Who: With a friend from school. When: Past Wednesday evening, 6:00 PM. No wait, fairly empty. Where: In a booth. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but FYI, the bottom half of the partition is NOT a mirror. It doesn't exist. My guess is that they can easily remove the screen on top when they have a larger party. But when the people sat down in the booth on the other side of our partition, it scared the bejeezus out of us (or maybe it was just me). I just saw what I thought was my dress moving out of the corner of my eye even though I was sitting perfectly still. It's scary to think that something is about to pop out from underneath your dress when (1), you don't know whether it's going to be a big cockroach, a rat, or maybe the girl from The Ring, and (2), you don't physically feel whatever you think is about to pop out from under there. I could have been unknowingly molested! Why: 'Cause I have been craving fried chicken/Bon Chon FORever. What: First of all, I have to say that the fact they didn't have their liquor license and thus, did not have any soju or any other alcohol to serve probably put a damper on the whole experience. You have to understand, my expectations had been building up for months. Plus, I had planned to get tipsy to celebrate my freedom from school for the summer. Plus plus, I eat my Korean food with soju. Banchan (free small side dishes) - We got some cole slaw and pickled radishes cut into cubes, both of which I enjoyed. The cole slaw was nice and creamy (but too peppery after awhile) and the radishes had just the right amount of sourness to them. Bonchon Chicken (soy garlic) - We got the 20-piece because my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. (It's ok because they put the leftovers in this cute little take-out box for you. I made this lady jealous on the T ride home.) Supposedly, each piece is glazed by hand to get an even amount of sauce on each piece of chicken. I'm pretty sure these were just shaken up in a basket. More sauce would have been nice. It also came out super quick, which was odd because I remember that the Allston location would caution us that if we ordered the chicken, there would be a bit of a wait. The chicken was warm enough and had its usual crisp but I was still suspicious... Pork Belly BBQ (about ten pieces) - Our server put these on the grill for us and came back to flip them too so we didn't have to do much at all. Note: lettuce is extra ($3.95 for a plate), which made me feel ripped off. I would have liked rice too but forgot to order it at the time, which was probably just as well because we were stuffed at the end. But the pork belly was good. The gochujang that came with it was surprisingly not spicy at all. I would have liked a little bit of a kick. All in all, it quieted down the cravings but it just wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. I probably shouldn't have waited like two months to satisfy my cravings either. But in the end, the lack of soju killed it for me right at the start. I would have liked to have seen my face when the server delivered the bad news: I must have looked like quite the crestfallen lush. I guess I'll have to trek out to the Allston location next time. read more

I'm new to Cambridge, and I've realized that delivery options are pretty limited. Out of curiosity, I searched for Korean on grubhub and was amazed that there were a couple of delivery options. I was even more excited to see that Bon Chon is one of the options (locations are in NYC, too). $5 delivery fee is pretty steep (not to mention the $20 minimum), but something I'm willing to pay for the convenience/craving for Korean. Delivery took about an hour (not a terribly long wait) and the food was still hot. Quality: the kimchi jjigae is delicious and spicy. I was really happy with it. The dukbokki, on the other hand, was strange. It wasn't just rice cakes in a spicy sauce (what I'm used to), it was more of a lasagna type thing with cheese (huh?), noodles, fish cakes, and fried seaweed. Not a fan and I won't order that again, but I'll definitely stop in/order again for the other menu items. read more

I have been to the location in Allston plenty of times, I came here with my girlfriend and order a squid noodle dish (forgot the name of it). It had 2 pepper signs next to the item on the menu but was incredibly spicy. Even for someone who overly spicy food very frequently, I was still quite impressed and surprised at how spicy this dish is. It tasted great but definitely not for everyone, dont take these pepper signs lightly, they mean the real deal! read more

Bonchon Cambridge - John F Kennedy St - Squid and noodle dish - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

I have had Bon Chon chicken in NYC so I was eager to try the food here. This is a basement location but the servers are nice and the music is ok. First visit, had the sundubu and regretted it. Just didn't like it--had lots of leftovers and it smelled a bit. I have had similar soups in Porter Sq (chocho's) and Allston (bibim!) and here something just didn't work. Second visit, I missed out on Santouka (but got a peek inside--it's big and bright!) and my wagamama back-up was weirdly closed :0, so I came in here and tried the ok dol bibimbap with spicy pork. Cue Charlie Sheen, "winning!" I like the stone pot on the rice, egg, meat. Dinner + breakfast the next day = satisfied diner. If I were in a group, I'd go for wings and pancake. Good, if you know what to order (and what not to order). read more

