I recently went to New York for a vacation with my family in early January. Several of my friends had recommended for me to go check out the original Bonchon Chicken on 38th Street. I took my family there and we all became instant fans of this restaurant. In fact, we were able to try out several Bonchons during that trip. The super crispy, double-fried chickens and other dishes were just amazing - not like any chickens I have ever had before! As a Houstonian, I have been craving and waiting for someone to bring Bonchon here. My dream finally came true when I heard that they were opening a new location at Katy, TX. I have since been waiting in great anticipation for their grand opening. I was finally able to come in with my family last week when they had a soft opening. The restaurant was packed - which we didn't expect on a soft opening during a week night. Nevertheless, we were able to get a table with only a 10-minute wait. The hostess was very friendly and was able to get us a table by the booth. The decor of this restaurant was beautiful. It actually looks much better than I had expected for most restaurants that I have been to here at Katy. They had these colorful LEDs over the bars and around the ceilings. They also had a nicely decorated full bar. I later found out that they had an outdoor patio as well, but it was not open yet to the public that night. Not to mention this was a good place to watch sport games, as they have several TVs throughout the restaurant. We wanted to see how the fried chickens compared to the ones in New York, so we ordered the Combo Large Chicken - Half and Half - for my entire family. We also ordered our other favorites, House Fried Rice, Japchae, Bimbimbap, Salmon Salad, Seasoned Fries and Bulgolgi. My family and I have been waiting for Bonchon for months, and we were so excited to be trying this out for the first time in Texas. We decided to eat our dinner the good old-fashioned family style - meaning that we all share the various dishes together as a family. The server we had was very pleasant. He took our orders and gave us our drinks very promptly. We got our fries shortly, and some of our the dishes start coming out after 10 minutes or so. We did have to wait around 20-25 minutes for our chicken to come out, but I have to say we were not disappointed. The light, crispiness of the chickens, topped off with the Soy Garlic or Hot Sauce, brought back great memories. It was so delicious!! We were so worried that the Texas version was not going to taste the same as the ones from New York, but we were all pleasantly surprised. There were on point with the other dishes as well. My gosh, one of my favorite was the Salmon Salad. It was so refreshing and tasty. I would go back for just the salads, honestly! Japchae - just as we remembered it! Came out with the right flavors and moistness. Bimbimbap came in this nice hot stone pot - nicer than the ones I remembered from New York. The server gave us the option of adding either fried egg or egg yolk only - we chose the fried egg. We were told by the waiter that we needed to mix in the hot sauce and stir it well. We did exactly that. It tasted great! The fried part of the rice on the bottom of the stone pot was the best part. Seasoned Fries - can't really go wrong with this. As good as any seasoned fries out there! Bulgogi - the marinated beef came out tender, juicy and well-marinated. It goes well with the rice on the side. House Fried Rice - Gosh, I think they made better fried rice at this location than the other locations I tried in New York. Not sure what it is, but it was definitely more flavorful. It wasn't too soggy or moist. It was just right! We were all very satisfied, to say the least. The restaurant did looked a little hectic for a week night, but I presume this is normal for a hot new restaurant on their soft opening week. My family and I will definitely be regulars to this restaurant!! We have already recommended this restaurant to many other friends and relatives who lives in this area of the town. Can't wait to go back again!! read more

