4 cubes of tofu to an order lounging in a tasty broth bath. I recommend all three. The rest were acceptable - Seafood Yaki Udon $14.95, House Fried Rice - seafood $10.95, Kimchi Jigae $11.95. Those who tried the spicy wings deemed it very spicy, yet very good, and tamed their tongues with the cubed daikon and cole slaw provided and refilled upon request. They don't seem want to seat incomplete parties, and they were still busy even at 10pm one weekday evening. read more

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This place was absolutely appalling. We ordered two sets of sliders and the bread was so hard you could NOT bite into it. I took apart the sandwich and could not break the piece of bread in half. I am beyond disgusted. Both of the orders came like this. I am not one to critique businesses, especially during COVID but this was absolutely inedible. 13 dollars to eat three TINY pieces of chicken off of a slider... I cannot believe it. If you know what's good for you DONT GO HERE. read more

Been here several times but never left a review. Came in for dinner on a Wednesday night and it's pretty packed. We ordered the small combo with wings and strips. Soy garlic half spicy and mild. Came out pretty fast and ready to be devour. It was crispy and well cooked but it's too much batter. Seems like its declining in recent years. Services was decent enough. read more

Bonchon Allston - French Fries - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

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They finally brought it back to this area. Formally named Shabu Shabu Toki. Inside looks exactly the same. They still have other sushi items from their old menu. But you basically come here for one thing. And now the place is appropriately named BonChon. read more

Bonchon Allston - X-Large plate half and half - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

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Something people don't normally order but SHOULD- their french fries. Hands down, best fries especially when ordered fresh. Not sure how they make it but it's super crispy. Per everyone else's reviews, the chicken is amazing to begin with. Salmon avocado salad is my next favorite as well as the Okonomiyaki :) read more

A causal food spot to dine in, great food and very yummy friend chicken of course. Even if you do not like bone in chicken, you have to get the bone in chicken which is double friend and the highlight of Bonchon, that is the main reason to go! You will enjoy it trust me. Good Spot. read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

Bland and tasteless, greasy that's about all I got. Save your money. And to top it off staff wasn't the nicest which I don't mind........if the food is good read more

Wow!! This place is surprisingly really good! I came here on a Saturday night with 3 other people, and it was very crowded. This is a pretty popular spot and we had to wait about 30 min to get seated. Parking is also really hard around this area, so we parked pretty far away. I don't like spicy food, so we ordered the soy garlic wings, and some other non chicken dishes (one of our friends was vegetarian). I usually don't like saucy wings, but I loved it here. The sauce was so light and just the right amount of sweet/salty that I couldn't stop eating them. I ate about 10 wings, and that was enough to mostly fill me up. The wings are a bit on the smaller side though. The other items on the menu weren't really worth it. My friends ordered a sushi roll and what looked like a poke salad, and those were $14 and $19 respectively. The chicken here is SO good and so worth it, but everything else is a bit overpriced. read more

1. Order 10 chicken wings but only got 6. 2. Seafood pancake is burned. 3. Bulgogi stew tastes water down. How can kitchen messed up this bad. Will not order from this place again. read more

Bonchon Allston - Burned seafood pancake - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

Chicken is so crunchy and the salmon avocado ball is so good. As well as the Lichee Marti

Place gets extremely packed. The fried chicken is to die for. Avoid the sushi/sashimi at all costs. They are not good nor known for their sushi/sashimi. Stick to the friend chicken, grab some fried rice, and you got yourself one heck of a tasty deal. read more

Bonchon Allston - Chicken - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

Chicken wings are always good, but be aware that if you do online order, even if u pick up the food on your own, they do not offer the radish and marinated small side dish---which is SO CHEAP!! This should be the basic combo, for so many years eating your wings. We called back to confirm if they forgot to give us the side dish, the answer is, if you order online, u dont get it. The price is no cheaper at all, but u get wings only. They even insist, the wing side dish just complimentaty, we dont charge you at all. But since u order online, we dont offer it. Do Not do online order if u order wings. read more