Oh bonchon, the true KFC.. that is Korean Fried Chicken! I consider my mom's Korean food to be the best, but I think bonchon is the only exception. Their fried chicken is just unreplicable.. with such a light fried exterior that is crispy and flavorful and meat that is juicy. It's addictive! I recommend wings as opposed to drum sticks if you want to maximize your skin to meat ratio :P read more

Bonchon Cambridge - John F Kennedy St - XL order of wings - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

After all of the hype, I was really disappointed in the spicy chicken. The wings were small and dry, and it wasn't even that spicy. Meh. My fried octopus dumplings were alright, but a little mushy on the inside. The Korean stews that my friends ordered were a little watery and nothing too special. Everything about this place was very mediocre, not seeing what the hype is about. I'll say it's better than most other places in Harvard Square, but that's not saying much. I won't be back again. read more

A hidden gem, haha - it's in the basement. But that doesn't change anything about Bon Chon being amazing. Came here on a Sunday afternoon with my brother just as it opened so it wasn't as packed as it usually is. Here, you can korean BBQ and no sushi. Whereas, in Allston, you can sushi but no korean BBQ. Regardless, got the usual - combo soy garlic, classic bibimbap and tteokbokki. The complimentary cole slaw and radish evened out the spicy of the rice cakes. The chicken had their signature crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside taste. And you can't ever go wrong with the classic bibimbap. Generous portions, friendly service/water refill and cool decor. read more

Bonchon Cambridge - John F Kennedy St - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Picked up some take out from this Bon Chon location and was pretty satisfied with the food. Having tried had chicken from their New York and Baltimore locations, I would have to say Boston's was right on par with the other. The medium combo order only took about 15 minutes and came with a side of salad and pickled radish. The one part the stood out was the more extensive Korean food menu that I have not seen at the other locations. Next time I am back, I'll have to try some things in addition to the Bon Chon chicken. read more

Was very disappointed with this location. The chicken just did not taste the same. My edamame was also under cooked. I'll stick to the Alston location. read more

Korean fried chicken... Honestly Korean food in general is great, but fried chicken is just so wonderful I sometimes forget about all the other great flavors. If you are a person that hasn't tried the soy garlic combo the scales are about to fall from your eyes and a whole new world of flavor will be open to you. Bulgogi is the next dish you need to open your eyes to. That said... When your eyes are open you will realize that you are in a dimly lit basement with poorly upholsteried chairs. But the food is so good I give it 5 Stars anyway. Also note- if you are looking for legit Korean food I don't actually know how this ranks, but as a white guy, this is amazing. I kind of feel this place has the same issues that American Chinese restaurants have- if you are looking for authentic it might not score as well, but to the rest of us- phenomenal. read more

Delivery was super late and restaurant have no idea when the food will come. Used to like this place but never getting anything from them again read more

I think Bon Chon chicken lived up to its hype. Big wings and drums covered in an extremely crispy and flavorful skin that yields to moist and juicy meat, without any nasty tendons or gross bits. We had the soy garlic flavor and it was awesomely good... I can see why people find this stuff addicting. However, these wings are actually pretty expensive: $20 for 15? That hurts. I mean, it's really good, quality chicken... but I can't help but feel a bit ripped off when (for example) I can go to Soulfire on Mondays and have all-you-can-eat wings for $8 that are also juicy and flavorful. Obviously, Bon Chon is unique so it's hard to do a back-to-back comparison with non-Bon Chon wings, but still. My guess is, the prices are so high because 1) there are few places you can get Bon Chon here in the city so they can price how they want, and 2) they don't have a liquor license so need to make $ on something. Understandable? Perhaps. Although the music was upbeat and the waiters were friendly, the basement restaurant was a bit small and got no light, so I say just get yourself some take-out and a 6 pack and enjoy the deliciousness at home. read more

I wanted to like this place, but the food was just OK. Their "famous" fried chicken is good. Bimbimbap is also better than usual. Honestly, I just don't think I will be back. read more

Pretty damn overpriced for Korean food. Soondubu was a bit too firm for my liking and the barbecue was not very great. Service was nice as they cooked my bbq for me but they ended up overcooking a majority of it. Kalbi was very yummy but like everything else on the menu, overpriced. And what's up with barely having side dishes? Looks like I'll stick to Kaju in Allston. read more

