Bonchon Tempe — Restaurant in Tempe

Good Day,

I reside in Phoenix, Arizona. I have heard plenty of great things about Bonchon. I decided to finally give it a try and I took a date to the Tempe location. The food was amazing, but the service was abysmal. I understand the popularity of Bonchon and maybe short staff might cause some longer wait times, but the customer service and speed of service at the Tempe location completely ruined my first Bonchon experience.

At first, we were greeted within 2 minutes at the door. Waited 5m to get seated (even though it there was plenty of open tables). Once we got seated, we ordered ice water and few drinks. The water came with no ice but much to our surprise everyone around us had fresh ice water.

Once we got settled in with our drinks, Anu was very kind and sweet. She took our order and was very patient. We informed her it was our first time and we are rookies. Once the order was taken, we were only checked on one time. We ordered these delicious starters (potstickers I believe), but they didn't arrive at the start. Our starter arrived with everything else. The spicy sauce is actually spicy as heck! Delicious flavor, but we underestimated the spice level. I only had my water refilled one time and my date only had her drink refilled once. I continued to make eye contact with the staff and manager with no service. I gave up about half way through my dinner because, without water and proper service/attention that customers deserve, I couldn't enjoy the deliciousness.

Since I worked in the service industry for a decade in the past, I don't provide this type of feedback often. Once again, the cooks did amazing with the food. Food was very delicious and I would recommend the food, but I wouldn't recommend this Tempe location due to the horrible service. You could tell that they prioritized to-go orders vs dine in customers.

Please help improve the locations we have in Arizona. Well at least this location. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who provided this feedback towards this location's service recently, but it definitely ruined my overall first experience with Bonchon.

Thanks...

We heard about this place from the Daym Drops video on you tube and found out there was one right down the street from us. We had to try it once we heard the unforgettable crunch of his wings! I ordered the same small combo and season fries just like Daym. My husband ordered the Chicken katsu with coleslaw. Let's start with my husband's plate. His chicken was very flavorful, but a little dry. His rice had spicy asian mayo [delicious] and sriracha on it. It was great on it's own. He rated it a 9 out of 10 because of the chicken. The slaw needed help. It's more of a vinegar slaw more than a sweeter slaw. Now to my plate. I had the 6 wings and 3 drums small combo [not small at all]. There was a choice between spicy & soy garlic so I ordered half and half. For my side I order coleslaw as well and season fries. THE SEASON FRIES ARE PHENOMENAL! Perfect mix of crunch and soft fluffy potato on the inside covered with parm shreds and other delicious seasonings. The spicy wings were definitely crunchy! You could literally hear the crackling from other tables around us and when we started eating the wings we understood why. I would compare the flavor to a VERY SPICY glazed chicken. It was delicious. The soy garlic wings were my favorite item of the combo. They were slightly sticky and had a wonderful burst of zingy flavor with every crunchy bite. Not the annoying crunchy eather where pieces of food drop all over your shirt. It's more of a crispy layer over a juicy tender wing! I would definitely recommend this place to any one looking for something fun and new to try. Definitely worth the money. The only reason we gave 4 starts was for my husband's chicken katsu.our service was awesome! Our server was courteous and very attentive. He didnt let our drinks go empty once and made sure we had plenty of napkins. All of this lead to us having a great experience. Thanks Daym Drops for the recommendation! I hope that this post has encouraged any one who has not eaten here to give Bonchon a shot. You definitely will not be...

I wanted to share some feedback from my recent visit because I truly enjoyed this place. The food—especially the chicken—has always been a highlight, and I’ve had great experiences here in the past.

However, during my most recent visit (June 25), I noticed some changes in the service that were a bit disappointing. The new staff member at the entrance didn’t seem as welcoming or guest-friendly as we’ve experienced before. While I understand she may still be in training, I believe the responsibility falls more on her trainer or manager to ensure she’s well-supported in providing good customer service.

There were also some service-related issues: • Our food arrived, but we had to ask for utensils and plates. • When it came time to pay, the pen was left on the table without explanation, and we weren’t sure how to proceed with signing. • A staff member working in both the kitchen and serving area seemed quite defensive when I politely asked if the air conditioning was working in the back. I simply mentioned that it felt cooler near the entrance, but instead of a calm explanation, I received a lengthy response about the weather, which felt unnecessary. I was smiling and speaking politely, and just hoped for a simple answer. No extra place for the chicken bones.

In addition, even something as basic as steamed rice need to wait 30 minutes , which was surprising, so we skip this.

Please know that I’m not writing this to criticize or degrade the restaurant. I genuinely like this place, and these comments come from a place of wanting to see it maintain its quality—especially in terms of customer experience. For now, I may opt for takeaway instead of dining in, but I do look forward to continuing to support...