Came in on a Saturday night at 8:30 with my husband, teenage son, and daughter. We all ordered water to drink and you can tell that our waitress was not happy and turned down her nose at us. But trying to brush it off since I'm Starving coming from work, so we ordered -Chicken/ chicken wings combo(pretty good) -The udon(ok all u tasted was sesame oil) -Korean tacos (might have been ok if it wasn't drenched in 2 kids of sauce) -Spicy Chicken Kimbibap bowl (literally had only 5 little chunks of chicken in it) -Steamed shrimp shumai (pale odd looking. looked worse than the supermarket kids) -And wings ToGo Wasn't expecting the best of foods so it was just all ok. My low rating was for service. I get it, it's late. They had tables of teenagers in there hanging out, loud and wouldn't leave. But my waitress was horrible!!! Will just say Some chick with braids. She was nowhere to be found for anything. Food took a bit of time. She brings us the chicken first but didn't bring us napkins, plates, utensils. And when we asked her, she acted like she couldn't understand what we needed it for. The server guy brought out my sons tacos and DROPS THE TACOS ALL OVER HIS LAP!! As stated, the tacos are drenched in two sauces and our waitress still hadn't brought out any napkins or utensils. The server is mortified and he hesitates bringing us a new order of tacos. Not sure out of shock or what but atleast he was genuinely concerned. Out waitress just drops off a couple of measly napkins and disappears again. I was ready to walk out but husband tells me, I'm just H-angry. Couldn't be worse now that food is out right? We eat and we're almost done but my sons tacos are still not back out. Waitress is nowhere to be found again but luckily another waiter walks by us and is a little more attentive so he does her job and checks for us. Then she finally comes out and looks at us like she can't believe we're still there."What else did you want?" (Yes in that way) "My sons tacos that u guys dropped all over his lap." No sorries, no compensations, no anything. I am a firm believer in tipping, but I pleaded with my husband to NOT tip her and just give the dude who helped us or even the girl who was busing tables the tip! It was that bad! He took the higher road. $11 and she did not even earn it. After all was said and done, we spent $85 there for a fam of 4. Not worth it!! read more

Some of the food is good, some is not and service (from the kitchen) is hopeless. Here's the breakdown : Hopefully this new restaurant works out the kinks. There are many! And don't come if you have gluten issues. The entire staff appears to be completely untrained and not even remotely knowledgeable about gluten-free items. Chef sent word that "Japchae was not gluten-free because the rice noodles had gluten." Really? Rice noodles? It appears they should start with the chef! We were with a party of 6. Even though the restaurant was less than half full it took them 10 minutes to pull 2 tables together to accommodate us. We ordered drinks, soy garlic wings and dumplings to start. Our server, Bee, was upbeat and did the best she could with what she had to work with. Full bar, but took a long time to get a lychee martini. Four adults ordered fried rice, bulgogi, Japchae, Shumai and 2 Salman avocado balls for main entree. Also ordered fries and sticky rice for the kids in our party as we share off our plates. The wings were great, but be warned - the drums are complete drumsticks, not wing drumettes. Salmon balls, fried rice, dumplings and seasoned fries were also good. The rest was a dismal blur. Bulgogi (also in the Japchae) was under flavored and overcooked. The sticky rice was mushy. The Shumai had no flavor other than the sauce. The absolute worst part, though, was that our main course was brought out one dish at a time with huge gaps in between leaving members of our party with nothing to eat while the rest of us tried to be gracious and wait to start eating until theirs arrived. It became apparent that the food that was there would be cold before theirs arrived so we begin sharing. We even cancelled one item as it was so late in coming, but we were told it was "next up." I explained that it was too late and we no longer wanted it. It was brought to us anyway AND WE WERE CHARGED FOR IT! We had to ask 4 different people including one manager and the Chief Operating Officer for to go boxes before getting them. The COO offered a 10% off our next visit coupon to us as he could detect our displeasure by that point. I do hope things shape up as this is in our neighborhood and could be so good. They should start by finding a chef that doesn't overcook everything on a non-busy night! read more

I am a a big fan of korean fried chicken! I have tried almost every korean fried chicken place in Houston, including Dak & Bap, The ToreOre and Hoodadak. There were all pretty good, but I have heard that they all imitated the original Bonchon (the one who came up with the double-fried chicken with special sauce), but I haven't had the chance to compare them. Since then, I have been wanting to try Bonchon badly. I just haven't had a chance yet, not until this past weekend! I was stoked to find out that Bonchon was coming to Katy. Despite this being more than a 40-minute drive for me (The Heights), I was going to make sure I drive out to Katy and try it out. My friend and I went there this past Saturday afternoon and was able to get seated within 5 minutes. It was quite busy despite it being around mid afternoon (2:30 pm). This place was really nicely decorated. It has a beautiful bar! I would definitely come here to watch a game and just chill by the bar. I wanted to sit outside, but the patio was not opened yet. We ordered a salmon avocado ball, potstickers, and a medium combo half and half chickens. The chickens came out in about 15 minutes, shortly after the other 2 appetizers came out. Bonchon fried chicken is truly different from all the other korean fried chickens I have tried. The light, yet super crispy chicken, along with their soy garlic or spicy sauce, made this one of the tastiest chickens I ever had. I was very impressed! Final Verdict: Decor: Chic, Casual, and Trendy Service: Friendly and Engaging Food: Excellent - the best korean fried chicken I have ever had!! Drinks: Soju Flight - you have to try this! The lychee, mango and strawberry soju are delish! We liked the lychee so much, we order a whole new big bottle! Korean Fried Chicken Ranking: 1. Bonchon 2. The ToreOre 3. Hoodadak 4. Dap & Bao I am now Team Bonchon!! I will be bringing some of my other friends back here soon! read more