Bonchon/Korean friend Chicken will always have a special place in my heart. The spicy wings were were awesome, the service was great, and the portion of tteobokki that you get with an order is well worth the money. The only problem with the food is that it takes a while to come out (I'd like to think its because it's all made fresh to order) If you like wings this is a place to be. P.S. This place also does korean style DIY BBQ read more

The chicken is good but idk if it's covid or whateever but pre-covid the wings were 11 and some change. Now it's around 14-15 bucks for a 10 pc wing! At this point as one mentioned, you might as well just make wings at home. Hopefully the price comes back to normal because it's not worth 15 bucks. read more

Bon Chon is a chain restaurant that is known for their Korean fried chicken that is simply delicious. I've ordered takeout from here multiple times. There are 2 flavors of chicken to choose from spicy and soy garlic. I usually get half and half, but beware, the spiciness can build up so I would proceed with caution especially if you don't handle spicy food well. Most orders of chicken will come with cole slaw and white radish, both of which are nice complements to the spicy/fried chicken. I like their cole slaw (more cabbage than mayonnaise). Anyways, I've never had a bad experience with Bon Chon and highly recommend it! read more

What's not to love about that delicious soy garlic crispy chicken? Consistently good every time I've gone (and I've gone many, many times...). Also still manages to be crispy the next day if toasted in a toaster oven. A more recently discovered favorite is the marinated short ribs, which you grill yourself at your table. The dipping sauces it comes with, especially the one with sesame seeds, are excellent. Eat these with a bowl of rice plus the provided sides and you're set. read more

Pros: 1. Great korean fried chicken. The only reason I go back. Soy garlic and spicy are both good. Crispy and flavorful. Only downside is that 50% of the time the wings are barely warm and 50% of the time they are so hot you can't touch them for a few minutes. Probably depends on the time of day that you visit 2. If you like the taste and texture of ddukbokki/spicy rice cakes, you'll probably like the ddukbokki here. Pretty standard price for the size. Decent variety of extras mixed in: fishcake, glass noodles, veggies. 3. Service has always been satisfactory/standard. Cons: 1. For a place called BonChon (banchan)....there's no banchan. You get radishes and cole slaw when you order chicken but otherwise there are no banchan at all. No kimchi, fishcake, bean sprouts, etc. Having several (free) banchan is pretty standard at korean restaurants. 2. BBQ is kind of a rip-off. Korean BBQ is never cheap, but I would avoid getting kbbq here. The portions are small and there is no rice or lettuce wrap included. Rice and lettuce almost always included at other kbbq places. 3. Japchae is overpriced for what it is. I remember the japchae here being better, but the last time I had it only had the noodles, some broccoli, and some green peppers. For such a simple and standard dish, I expected more for $15. The portion size was also small. I'm not picky when it comes to japchae, but I've definitely had better at a more reasonable price. If not for the wings, I'd probably give this place 2 stars. I'll probably be back in the next few months, but next time I'll remember not to order japchae or bbq and stick with the chicken and spice rice cakes. read more

Hard to find here. This is situated in a building off of the main road that goes through Harvard Square. Follow the signs into a dark and sketchy looking building that you would see into those old K drama series. The environment was kind of dilapidated and not well kept. Refrain from the other items and just go for the chicken, the redeeming quality of what I had over here. Everything else tasted prepared ahead of time, but left out in the dark until someone ordered, them poor orphan dishes. I tried out the Korean fried chickens as I wanted to try out how different they were compared to Kentucky Fried Chicken, the time honored American style that everyone around the world has gone too love. The chicken that I ordered was REALLY hard to eat, and I almost saw my wires (I wear braces) go loose because of it. I tried to dunk it in water to sort of lubricate it, the hardness never seemed to go away much to my dismay. Most of the chicken lacked a lot of the sour pickles, onions, cabbages, and the lettuces that you could get at the stores in Korea. It did cross my mind the servings were smaller and not as good as what you could acquire with the same amount of money if you did go to Seoul. For a restaurant mostly fried chicken as its mainstay, this is too disappointing for me, please make things right. read more

This review was for getting delivery (2x). Love their Spicy Wings and the slaw that comes with it. I think the wings could be a little bit better if there was a sweeter taste to it (I recommend dipping the wings in Coca-Cola, it tastes even better). I'm surprised they don't have a Mild Spicy option. read more

I went here with my sister and was pretty excited to try some yummy fried chicken! The chicken was on point but the location and service - not so much! The location of this place is in an awkward indoor center but that isn't what hurt this review. The facility itself did not seem very presentable and it was kind of dirty and unappetizing. Additionally, the printed menus had drink items that were just not available making the experience less than stellar. My final thought about Bonchon Chicken is that the service was hit or miss. We saw tables next to us get offered sides that were included with their dish where we had to ask the server for them. It also took forever to get a take home container for our leftovers. The chicken is delicious like many of the reviews mention but I would advise to find it at a different location if you value the overall experience. read more