Love love love this place! The 40 wing platter was amazing!! We ordered 3 appetizers and they were all amazing! read more

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The best wings ever simply like that I never had any good wings like this place just tried read more

Countless of trips later and I have yet to have 1 bad fried chicken experience. They have making Korean Fried Chicken down to an art-form. It's like McDonald's and french fries, Bon Chon has pretty much set the standard for me. Get all spicy, soy-garlic is a sign of weakness to me. Crunchy, juicy, and full of flavor, it's one of those dishes that I will just never stop craving. That being said, a lot of the other items on the menu can be pretty hit or miss. They've probably served me what was the worst takoyaki I've ever had. And recently they're temporarily only serving a limited menu which has pretty much most of the other decent items to get on the menu. Hopefully it comes back soon. At least I know my craving for their fried chicken will never go unsatisfied. read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

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WOW WOW WOW to their Korean fried chicken!!! A culinary must for every foodie!!! I had a small order of half soy-garlic and spicy! Both were equally outstanding. I prefer the spicy ones but if you're not into pain with pleasure then stick to soy-garlic. My professor recommended this place and I am so glad she did! read more

Bonchon Allston - Half Soy Garlic/Half Spicy Chicken! - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

I live this place. They have an extensive menu of a variety of Asian food. love their fried chicken, fried rice with Kim Chi. Their Makis are good. You really can't go wrong here. read more

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CHICKEN WINGS. the korean style chicken wings are definitely what make this place worth the hype. perfectly crispy with a great soy sauce flavor and some heat for good measure (cause after all what are chicken wings with no spice). i'm theorizing that they get the extra crispy texture by double frying the wings, and fortunately they aren't smothered in grease. they're small but surprisingly filling but it's definitely something that you will want to complement with another dish. they have a bunch of other classic korean food here too but to be honest i'm not that well versed with what's good and bad. i just know that what i had here i liked. i know they were also working on getting their liquor license too so hopefully that's all set now and you can enjoy yourself a good soju buzz! read more

Bonchon Allston - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

the heat was busted! it was FAH-REEZING! Besides that, our waitress was really nice and fast/friendly. Everything came out hot and fresh. Chicken = crispy (do the soy garlic, the spicy is NOT hot). THe cabbage and pickled radish were tasty Dumplings = nice crispy outside...odd flavor with the basil inside. Spicy Japchae = glass noodle with beef & veggies. Good flavor, but wasn't a fan of the texture of the noodle and not a lot of beef Hotate Kaiyaki= scallop, crab, tobiko in baked mayo. Not good. For some reason when I read the description, I wasn't paying attention that it was A. Hot and B) Baked, duh. it was hot and mushy and didn't smell nice, wasn't a fan. read more

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We ordered delivery from here the other night, since the boy loves their wings. I wasn't craving wings but went out on a limb and tried some of the Korean cuisine, getting the Bibimbap. I had never had it before so I can't compare it to much, but it was A LOT OF FOOD, I was able to eat it the next day as well. I do wish it would have come with more rice, since there was so much everything else, and being a big fan of rice it didn't really even out for me. Also, some of the veggies didn't seem that fresh (which disappointed me, seeing the cost!) The chili paste it came with was delicious though, and I'd totally buy a whole bottle of it. We also got the bacon wrapped scallop/quail egg appetizer, but there seemed to be different things on each one, and before we realized that, the one that had scallops had already been eaten. I thought there would be more scallop and less quail egg. A decent meal, and fair portions, but I just can't wrap my head around the cost, we spent almost $50 for the smallest serving of drumsticks, a very small appetizer and an entree. not a favorite for me, but I know we will be back for the wings!! It's true they are the best around. read more