First visit the fried chicken was perfect. We ordered both flavors spicy and soy garlic. I don't recommend the drums. Spicy was spicy. Soy garlic was flavorful. Both cooked very crispy like how Korean fried chicken is suppose to be. Everything else we tried was just ok (salmon avocado ball, pork buns, seasoned fries, Korean tacos, onion rings, bibimbap) All just meh.. Nothing we would come back for besides the fried chicken. Our waitress was nice but needs more training. We had to constantly ask her for stuff because she would forget to bring them out such as napkins, plates, silverwares. Our second time was such a big disappointment. We order the wings and strips in both spicy n soy garlic. The strips were more like chicken cutlets/nuggets. Both strips and wings were super dry. No flavor. Not crispy. Couldn't tell which flavor was which since they were so stingy on the sauce. I ask the waitress for extra sauce on the side. She said they couldn't do that. Service was also terrible. Server will bring out our food n leave us with no silverware plates or napkins. Our waitress was very gloomy. I asked for a Togo box. She gave me a container. With no lid. I asked for one. She gave me one. That didn't fit the container she had gave me. I asked for a to go bag to put my food in. She then gave me a bag that was too small. Wow. Bonchon needs new management. Better training. Or this place will go down hill. read more

As my family and I drove down the Katy Freeway looking for a new restaurant to fill our empty stomachs we ended up driving to a newly opened restaurant named BonChon! Our family is extremely picky about the food we eat so, we were very skeptical of this new restaurant. As I walked into the front doors of the restaurant the smell of chicken and bulgogi filled our noses. My stomach started to growl vigorously and immediately we asked for a table. The wait time was about 10 - 15 minutes and the menu was very simple which was great for a picky eater for me. My family was confronted by the friendliest of waiter with wide smiles on their faces. I myself ordered the Soy Garlic Chicken wings and the Bulgogi. The food was brought out for my family in 20-25 minutes . As my waiter placed down my Bulgogi I could still hear the sizzling on the pan the smell overwhelmed my nose . I took my first bite into the Bulgogi and immediately took another one , one by one bite by bite the Bulgogi disappeared into my stomach . With a half full stomach the Soy Garic Chicken came out and at first it looked like your average Chicken but as soon as I took the bite the chicken filled my mouth with flavor I never have tasted before. Me and my whole family went home with a food coma and a craving for more BonChon. read more

I've always wanted to try "Korean Chicken" so my best friend and I decided to try Bonchon after a recommendation from his Korean pharmacist friend. We went Sunday night and they were pretty busy. I ordered the shrimp shumai for an appetizer and the tofu bibimbap for the entree. The size of the shumai were super tiny! They were probably a centimeter bigger than a nickel coin. The honey mustard sauce on the shumai really took away anything Korean or Asian flavor from it. I didn't like it at all. The tofu bibimbap came out with maybe 6 small dice size tofu, seriously? The best part about bibimbap is the burnt rice not the side of the stone pot, but I didn't even have one burnt grain. The only plus about the bibimbap is the portion size (minus the 6 pieces of tofu). I would have given 3 stars, but our waiter charged my card the wrong amount. When he gave us the check, my total was $22 and some change, but when I received the signature slip, I was charged $23. He ended up switching my check with my best friend's check. BLAH! I seriously wasn't going to make a big deal for $1 dollar, but really? How can you mess that up when you gave us two different check sleeves that had a different card. read more