Dumpy location. Blasting explicit rap in the restaurant. I told them they need to change the music - only so many times I can hear "bitch" and "motherfucker" at maximum volume while I'm trying to eat chicken wings. Food ended up not agreeing with me either. read more

I have mixed feelings about this place. First off, their soy-garlic fried chicken is very tasty with audibly crispy skin (that's because it's fried twice). The radish and coleslaw banchan provide a refreshing sweet-and-sour accompaniment. We also split the tteok bokki (rice cake in spicy sauce) appetizer. It was spicy and rich, with heaps of nondescript cheese mixed in. Also, *vegetarians beware*: there were numerous fish cakes floating around in the sauce, which isn't mentioned on the menu. My entree was the buldak, pieces of chicken in what the waiter warned me was a spicy sauce. I am a hot sauce addict. A wasabi-masochist. BRING IT ON! ... or so I thought. Yeah, they aren't kidding. I'm starting to break into a sweat just thinking about their chicken: small bits of meat coated in red-flaked goo and layered with BonChon's rather perplexing addition of cheese. Honestly, even as a spicy-food lover, I'd classify this dish as inhumane. My taste buds were completely singed by the chili and I couldn't detect any other flavors. Not to mention, the chicken itself was gnarly, teeming with cartilage, tendons, and soggy skin. But at first, you may be too overwhelmed by the spice to notice! Be careful out there, kids. read more

Best option for Korean food in Harvard Square. The chicken is great! The korean food... not so much. The lack of a liquor license is annoying. I have a habit of drinking Soju with my korean food, and when that doesn't happen I am disappointed. They sell alcohol free Kirin, but what's the point. read more

Their bulgogi bibimbap and japchae are surprisingly good. Don't order their tofu soup with any seafood. It was very fishy, probably because the ingredients were not that fresh. If you can handle spicy food, def order their spicy combo - still not the best, but good enough for me to come back for a quick fix of my Korean food craving. read more

3 stars for chicken that I could find some religion in. No more stars because the buns and pork belly "tapas" were almost inedible. Spicy pork kimchi was solid, but blow-your-face-off hot. Beer selection sucked but the prices were fine. Go get some chicken and go home. That's it. read more

Mmm... delicious!!!! I could eat the Soy Garlic Chicken everyday. The spicy was good too. This is the best K(orean)FC I've had in a long time, comparable to Kyochon in LA. My friend took the leftovers and heated them up two days later in the microwave, and claims the chicken was still crispy! Even though the menu is a weird Asian fusion, we focused mostly on the Korean. The seafood scallion pajeon was more scallion than seafood, but also crispy and fried to perfection. The coleslaw was interesting-- I liked it with rice. The ddokboggi, was pretty good, but a bit too soupy for me (we got it without cheese). DEFINITELY GET THE FRIED CHICKEN!!!!!! read more

I went to Bon Chon because Yelp said it was good for wings. They had two flavors, hot and soy sauce. The flavor of both was underwhelming and the prices comparable to other restaurants and bars that specialize in wings. The service was also mediocre. Our table ordered 20 wings, a basket of fries, and soda and it cost $35. For that, I'd take Buffalo Wild Wings or any of the other handful of bars in the area any day. read more

Don't expect a fat fingered bucket of family style when you walk in the door. This is not a wings place, it's a trendy place that sells wings. Lightly fried, crispy and delicious chicken. It's a bit expensive, but quite tasty. Delivery is amazing. They delivered to Beacon Hill in short order with no hassle. read more

I have known about this "new" Bonchon place for a while, but I have always gone to the other Bonchon restaurant in Allston/Brighton. My first time coming here, it has a very gloomy atmosphere. Just looking at the atmosphere itself, it looks great. It's a little dim, which can be romantic.. but I was there for lunch.. and I felt like I was eating in the semi darkness. I had the half & half combo for lunch (only $8!) and it was a good deal. It comes with 2 sides and I had rice & fries. I thought I wasn't going to be full with 6 pieces of chicken.. but they served a LOT of fries.. and they were good fries so I had to eat them all! My only other thing is that they still haven't gotten the license to serve alcohol yet.. which is kind of a bummer. Besides that, the food was good, services was good! read more

