PONKO Chicken — Restaurant in Doraville

PONKO CHICKEN... Japanese ingredients with an American style and set up. I don't believe PONKO CHICKEN has been around for long but I hope they do well. I love their set up and although their menu looked confusing at first, it really isn't!! Chicken, salads, sandwiches and plates... all with your favorite style of chicken and sides. Our friends Jeff and Kimberly joined us to check them out and we were all in agreement by the time we left... GOOD flavors!! Jeff ordered a GRILLED TERIYAKI CHICKEN PLATE, Kimberly ordered a VEGAN PATTY with BBQ sauce, Sara ordered an original HOT DOG with SLAW and a HAWAIIAN BUN along with a POTATO SALAD and I ordered their regular PONKO CHICKEN PLATE which came with 2 sides, I picked their PONKO FRIES and BROWN RICE. My meal cost me $12 (5 piece chicken) and Sara's cost $8. The PONKO chicken is simply delicious, I was pleasantly surprised as I was not expecting the slight sweet taste and crispy fried chicken. Their fries reminded me of TAKOREA's (later review) french fries with how they are fried, definitely double fried. Their brown rice was well made and easy to eat with chop sticks. All together with all the flavors, the plate was a winning combination. I had a taste of my buddy's TERIYAKI CHICKEN and although good, it was a bit too strong for my liking, I prefered the PONKO CHICKEN. I also had a taste of Sara's hot dog because her eyes lit up when she bit into it. Let me tell you... this is a serious hot dog!! The hot dog itself seemed to be fried with a slight very thin crust that gave it a slight sweet taste and the coleslaw added a good crunch to it. Unfortunately their potato salad is one of the worst potato salads I've had in quite some time and it ended up in the trash. It smelled weird, had an off taste and left an after taste with some type of spice i'm not familiar with. Their fountain machine had their COKE flavor out of order which was a bummer but some of us grabbed a COKE ZERO. I wish they had some sauces but that we know of, there are none. The french fries go well with their ketchup but our table didn't have any so we had to ask for a bottle. As we got ready to leave we noticed the table next to us getting the PONKO tacos... the plate had a like of 3 tacos and they looked delicious!!! Had I been by myself and not thought it would embarrass my wife, I would have gone straight back to the counter to get 3 tacos. Going in I had no expectations but left the place pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to stop by again with some friends and see what they all think. Roli's Rating: Service: 7/10, Nice and friendly place from the time you come in until you leave. You order over the counter and get a number and then get your food fairly quickly. Drinks are self serve and you are not waited on by the staff Price: 8/10, They don't get a 9-10 because although you do have an item or 2 that can help you stay cheap (individual tacos, hot dog), most of their items , once you order a drink, will take you above the $10 mark Location and Parking: 9/10, Location is very easy to get to, right off 85. The parking isn't a problem and should never be as there is wrap around parking Cleanliness: 8/10, The place looked new and fairly clean Health Rating: A (100) Roli Overall Rating: 7/10, I would travel long distances to eat at this location... every other week Roli's Recommendations HOT DOG, PONKO CHICKEN IN WHATEVER FORM (PLATE, TACOS,...

I first tasted Ponko Chicken at Atlanta Night Market. It was, simply put, the best chicken I had ever tasted. I don't know what goes into the Ponko sauce, but it is absolutely delicious. It tastes like honey and something savory (maybe soy sauce?). They cook the chicken (fingers) in such a way that the meat is juicy and tender, yet the breading is crispy pleasantly crunchy, despite being covered in the Ponko sauce.

The second time I had their chicken, I went to the actual restaurant. It's a bit of a drive from my house, but it's absolutely worth it. The staff is super friendly, the drinks they make are wonderful, and the food never ceases to amaze me at how delicious it is. I ordered the Ponko fries, the original Ponko chicken, and the seasonal green beans. My friend had the barbecue chicken, the Ponko fries, and the potato salad. The original chicken was far better (in my opinion) than the barbecue, and the fries were amazing. My friend said the potato salad was the best he'd ever had. Unfortunately, they never brought out my green beans. When I let them know, they promised me a free meal the next time I came in, and they brought me a free beer as well.

I've been in once since then. The food was exactly as good as it had been every other time, and I got the green beans with the rest of my meal. I was a little disappointed that they were out of the Ponko punch, but the sweet tea was so good that my disappointment didn't last very long. We happened to show up on a night they had trivia going on. We didn't stay beyond the point when the DJ introduced himself, but it was nice to know they have activities for their patrons.

They also have a bar. I don't know if they have mixed drinks or shots, but they do have beer on tap.

I highly recommend that you try Ponko Chicken whenever you can. Even if you've already tried it, go back and eat it again!...

When I first saw this place on Chamblee Tucker Road I wondered why anyone Would open another Fried Chicken chain in the Atlanta area and just kept on driving. After doing a bit of research on Ponko I decided go back and give them a try. And I am very glad that I did.

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. When we walked in the door we were immidiately greeted and after I told the counter man that this was our first time and we needed a moment to decide what to order he immediately grabbed a menu and started pointing out the high points and explaining our options. His effort was greatly appreciated and made the experience much more pleasurable.

The Japanese inspired menu is, well, inspired. Everything that we tried was excellent. The original panko fried chicken tenders, the sticky brown rice, the side salad and the Japanese potato salad we're all excellent. Although, I must say that the Japanese potato salad didn't taste any different than really good down-home Southern potato salad to me, but that's a good thing.

My only suggestion for improvement would be to add a few more salad dressings to the menu. Another vinaigrette, possibly a balsamic vinaigrette, and perhaps one other choice would be an excellent addition and give us salad eaters just a little more variety to choose from.

I look forward to returning to Ponko and trying their spicy or barbecue ponko tenders and some of their other...