As I was watching Crash Landing On You, and I was thinking, "Dang, some korean fried chicken sounds good right now..." Bon Chon it is! So that's what I did, I got me some fried chicken! I've had Bon Chon in California, and my previous experience was phenomenal. So I was really excited to try the chain location in Katy. I placed an order for the drumsticks, small size (5 pieces), plain (breaded with no sauce)...an order of medium size (20 pieces) soy garlic wings, and an order of the takoyaki. Order was ready on time, service was quick and friendly. && The drive home smelled amazing! Unfortunately when I got home, the chicken was over fried and everything was just very underwhelming.... My kids love fried chicken, (I mean who doesn't?) but even my kids were unimpressed. Maybe it was an off day, but it was not busy when I went in. They had one dine in customer at the bar, and the place was empty. I most likely will not be returning. read more

As I was watching Crash Landing On You, and I was thinking, "Dang, some korean fried chicken sounds good right now..." Bon Chon it is! So that's what I did, I got me some fried chicken! I've had Bon Chon in California, and my previous experience was phenomenal. So I was really excited to try the chain location in Katy. I placed an order for the drumsticks, small size (5 pieces), plain (breaded with no sauce)...an order of medium size (20 pieces) soy garlic wings, and an order of the takoyaki. Order was ready on time, service was quick and friendly. && The drive home smelled amazing! Unfortunately when I got home, the chicken was over fried and everything was just very underwhelming.... My kids love fried chicken, (I mean who doesn't?) but even my kids were unimpressed. Maybe it was an off day, but it was not busy when I went in. They had one dine in customer at the bar, and the place was empty. I most likely will not be returning. read more

As I was watching Crash Landing On You, and I was thinking, "Dang, some korean fried chicken sounds good right now..." Bon Chon it is! So that's what I did, I got me some fried chicken! I've had Bon Chon in California, and my previous experience was phenomenal. So I was really excited to try the chain location in Katy. I placed an order for the drumsticks, small size (5 pieces), plain (breaded with no sauce)...an order of medium size (20 pieces) soy garlic wings, and an order of the takoyaki. Order was ready on time, service was quick and friendly. && The drive home smelled amazing! Unfortunately when I got home, the chicken was over fried and everything was just very underwhelming.... My kids love fried chicken, (I mean who doesn't?) but even my kids were unimpressed. Maybe it was an off day, but it was not busy when I went in. They had one dine in customer at the bar, and the place was empty. I most likely will not be returning. read more

As I was watching Crash Landing On You, and I was thinking, "Dang, some korean fried chicken sounds good right now..." Bon Chon it is! So that's what I did, I got me some fried chicken! I've had Bon Chon in California, and my previous experience was phenomenal. So I was really excited to try the chain location in Katy. I placed an order for the drumsticks, small size (5 pieces), plain (breaded with no sauce)...an order of medium size (20 pieces) soy garlic wings, and an order of the takoyaki. Order was ready on time, service was quick and friendly. && The drive home smelled amazing! Unfortunately when I got home, the chicken was over fried and everything was just very underwhelming.... My kids love fried chicken, (I mean who doesn't?) but even my kids were unimpressed. Maybe it was an off day, but it was not busy when I went in. They had one dine in customer at the bar, and the place was empty. I most likely will not be returning. read more

LOVE BONCHON! I came in with my 3 kids and had a blast. The host was very sweet sat us at a table of 4, and told us our server would be right with us. Secound s later there is our server asking for our drinks and is making my kids laugh! Very cool personalities. Got our drinks immediately, not being here before we asked what he would suggest for an appetizer. He said the potstickers soy garlic. Not spicy because of my kids, which I appreciate. He suggested I get 2 orders so everyone could have a fair share. And boy was he right! We ate all of them! And still had room for the fried chicken! Med drums half and half was cooked to perfection! Came out a few minutes after we finished our appetizers so we had time to relax and watch the Olympics. With my chicken I ordered a draft beer and it came out cold and fresh. Wonderful service ! Then we paid the bill walked out as the host opened the door for me and my kids. Made me feel important and appreciated! read more