Bonchon half half combo!!!!! Nom noms. The half half is soy garlic flavor and the spicy flavor. I can't handle spicy, but I'd still eat it!!! We also ordered the spicy japchae, which was good. I like to eat it mixed with rice. Kind of pricey for just japchae, but it was yummy. We also ordered pork belly for grilling and that was good too! read more

Bonchon Cambridge - John F Kennedy St - Half half combo - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

This place as pretty packed and waited for maybe just under half an hour. The table we got was huge for the two of us. They had the grills on the table, but it was not available to use or on the menu that day. We ordered the crispy fish with the sweet chili sauce. It was okay. We also ordered the bibimbop which standard and delicious. Lastly we ordered the wings in soy garlic. Everything came out in a timely fashion. Service was okay since it was pretty busy. read more

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Cleaned up their act! For a long time I've avoided Bonchon because their chicken was overdone (and dry) in both Boston locations. I think dark meat is a little harder to overcook than white meat, so I always was puzzled about this. When traveling, I've been looking for somewhere that did this style of drumsticks correctly but have never been able to find any that even claimed to have drumsticks. It must be a rarity! After teaching class I walked over to Bonchon and got 5 chicken drumsticks. So still no air conditioning and it was late at night and I was a little grumpy with not much food during the day. So I didn't expect much. But at long last, someone seems to have listened to the Yelpers! The soy-garlic drumsticks were tender, juicy, and big. They were outstanding! I was giddy and on the way out, I couldn't help telling them that they were the best ever this time. I hope this is a permanent change and I don't any longer care about the lack of A/C or the dark ambiance--wow, the taste makes me forget the sweat! Maybe I'll be brave and try the Gal-Bi once again. I didn't think it was very special the first (and last) time I tried it (a year ago), so maybe they have made that dish good too! Just maybe. read more

See my video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDH4NB97cpU&t=2s Korean double fried chicken. After the first location exploded in Busan, South Korea they went global. Been coming here rather frequently ever since. If you've never had double fried chicken before the crispyness is something to experience. read more

Went there for dinner the other night. minus one star for: They don't serve beer, or any alcohol for that matter. minus one star for: Got the soy and garlic wings. I have high hope the korean wings will be as good or better than H-mart. But no, their wings are worse than what I got from supermarket. Small, heavily breaded and not very tasty. minus one star for: Got the seafood buldak. It's a seafood dish with spicy sauce with cheese on top. Holy cow! Too spicy and too weird with cheese and lots of green onion on top. Maybe it's supposed to be like that and it's good to some people. But I didn't enjoy it. My mistake to have ordered that. Besides I asked the waitress what the dish is like and she did not explain it to me. All she said was it's Korean seafood dish. read more

Got the medium combo wings/drumsticks with a mix of the two sauces. Tasty stuff. I would go here again.

I used to love Bon Chon when I lived in Boston, so when I came back to visit I decided to indulge. I ordered for delivery and after waiting over an hour, my food came COLD in all the wrong places and warm in the others. My chicken wings and dumplings we're both barely lukewarm - I literally had to microwave the chicken wings to make them tolerable and didn't even bother with the dumplings. My fries were so cold and soggy they tasted like your day old leftover fries. My coleslaw was also lukewarm, much to my demise, and lost all it's allure. And to top it all off - they can give me cold food but the soda is warm. Completely disappointed this chain has clearly gone downhill. Will not return. read more

Went there with a Korean friend for lunch: she had the spicy wings/legs combo and I had it soy/garlic: absolutely delicious and crispy! We both had leftovers to take home and the sweet server gave us both full portions of the sides we had ordered. Next time I'll go for the bimbibap! Lovely modern atmosphere, pleasant music, friendly service--I'm sold! read more

I've been waiting for a long time for the new Korean restaurant, Bulls Eye to open up. We soon found out that it is called Bon Chon. We went downstairs and the hostess was very nice. We were seated and the waiter came right over to take our dinner order. I informed him that we just sat down and we'll order drinks. They do not have a liquor license, so no soju. When we ordered our drinks, he was hovering to take our order. It actually got on the annoying side. We ordered the scallops and short ribs. When the waiter dropped off the food, he turned on the grill and immediately put the scallop on the grill. I informed him the grill is not even hot and please do not put the food on a cold grill. The short ribs order we must have gotten the skinny cow because they were not meaty and they were little. After we got the food, we never saw our waiter again. He disappeared and we had to ask other waitress who were covering the other tables. We didn't get the fried chicken where all the main reviews are saying that is the dish to get. We may stop back and try that out. read more