Chimac Korean Pub & Fried Chicken — Restaurant in Victoria

My most recent trip to chimac the other day (which I typically love, but I haven't been in a few years) was horrible.

I used their google profile to place a pick up order in advance. When I showed up to pick up my order, it wasn't there and they couldn't "find" any record of my order. I fortunately took a screen shot of my confirmed order. However despite the screen shot proof of what I ordered, the order number, and confirmed payment, the young man at the front refused my friend (who was grabbing curbside for me) stating "we don't have record" and ignored the obvious proof I was providing of confirmation of my paid order.

He said that it was up to me to personally prove that my card was charged via my credit card statement despite showing him the confirmed order that I placed from their google profile.

I had to go in and personally prove with my bank statement that the order was placed and I either wanted my food or my money back. The young man was still quite rude and he looked at my bank account and said, "oh that's a fantuan order not an online order" as if the systems that they use to process orders has anything to do with me. He looked through the payment processor and of course, found my order. He filled it, telling me to wait 20 to 25 minutes and did not apologize.

The chicken as good however the sweet and sour wasnt coated and insteas the sauce was subpar sweet and sour (with canned pineapple chunks) poured over the top surface of the chicken which ruined the batter by the time i got to open it. It was mushy and gross.

For the price I paid (in advance) I received very rude service and the food has gone down in quality for sure. The garlic soy chicken was still very good, but that's all I have to say that's positive.

I'm sad to say I was very disappointed by this experience (and it's not cheap either).

My major complaint is the poor customer service, faulty ordering systems that are overlooked, and a very rude server that was very unhelpful and not apologetic at all for the oversight, his dismissive attitude and talking over me, or the extreme delay.

I was comped 2 free drinks but they so generously gave me diet (as if they just gave me whatever they had extra of)

I was...

Summary

Food AMAZING - just like Korea Service: Outstanding Friendly and Attentive. (THEY HAVE A CALL BELL!) Price: Fair - Canadian Standard, and Portions = Great Value in my opinion.

OVERALL: I would return time and time again. 5 STARS.

Full Review

I have recently returned from a 8 week trip in Korea. Specifically Seoul, Jeonju, Jeju, and Busan. The food their was absolutely outstanding. When I travel I like to try everything. Some of my favorite dishes that I ate were: Kor Cold Noodles (namyeong), Korean Pancakes, both in kimchi and seafood (pacheon), rice cake in chili sauce (Tteok-bokki), korean blood sausage (sundae), and of course bibimbap, kimbap, kimchi, korean ramyun and a lot of other typical Korean dishes. BUT NOTABLY, a ton of Chicken and Beer (Mekju) pubs (Hence the Chi-Mek). I hope this background is proof I know my Korean fair.

Upon my return I was itching to get my hands on some more Korean food, and I tried many places in Victoria and Langford (King Sejong, Sura, Zin, My name, and others). From the list mentioned earlier King Sejong was good, but not great, I kinda lost hope as nothing was similar to what I experienced in Korea. Finally I noticed Chimac recently opened for business so I had to give it a try. I ordered the Makoli (Korean Rice wine), Fire Chicken, Spicy Seafood Soup, and the Garlic Soy Chicken. Everything I ordered threw me back to the street of Itaewon, Hongdae, and Meyong-Dong. Chimac has their flavor profiles on the exact wave as the cooks of Seoul. Food here was 5/5, Very Pleased (Dec 6th 2017). On top of that I was greeted with a friendly "Anyonghaseyo" (Korean for Hello" and it was refreshing to have the call button at my table (common in Korea), overall the service was great, very attentive. If I were to criticize anything it would be price. ONLY because I have experience paying $1.00 for Soju and due to regulations in Canada the market rate is around $12-14 for the same product. Nevertheless that cannot be helped.

OVERALL: I would return time and time...

After coming back from Korea experiencing real chimek restaurants, going to the newly open chicken 649 then here, heres what i have to say:

The service here was quite good, and is the first restaurant in victoria ive seen incorporate the table buzzer which means its hard to be ignored service A+.

The crowd here is almost entirely korean people, and adds to the authenticity, but can be displeasing to some if they dislike the loudness.

The setting here is all wood and looks quite rustic while trying to be modern at the same time by adding lights that dont seem to fit. If you managed to snag one of the booths its quite comfortable, but in the open it can be quite cramped with others and the staff right there.

The music, one day i went there it was EDM you'd hear at the nightclub distrikt, the other night christmas classics then being cut off suddenly by korean oldies from the 1980s. The music seems to be controlled by random staff members Ipods, they switch songs randomly and play songs too loud. Because of this inconsistency I'm removing a star. Its hard to enjoy food when you cant even hear yourself think.

The food, as for the chicken i can see where the reviews saying its mediocre come from. The quality of chicken used is not the best, and have all these random little bones. The sauce sometimes is barely coated and has a faint taste. If your going here for good chicken i reccomend trying chicken 649 instead, if you want a good place to drink and dont mind so-so chicken, chimac is the place for you,...