This is the best chicken I've ever ate. Personally I like the Bonchon Chicken Strips. They have either spicy, soy garlic, and if you'd like to try both of their sauce you can try half and half. They are both amazing but the spicy is too spicy for my taste, so the soy garlic is perfect for me and it's delicious. For the Starters Potstickers are DELICIOUS!! and you can either have the two sauces or the half and half as well. For the Main Dishes, the Chicken Katsu is the BOMB, its their take on the chicken fried steak. Breaded to perfection and fried, Katsu sauce and spicy mayo drizzled on it, perfect combination in my opinion. The Katsu is on a bed of rice with a side of veggies. Awesome restaurant, and the service is A+ Amazing. I would definitely recommend it. 5 stars for me(: read more

The good: I can't say enough about how good this chicken is. The mild version is just great - crispy, just the right amount of salt and sticky sauce. The hot version is super spicy - be forewarned - but if you like spicy, you will love it. I tried the edamame, which was unremarkable, and the radish pickles, which were simple and nice. The bad: The service was so terrible, it was like a comedy of errors. They only prepared half of the items on our phoned-in order, argued about fixing it, then got the price wrong! The manager was not in, and it was mid-afternoon. I'm guessing that more regular mealtimes might be better. I would try it again and upgrade the rating with a better experience. Try it for the great food - but check your order! read more

Bonchon is pretty darn good. If you're starving, I would suggest the wing + drum combo meals (and the drums are huge). The 15 wing and 8 drum combo is definitely worth the price if you come with a couple of other people. I personally really like the bull dak (spicy chicken on a hot plate). It has a nice spicy flavor, and the veggies and rice cakes really mix well with the chicken. The bulgogi plate is definitely worth trying as well. My friend had the bibimbap and it looked delicious! The staff are very nice and the service is great as well. The place can get packed during busy hours so I understand that wait time for food can be expected. Everyone tries their hardest to make sure that your experince at Bonchon is an enjoyable one. read more

Chicken good someone said that the max coleslaw was 2 small plastic cups but my friend always goes there and gets 15 big cups people lie not fair manager was giving me the side eye like I was shreks ugly donkey thinking about it today it was kinda funny but when it happened it was not ones a lady charged me for free fries peopole be crazy they put spongebob square pants on TV fore some reason they also charged me for sause WHAT IN THE WORLD FREE FRIES THEY CHARGED ME FOR THAT DOSENT MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL OR FOR THE SAUSE huh ????no sense at all now I'm just saying random things but that all happened I have seen some bad service like peopole trying to scam me but out of all that THAT HAD TO BE THE WORSED O F IT ALL DO NOT COME HERE!!!!!! read more

omg I have never had such horrible chicken. I have also never left a horrible review! The so called chicken strips were super dry, probably because it was overcooked sliced breast, not chicken tenders! They attempted to pass thinly sliced breast as faux tenders. In their defense they called it strips, not tenders so I guess they didnt lie too much. My husband said it was like chewing on tires and my kids quit after 1 bite. Both wings and "strips" were dry but strips were over the top bad. Fyi, the spicy and garlic soy taste the same. No need to order two different flavors.... All this to say $67 later, it is in the garbage. read more

We went to Typhoon Texas as a family vacation get away . After long day out the sun, everyone were so exhausted and thank god we found the Bonchon standing in heart of Katy. We arrived half past 6 and the services was quick . We got seat right away and super friendly waitress . She was very attentive . She suggested that we should we should try their famous wings so we ordered 20 pcs of soys garlic half soy garlic and half and half. . After appetizer , we settle for bibimbap , bulgogi , salmon avocado balls, and chicken katsu. Foods come out quickly and its so tasty. Definitely, come back again when Im around the area. read more

As a fried chicken extraordinaire, I was told of this place from a close friend to try out as they had set the expectations sky high. I love fried chicken but its hard to find a place that can place emphasis on quality, seasoning, and temperature. This place was freaking AWESOME. Loved the service and attention to detail. If you are looking for something different from the usual places such as Popeyes, Churches, KFC.....go to Bon Chon. They really have their stuff together. I will be going back at least once a week. Honorable mention....the draft beer was amazing as well. read more