CALVIN'S KOREAN CHICKEN — Restaurant in San Diego

The place was good, but way too expensive for what it is.

Pros– food was good, we got a two tender meal and a sando combo. Reminded me of the boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, but bigger tenders. The flavor also kind of tastes like one of the buffalo wild wing flavors or the wing stop flavors (honey bbq for the second level of heat and mango habanero level for the fourth level). The portions were decent too, even though it was only two tenders. My husband got an extra tender, but the two were probably enough. The fries were also pretty good, they had nice breading–very tasty. Service was good and the lady at the front was nice.

Cons- food was good, not great and tasted pretty basic with flavors and textures you could get for less elsewhere. For the two combos above, plus one extra tender, and one drink (with no refills) we paid $44. This may have been okay if the food was amazing or the atmosphere was nice, but that was not the case. The atmosphere was very whole in the wall, which is fine, if there’s going to be whole in the wall prices. Additionally idk if there was no central air, but the doors were wide open and it was freezing. For these prices at least warm up the place. Additionally the refills were not free and each sauce (ranch) was .75. They also just generally didn’t have too many flavors of sauces for their wings or dipping sauces.

Sum- not bad food, but too expensive and I rather go to a chain and pay less, a fancy restaurant and pay a little more for better food/atmosphere, or another whole in the with reasonable prices that isn’t greedy with their air, refills, and sauce prices like Tapioca Express or Chicago Fire Grill where we can get 2 whole meals including drinks for under $25– and both of them look less sketch...

When I come to California, I cannot miss getting Korean fried chicken at least once. Usually the chicken will be gluten-free, but the sauces are loaded with soy sauce and so I can’t have anything but plain. Here, all of their sauces are gluten-free.

The first time at a restaurant I like to order a little bit of everything to see what I would like the most. I like the wings here more for some reason but they’re all good. Same with the fries. I would say, unless you’re gonna finish it all in one sitting, order the sauce on the side. There was definitely a lot of sauce and I can’t see it remaining crunchy after you heat it up again. I also would order like a little bit lighter sauce because these were covered. Don’t forget to ask for dipping sauce if you want that.

Overall, definitely the best Korean fried chicken I’ve had thus far and really appreciate that their sauce are gluten-free too. Seems like a place where you do takeout but you...

Best Korean Fried Chicken in San Diego, BY FAR. Calvin's chicken was previously Furaido Premium Chicken Company in Poway. Now in a much more convenient location!

I've introduced several of my friends to this place in the past couple of weeks. One of whom is not a fan of fried chicken. That same friend ended up going to Calvin's two days in a row.

Calvin's chicken is the only Korean Fried Chicken that compares to the ones I've had in Koreatown and OC, the foodie meccas. As a spicy lover, I am often disappointed when a restaurant calls something hot. The Pure Evil here will get you sweating a bit, with amazing flavor behind the heat. All of the flavors here are amazing. Breading so crispy. Meat incredibly juicy. There are some new items on the menu (jalapeno poppers, onion rings) but the chicken is so addicting that I don't dare stray...