Bonchon Smyrna - W Sam Ridley Pkwy — Restaurant in Smyrna

Bonchon, I have loved you! I has taken it to office luncheons, to house gathering and I have taken friends there. All have loved it. It has always been on point until this past Monday. Food and the customer service was a negative. I had a friend in town visiting, so I wanted them to experience Bonchon. We both ordered the 6 count bone in wing. Have you ever gotten something and you feel like something is not right but you can put your finger on it. I told my friend they're usually better than this. I kept eating and looking at them trying to finger out what's off. As I got to the end I figured it out. They tasted and look like they do when I re- warmed them. My past purchases have always been fresh. I apologize to my friend and said I would tell Bonchon, because I loved this place and don't want them to close because of them leavingfood in a warmer. Because based on this taste people won't find it special. My plan wasn't to ask for anything just to inform. The young lady came over and I shared what I experienced. She said they were keep in some type of warmer. I said that explains the taste difference. She asked what did I want. I said oh that's great customer service. I told her I wanted my friend to try the donut but I didn't want it if it's been sitting. She left and about 12 to 15 minutes Rachel came over saying you ate the food so we can't do anything. I wasn't looking for anything in the beginning but now it all about customer service. I asked for a manager and she said she come in at 4:30. Then she don't know when she will be in. I asked who made the decision, she said the cook Leo. What's the manager name and number. She gave me a name and phone number. I called the number, no voice mail greeting or returned call. A business number should have a vm greeting. I feel they lied to me and displaced poor customer service. If you know and admitted you served me re warmed food, good customer service would make it right regardless when I told you and to give me the run around and a fake number is unacceptable. I don't believe I will ever return nor recommend it to anyone. Oh she said I should have asked for fresh when I ordered. I have never gotten re warmed food from you in the past so how would I know. It threw me off because it still had the crispy skin, so it took a minute to figure it out. Then Bonchon will wonder why...

Bonchon has been a favorite of ours ever since they opened in South San Francisco. Korean-style chicken wings are the absolute best—twice fried so they’re super crunchy, and then tossed in spicy gojujang sauce or soy garlic (my favorite). They’re literally perfect chicken wings—crisp, super flavorful, very moist meat. A perfect balance.

When we moved here, we missed Bonchon so much that I taught myself how to make Korean fried chicken wings and pickled radish. It’s nice to have a quicker (less messy) option again. :))

The restaurant is very clean, bright, not too noisy, and easy to navigate. Very similar to Cava or Chipotle in that you line up, order at the register, and either seat yourself or wait for your food on a seat or bench along one wall (which is really nice if you don’t want to go out to your car or stand).

Wait time tonight was about 45 minutes and parking was crazy although we got very lucky, so no complaints. Bonchon is absolutely worth waiting for.

A note—anyone who gives these wings less than 5 stars is just cranky and has forgotten that you can do more than BBQ chicken. They are very much worth the higher price tag…double frying takes time and effort, and there’s a lot of prep that goes into making them this way.

Few more notes—we also had the fried rice (good) and the Korean street corn (good). The pickled radish is always fantastic with the wings bc it adds sweetness and acidity. At other locations we’ve enjoyed the japchae and the potstickers but didn’t have those tonight. Some of the typical Bonchon dishes aren’t being served here yet but may come in time. Servers were VERY kind and friendly.

It felt like being home in the Bay Area. I can’t wait to go back. Maybe give them a few more weeks to iron out the normal kinks of opening a new location, and when you get your order, don’t forget to say...

Let me start by saying I've been eating Korean fried chicken in nyc since the early 2000's. From different establishments around the area. So I have a good understanding of what is good Korean fried chicken. Chicken without any sauce. Finally after living in Tennessee for 10 years now, I was very excited to see a Korean fried chicken restaurant...not to be confused with Korean bbq. Now that I got that out of the way, let's get to the fried chicken. The chicken is not seasoned at all. It was the most bland chicken I've ever had...EVER! The 5 chicken drumsticks that I ordered also had a pale color and pasty coverage on some parts. It did have a little crunch to it but not like what it's supposed to be like. Getting a sauce covered chicken will be your best bet because it will be the seasoning. However, I did try a sauced piece and it was drenched in sauce and took away that signature Korean fried chicken crunch. The sauce needs to be drizzled over the chicken so you can still get that crunch. I have made my own Korean fried chicken before with that crunch and seasoned. DO NOT ORDER ANY CHICKEN WITHOUT A SAUCE ON IT! Now to the sides. The sides I got was the Japchae and plain fried rice. Both had great flavor and we're very delicious. However, you don't get much. The to go container was a good size but I'm going to guess and say it was one serving spoon of rice spread over the bottom. The portion did not match the $10.95 cost. It didn't even fill up to half of the container. Same for the Japchae. That along with the bland chicken is what gives them a low rating from me. I expected more for the $40 ticket. I doubt I will be going back anytime soon. I know they just opened and may have some kinks to work out. One last thing, parking is not the best. It's a very small parking lot used for multiple...