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    ChiMek Photos

    CHIMEK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - ChiMek

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    Soy garlic
    Rona B.

    Solid 2 stars because the quality has gone downhill over the last few years. This used to be a fun and delicious restaurant but it's definitely changed. The wings were pretty dry and the sauces were okay (soy garlic and "medium" which was basically buffalo sauce). We had the corn cheese which was hard to mess up. Overall this place doesn't really give the Korean fried chicken feel as much as it used too. Service was great considering we were the literal only table dining in on a Saturday evening.

    salad bar
    Phong T.

    My SO and I heard good things from friends about this place regarding their chicken wings. We decided a Saturday lunch at ChiMek was the way to try it. SERVICE We arrived around 1:45 PM for a late lunch while running errands. Upon entering, there was only one waiter/host/cashier. She greeted us and sat us down. No other patrons were in sight. Great customer service. Very attentive and thorough in explaining the menu, knowing it was our first time at ChiMek. We were checked on throughout our meal. AMBIANCE There is plenty of seating, and very spacious inside. It's a sports bar serving Korean street food, wings, beer, and soju. FOOD -Salad bar: very nice to see a salad bar with a good selection of side items to snack on. Items include slaw, pineapple, Korean pickled radish, and Kimchi, to name a few. -Dry Rubbed Fries: we ordered the garlic Parmesan rub. It was very subtle. It was a rub, so the seasoning added a savory flavor to the fries. The fries were crispy. -Garlic Soy Wings: we ordered a small portion, approximately eight to twelve pieces. This is all based on shipment and sizing of the chicken per the server. It's enough to feed two people. Unfortunately, we looked forward to the wings, and it didn't hit the spot. When I think of chicken wings, I think of crispy yet tender. The chicken wings' skin was chewy and soggy in some areas and not evenly fried. Luckily, the soy garlic flavor was good, which helped us finish the meal, or we would've just left it. Overall, it was a decent lunch. It was not the standard of what my SO and I would like for wings.

    Angelina L.

    I was skeptical when I first walked into the restaurant, as it wasn't busy, and the vibe was just a little quiet. There are 11 flavors of wings to choose, and tho the wings looked dry, they were surprisingly good. My favorites were the sweet & spicy, honey butter, and sour cream w/ cheedar cheese. Not only do they offer wings, they also have other Korean dishes. Bulgogi special ($21.99) - came on a sizzling plate, the beef was tender and flavorful, on the sweet side, topped with onions and peppers. Kimchi fried rice ($10.99) - your usual kimchi fried rice, topped with sunny side up egg. Army soup ($30.99) - this is a good one to share! Filled with ham and sausages, the soup was slightly on the saltier side, not too spicy. Corn cheese ($10.99) - sweet corn topped with melted cheese! They have a happy hour deal - Mon to Thurs 5-7PM with deal Buy 1 Get 1 free soju, $2 off appetizers and wings, $2 off pint and pitchers! Open until 11pm/12am, a great spot for late night hangout!

    Cheese corn
    Benjamin T.

    Chimek is a classic late night vibes korean fried chicken joint. With deals related to alcohol (such as pitchers and or soju) Definitely gotta go to the salad bar for all your kimchi, salad, and daikon . Food wise would recommend fries with garlic parmesan or honey butter. Chicken wings wise would recommend, the cheese corn, the sweet and spicy, the soy garlic chicken, and the green onion chicken. Plenty of parking but be sure to not leave valuables in the car as there are reported car break-ins in the area

    Albert W.

    Pricey, sides bar wasnt that good, most things are bland. What wasnt bland was the chicken. ChiMek is mixing beer with Korean fried Chicken, and yes, ChiMek has great crispy chicken and they have beer. But for a Saturday night, it was slow, yet it took a while to get our order, the spicy squid wasnt spicy at all and had 0 flavor, the sides made my stomach hurt... AND it was expensive for what this was.. BTW the sizes of plates of chicken, they count the pieces they give you. its very exact and thus not worth the heavy price tag Its not that its overly priced, its just the portions are small. I came here ta eat, not snack.. Cheese corn was good, but was very basic, the fries were something i can just get at Vons... I don't recommend this place. If you just go for some chicken and Beer, great! If you are exploring menus or are hungry, perhaps go elsewhere

    Soy Garlic Fried Chicken
    Andrew T.

    There are multiple TVs inside and a bar as well. I like how they have a salad bar where you can get as much Kim chi and radish as you would like. I enjoyed both the Kim chi and radish. There's plenty of seating especially if you have a bigger group. Staff was friendly. I love how there's multiple flavor options for the chicken. I got the army soup and the soy garlic fried chicken. I loved the sauce of the soy garlic and the chicken tasted good. Army soup tasted okay and wasn't that special.

    Honey Butter wings and Sour Cream with Cheddar Cheese Dry Rub Fries
    Audrey P.

    I am not sure what has happened(potentially ownership change?) but I was very disappointed when I went to order my usual honey butter wings. It came out pretty quickly. However, I was shocked to see only 4 pieces for the small size. Typically, the small was around 12 pieces. The price did reflect the amount when I paid, but I had no idea the portions had been changed. The interior is still the same, but I was just super confused after my recent visit. Unfortunately, the food didn't hit the way it used to, but hopefully it will again in the future.

