Bonchon Chapel Hill — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

Bonchon ruined my entire week. All I have been able to think about all week has been my experience that evening. I now write this review not only to warn others, but to be able to start working through the trauma that this experience has caused.

The first sign of the huge mistake we had made was when we ordered our calamari appetizer based on the picture on the menu; a nice lightly battered combination of rings and tentacles. When we got our calamari it looked as if they went to BK and ordered onion rings and placed them half haphazardly on the plate. The breading was way too heavy and the calamari itself felt like they had breaded rings of raw cow hide. Half way through the purgatory of trying to get these fried pieces of tire down, I realized I would need a refreshment. I was able to catch the waitress's attention and order a hopefully refreshing Sprite. How was I supposed to know this would lead me further down into the nether world that this dinner ended up being. As I was about to take a great big gulp of the Sprite I realized something that appeared to be swimming just at the top. Stunned, I placed my drink down and closely examined it. I saw not one, not two, but three very noticeable bugs using the Sprite the staff had just brought me as their personal bubble bath. At this point you're probably asking yourself, "Why did he stay instead of calling it a night?" And here's the honest truth:

1. I had eaten at bon chon once before and remembered their fried chicken being quite good.
2. With finding bugs in my drink surely this meal would be discounted at the very least. So I wait for my half sweet crunch, half soy garlic fried chicken strips and when they finally arrive I dive right into what I think are the delicious soy garlic chicken only to find out my order was incorrect and I had been provided their spicy chicken. I found myself in the tenth circle of the inferno of which Dante had not shared with us. My mouth was on fire and there I was staring at the spot where the infested Sprite used to be. Im not proud to admit this but if that cup was still there I would likely have ended up downing it, bugs and all. Instead I sat there, mouth blazing, until finally I regained sensation of my tongue and pointed out to the waitress the error that had occurred. By this point I just wanted to get to the end of the meal, the sweet payoff of a reduced check would make all this suffering worth it. So I eagerly waited for the check, ready to get myself out of this place of dining and never return. When it finally came, we opened the bill only to find out not only were we being charged full price, but I was being charged for the bug's spa day. I was livid, feeling my heart beat in my throat I knew I couldn't remain calm if I tried to make sense of the situation. Dejected I placed my card into the billfold, accepting the error of my ways, never to return to this establishment again. Please do not make the same mistakes I have made, please NEVER eat at the Chapel...

Arrived here around 4pm for a late lunch. When we sat down, our server handed us menus with the lunch side facing up. The people I was with ordered their meals from the lunch menu. They both pointed to the items they were ordering (both got the 8 piece wings), discussed their decision in front of the server, and asked questions about the meal. We ended up deciding to get the order to-go. We waited a ridiculous amount of time for our food considering we were the only people there. When the food and check finally came, we realized that instead of the two 8 piece lunch meals we ordered, our server had put in two 24 piece dinner meals! Instead of two $9 meals, they were two $24 meals. Our total came to over $70 for three people.

I told the server that that was not what we ordered and he just said something to the effect of "oh sorry, well, it's already done now" and shrugged it off. I tried to hand him back the bag of food but he just repeated himself. I was so shocked I ended up just paying for the meal so we could leave.

I am not the kind of person to write negative reviews but I was really disappointed in the customer service in this situation. Throughout our stay the restaurant was empty. The server was not busy at all and had multiple opportunities to correct the order, starting with not handing us lunch menus, pointing out that the order was not currently available as we read it (literally, word for word) off the lunch menu, explaining it would be a larger meal when we discussed whether to get the 8 piece strips or 8 piece wings, or correcting the issue after I pointed it out.

On a previous trip, I ordered the "sweet crunch" chicken for take out and was given the spicy chicken instead. Unfortunately, the amount of heat made my chicken inedible for me.

I have yet to have a good experience with the restaurant and won't be...

Overall my husband and I were very disappointed in our experience at Bonchon. We’d previously heard positive things about the chain and excitedly awaited its arrival in Chapel Hill. We waited about 10-15 minutes to be seated once we arrived, which was no big deal. However, it took about another 15 minutes for us to have our order taken and then it took an hour for our food to come. We arrived over an hour before closing and we didn’t even receive our food until at least 30 minutes after closing. In terms of the the food, the chicken wings were tasty (despite the long wait), but the fries were INCREDIBLY small and overpriced. We ordered seasoned fries (which were $7) thinking they would be enough to share and that would be a specialty, step up from the regular fries (with fresh Parmesan and seasonings). They were not specialty, or enough for two people, they were literally just fries with seasoning with a portion size that I would’ve expected from the $4 fry option.

It also took a really long time for us to receive our check and to go box. Honestly it kind of felt like everyone around was really unclear on what to do and restaurant operations/procedures. I definitely understand that there is a learning curve for a new restaurant, however this opening felt rushed. The bar isn’t stocked yet, service was extremely slow, and there were no managers walking around checking in about service. If you’re going to check this place out I’d wait a while and see if they work the kinks out. I’m not sure if I’ll be back because there are definitely other cheaper and faster Korean Fried Chicken spots nearby my...