bb.q Chicken Carmel — Restaurant in Carmel

This location was my first time trying bb.q chicken. I usually do not eat at chains, but Korean food sounded good and I hadn’t tried bb.q before so I thought I’d give it a try. Overall the experience was a big miss. I would try it again in the future, but I won’t seek it out myself.

Visited at 6pm on a Sunday evening, there was nobody else in the restaurant. There were many TVs playing various things, but no music playing in the dining area. There was however very loud Latin music playing in the kitchen which could be clearly heard throughout the dining area. No issue with the cooks listening to music of their own, but the volume was excessive and it ruined the atmosphere in the dining area. At least some other music to drown out the kitchen music would have been nice.

On the food, we ordered 2 different ddeok-boki bowls. I had never had this before. It was very filling. The rice cakes and sauce were good, but there were some fish cakes in the bowl which I did not like. We also ordered some ‘traditional’ wings. I can’t say I’ve had “Korean fried chicken” before this experience - the wings were absolutely insane in size. We ordered 16 thinking we would eat 8 and have some leftovers for the next day. We ate 4. Genuinely the biggest wings I have ever seen in my life. I do not usually care about animal harvesting ethics, but the methods necessary to raise chickens to have wings of that size are unethical and it’s concerning that those farming practices are foundational to this businesses multinational success. I strongly prefer traditional, normally-sized American style chicken wings.

Regarding the service, the 2 bowls and order of medium wings was SUPER excessive for 2 people, but we didn’t know this being our first time in. The server was very clearly confused in his expression with how much food we ordered, but did not think to let us know just how much food it was. This is why it’s so important for servers to ask if it’s your first time visiting somewhere. That is a however a question you’ll rarely hear at a chain like this. I wish the server had interjected and warned us how much food we were ordering.

If I were to go back, I would probably just get a bulgogi bowl...

First time at this restaurant. As a big fan of Korean fried chicken, I was happy to see one in the area. There was nothing particularly special about the interior. I did love the TVs showing their food which made the anticipation that much more exciting. I ordered the Golden Original Boneless Small (8pcs.) with fries and my friend ordered the Spicy Galbi Boneless Small (8pcs.) with sweet potato fries. The first thing we noticed is that the fries came out first without the chicken which kind of forces you to eat the fries before they get cold. The regular fries where bland whereas the sweet potato fries had some form of salt. That could explain why the server immediately offered ranch. Next, when our chicken arrived, we were missing one piece of Spicy Galbi, so that arrived late. While both chicken dishes were good, the Golden Original had no seasoning you could taste. The crisp was there and in some cases more crispy skin than actual chicken. The chicken-mu was sweet, tangy, and enjoyable. All in all, the experience wasn't unpleasant, but it will be awhile...

I was not greeted when I walked in. No one seemed to even register that I had walked in until I went to the pick up stand where I was asked if I had a pickup order. I was seated, waited a while, and the server eventually returned to get my order of fries and spicy galbi wings. The fries came out pretty quickly and were frankly not passable for $6. I guess the quantity is supposed to make up for the quality? I then waited approximately 35 minutes before I was informed that the kitchen printer was not working, and my chicken order had never been received to begin with, but that it would be out soon. It did come out shortly after, which was appreciated. The chicken itself was fine, but not exceptional. I was given a coupon for a 15% discount for my next order. I didn’t really find this to be a satisfying resolution, but at that point in my day I was too tired to make a fuss. I asked for a box and the check and left promptly. I don’t see myself having a reason to come back to...