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I love love LOVE Korean food. This place is the best for wings and apps. However, if you're looking for extremely traditional Korean food, head down a few stores to Buk Kyung II. Pajeon Seafood Pancake is delicious, a bit bland but it is served with a huge bowl of soysauce. bright side, stuffed with so much seafood! Tteokbokki rice cake is heavenly! This one includes the nori wrapped glass noodles and japchae in the sauce as well. i wish it had more fishcakes and ricecakes in the dish, though. sauce was delicious! House Fried Rice - good ol asian fried rice with chunks of onions, peppers, shrimp, and chicken. Bonchon Chicken! always the hype. the main reason why this review goes from 3 to 4 stars. Delicious, crispy, finger lickable, yummy, and all the above. I suggest soy garlic glazed. Lychee sake and warm sake are also an interesting add to the meal to off set all the korean soul food. I'll be back! Customer service is friendly, welcoming, and ready to serve. Atmosphere is homey and quiet enough to have conversation but isn't dead silent. read more

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5 stars for the chicken, which is always hot, juicy, and tender on the inside with super crispy, crunchy fried skin on the outside. You can choose to get either wings, drumsticks, or a combo that includes both, and you can choose the flavor to either be soy garlic or spicy (or half and half). I love the soy garlic flavor which has a savoriness with a hint of sweetness. The spicy type is quite spicy, so only get if you enjoy at least moderate heat. I came with a party of 4 last night and we got the extra large combo (20 wings and 10 drumsticks for $34.95) and a side of fries, which was the perfect amount of food. My only complaint is that they don't do good complimentary side dishes like other Korean restaurants, and all we received were small sides of pickled radish and coleslaw, which were not that enjoyable. In addition, there were no BBQ items available on the menu and everything else (except the chicken) seemed quite overpriced. Still, 5 stars for that delicious crispy fried chicken, which is far superior to any other fried chicken I have had! read more

Bonchon Allston - Extra large soy garlic combo ($34.95, 20 wings and 10 drumsticks) - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

absolutely awful service. the whole time I was here, came to our table twice, took 30 minutes to get the check after we gave it to his face basically. was rude. I wanted to praise my good lord and was late to church bc he took 40 minutes to finish us up with the check Anyways live love laugh read more

Just wanted to add a review here. My roommate and I ordered food from here for the Super Bowl and never received it. Bonchon decided to cancel the order but charge us the $84 anyways. The resources they provided to get the refund were unable to help. Would not recommend this place- it's seriously not worth it when I've never had another restaurant take money for no food. Terrible business management. We'd still like our money back- it wasn't a donation. read more

I really wanted to like this place but I am disappointed. My bibimbap was fine but too much rice, very little meat.. the seafood scallion pancake was very soft and doughy, and I am used to having it all crispy and crunchy. The interior is nice, couches are comfortable. But whatever I tried was not very good in taste. Also they don't have the small side dishes that many Korean restaurants give for me. So if u want lunch I and all that, u gotta order it as extra and pay.. the prices were decent but not cheap. I would go back to eat but I would not die to return. read more

Bonchon Allston - Bibimpap - Korean Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

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The pork katsu don is no longer the moist kind of dish that I always ordered. The wings are still worth ordering but they've become saltier than before. Ordering via phone is a bit of a struggle. If you order something that totals up to more than $50, you have to give them your credit card information. It took a while to get that information across since the person who took the order couldn't hear or understand what I was saying. That could totally be phone miscommunication. However, when I came to pick up my order 30 minutes later, I was told I have to wait 10 more minutes. It turns out the food was already ready to go as someone brought it out. I'm totally down to eat there and order food less than $50 for pickup to avoid paying through the phone. read more

Love love their fried chicken. It's definitely my favorite type of fried chicken! Korean fried chicken is unique because they double fry the battered chicken. It's so crunchy and flavorful. I ordered the spiciest wings they got because I was being bold; it was a mistake, I ate it all but it's not for the faint hearted. I asked for mayo, ranch, or milk and they didn't have any! Next time, I will have to get a notch less spicy. The weird thing is, it's so spicy but so good so I couldn't stop eating it. They also provided "bon chon" which are side dishes consisting of kimchi, pickled turnip, fish cakes, and other assortments of delicious bites. The service was good; they weren't too friendly especially when I was dying from the spiciness and needed something besides water to cool it down. Wish I lived closer because I would get their fried chicken all the time. read more