Kokio Korean Fried Chicken — Restaurant in Albuquerque

Update 1: I came back a few weeks later to see how they're doing and try some more items, and was NOT disappointed. I ordered garlic wings and fries. These my have been the BEST wings I've ever had. The batter is thin, light, and well adhered but super crispy. Very satisfying to eat in taste, low-mess, and crunch. The garlic flavor is VERY garlicy, with visible garlic pieces. It's slightly sweet and perfectly lightly salted, no heat. I'm already dying to try more flavors, especially with a little heat. Inside the chicken was also perfect, fully cooked and juicy, not oily at all. The fries were crispy and lightly spiced. Overall a dynamite meal ... you guys are killing it! This place is still in soft open and I was lucky to get in before they closed for the day. The dining area is pretty small, with 7 tables of 2-4 people and two longer bench style tables.

Ordering is counter style, and the young lady taking orders was very nice. She was happy to answer questions abt the menu and chat with curious visitors.

I ordered the spicy chicken bowl, which comes with spicy sweet chicken chunks, rice, and steamed veggies. The lady stated it was quite hot, an "8/10" and I'd say that was accurate. It really was quite spicy, but it was the kind that passed pretty quickly if you take a short break between bites. If you can't handle spice though, I'd go with the teriyaki chicken bowl instead.

I didn't get the fried chicken or wings which I think are more their specialties, but I loved what I had and...

Hands down the best Korean fried chicken and waffle fries! I am amazed how the food stayed so crispy even after it got cold and with their wet sauce over it. We ordered the whole chicken (they cut it up to about 10 pieces an order). We got half the chicken with the extra spicy sauce (which is now our favorite). The other half with the special Korean sauce (we're not fans of this sauce bc it was way too sweet without any spiciness). Unless sweet food is your thing, avoid this sauce bc it's just way too sweet. Next time we will order the extra spicy sauce on the side bc it can get very spicy after more bites. It's like habenero heat spicy, so for those that can't take too much spice I'd avoid this sauce.😄 Now let's talk about the waffle fries! Absolutely the best and super crispy even when it was cold! Plus, it did not have salt on them, but was still super tasty. *If you plan on going and whether it's dine in or carry out, put in your order first online or over the phone bc the chicken is literally made to order and it can take a while (up to 1hr+ wait time for food depending on how busy they are). Overall, the food was really good. A little pricey, but still worth it. My family and I will definitely go back again. I wish this business the best and go check...

So the quality of the chicken is very good. I think just some slight tweaks would take this place from pretty good to amazing. The most annoying part is the wait time it's always 30min to an hour, the first time I didn't order ahead and it was def an hour wait, this was my 2nd time and I called ahead and it was just under half an hour so def call ahead.

The chicken is amazing I got the sweet and spicy and the garlic, I would honestly try all their flavors, for the garlic I think it would just be a little better if it was a soy garlic flavor. Also got the waffle fries, kinda surprised they didn't have any dipping sauce and this time they were not crispy. I think if they seasoned up the fries and added a fry sauce and we're consistenly crispy then that would take the whole place over the top.

Did the cheese sticks and same issue not very crispy at all. Also prices are pretty steep, 7 bucks for fries, 8 for cheese sticks and 30 for 20 wings is a lot in my opinion. So if they stepped up the quality on the sides and cut the wait down I could understand the price. But I've had similar korean chicken in the east coast and hawaii for better quality and price.

So some slight adjustments and I think this would be one of the best hole in the wall/korean joints...