Pelicana Chicken and Boba Tea - University City — Restaurant in Philadelphia

We arrived and were seated, we were the only ones in the restaurant and were excited to try out the food. We ended up ordering the $50 "whatever combo" the man at the front desk was also the server and he was very rude, I asked if something from the combo could be switched out and he cut me off before i could even finish my sentence and basically said it wasn't possible. It was very off putting because, again we are the ONLY people there and he was deliberately not being accommodating. Honestly I wanted to walk out and leave but I'm glad we stayed because the platter of food was massive but we ended up taking the whole tray to go because it was so GREASY like, the food was hot but densely oily, like the picture of my napkin is after squeezing 3 fries between the napkin. I honestly felt ill after eating two pieces of boneless chicken and a few fries, we just couldn't do it. HOWEVER, I decided to air fry some of the leftovers and it was great but the amount of grease left in the airfryer was alarming but made sense. I think if they got the correct temperature to fry the food would be more edible in person. We also ordered the calamar which was a spicy tempura batter that was really nice but it was served with marinara sauce which was just bizarre, I paired it with sweet chili sauce after air frying and it was perfect. Either way, I would recommend you try it for yourself. I will go back but just for take out - not a dine...

Their original fried boneless chicken is absolutely delicious. Crispy, nutty, and not dry or tough. You can get different sauces on the side or tossed with the chicken. The level 3 spicy is a level of spicy that you won’t get anywhere else.

It’s so much more authentic than the likes of Bon Chon—they were such a disappointment that it turned me off the idea of trying Korean fried chicken places in the states altogether. But Pelicans gives me hope. I was afraid that the place wouldn’t taste authentic, but it totally exceeded my expectations. I usually don’t like fried chicken that much, but the chicken at this place was a delight.

You may think that the service is bad, but you just need to get their attention by raising your hand or something. This is acceptable in Korea although I can’t say for sure how the different servers here feel about it. They usually won’t come around and ask if you need anything.

They have some Korean liquors which are super fruity. I also tried the bulgogi quesadilla and it looked very plain and unappealing, but tasted...

For context: My roommate and I came here just over an hour before closing. I had gotten off a 15 hour shift, eaten nothing, and still had things to do. The food and proportions were good and made sense for their lower price. Our server did wonderful upkeep while we were eating. I felt bad that we came in so close to closing, so I wanted to give a cash tip but had none on me. My general plan was to not set a cc tip (because it gets taxed both in transaction and paycheck) and ask when would be a good time to give the server the cash tip. I had his face, name, and the receipt. What ended up happening is we got harrassed for not tipping even though I explained myself, tried to be force to write down a tip (I have had this happen before and they still took it off my card), and yelled at us not to come back. I refuse to come back, refuse to give out good recommendations, and now refuse to give the $20 tip. Do not yell at your customers, especially when they pay a good amount...