    Bar- counter- salad bar on left, popcorn in middle (not late night), some beers on tap
    Quentin P.

    Came in at about midnight, still plenty of people and pretty busy with togo orders. Got the original chicken, normal. Waitstaff was nice and patient, they earned one star there. Chicken, are next day after air frying. Pretty greasy. Not gross but noticeable. Flavor was just ok. Quality of chicken was nice. Just not a wow experience. Maybe if I ate the chicken right away my mind would have been changed? Maybe. Will I come back? Maybe if in a pinch for some late night food. I would suggest people to give it a try. As this place survived Covid, must be pretty decent.

    Tsoy G.

    Jeeez! They charged for a rice and extra sauce now?(Ordered a soy garlic chicken, and the chicken was dry. Hardly any sauce). Hopefully they will go back to their old style and make improvements, instead. PS: I only ordered medium size because I had a feeling that there was something off about the restaurant.

    Eva C.

    We ordered and paid at the cash registrar first and then sat down at a table. Our order came out pretty fast. Split an order of soy garlic fried chicken with my friend. The flavor was nice and the fried chicken was not bad, but I've definitely had better fried chicken elsewhere. They have self-serve side dishes, which was nice since you can get as much as you want. It's also nice that they open until pretty late in case someone is craving fried chicken late at night.

    Menu
    Olee L.

    When u want a big dinner party but everyone comes at their sweet time on a busy friday, this is the place to be, with no stress for the host! Beer, wings and salad bar! Your friends can come and goes. Food comes fast and beer is icy cold! Plenty of tables and chairs, parking is easy! They turn on mood lighting when it gets dark too! Food is only average. Imagine this is a causal bar, not a sit down restaurant. We have korean pancakes, Korean fried rice, 2-3 types of wings and a stir fry beef then lots of beer! Great party and you talk loud! Love it. Will com e again.

    Interior
    Marc T.

    Arrived here with a friend on a Friday night around 7 pm; steady flow of people dining in and picking up to go orders, but we were immediately sat down at a table. Their unlimited salad bar has been brought back! Get your fill of corn, salad, and kimchi to whet your appetites. They have disposable gloves next to the salad bar, so they're definitely cautious with sanitation. What we ordered: -Honey Butter French Fries: golden and crispy. Definitely a change of flavor pace from salty fries, but these were a great take on honey butter chips. Lots of honey butter dust to maximize the sweetness! -Parmesan Chicken: My least favorite since this dry rub was strong in scent. Crunchy but Parmesan may not be their best flavor. -Sweet and Sour Chicken: great amount of garnish and sauce on this chicken dish. It does live up to its name, and the sauce really balances out the sweet and sour flavors. -Soy Garlic Fried Chicken: heaping amount of vegetables on top of the chicken, great pairing with the meat. Super crunchy and bite sized; I could eat this the entire time. Definite favorite and go-to when I come again for some Korean Fried Chicken.

    Honey Butter
    Justin C.

    Visited Chimek with a large group of friends on a Saturday evening. It wasn't crowded at all and we got seated immediately despite being a party of 9. The restaurant's spacious, has a lively atmosphere, and was super easy to relax in. As for food, we ordered the fries, a kimchi pancake, two honeybutter larges, one soy garlic large, and another large I've completely forgotten. Fries: Super solid starter, crispy, and yummy. 9/10. Kimchi Pancake: 6/10, very average pancake. It's somewhat large to make up for it, but I wouldn't recommend it. Honeybutter: 10/10. This place nails the Honey Butter chicken, maintaining its sweetness without overwhelming anything. Would highly recommend atleast one order to try it. Soy Garlic: 8.5/10. Super solid and a necessary component for any night with Korean Fried Chicken. The salad bar is also incredibly generous and I'd highly recommend taking advantage of it for the pickled radish and kimchi! Overall, Chimek is a great place to watch a game, catch up, and feast on some wings!

    side dish buffet

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    2 years ago

    The food here is absolutely delicious. The friendly staff and atmosphere make it a perfect spot for a amazing dining experience!

    Business owner information

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    Vin M.

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    Page 4 of 18

    Ask the Community - ChiMek

    You might also consider

    Kunjip

    Kunjip

    4.1(2.4k reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    I came here with my husband and cousins at around 8pm, and there was still a wait but that wait was…read moreworth it. There wasn't much space inside if you're waiting for your table. Just a small corner of seats, so I waited in the car. It took around 45 minutes for us to get seated, but after ordering, the food came out relatively quickly. This is now my go-to spot for galbijjim. I remember thinking right after we left the restaurant that night that I was already looking forward to our next visit. The rice cakes in there were chunky compared to most places, which made it a more enjoyable eat. It was my first time having sooyuk and I loved the cuts of meat in there, especially the tendon. I might just have to come here again on my next visit to SJ.

    my friend came all the way from east bay for lunch and we both left disappointed. expensive for the…read morequality and portion, not worth it. we both ordered the galbi tang. the galbi tang was mainly connective tissue and fat. only had a couple pieces of meat. the connective tissue was pretty hard to remove, even with the scissors. the side dishes had very small portions. i used to order for take-out all the time.... im confused on why the portions and quality has changed so much. service was basically non-existent. they hounded us for a tip in the parking lot in the blazing hot sun. the only good thing about our visit was the short wait time on a friday at noon. not sure if we'll ever be coming back!

    Photos
    Kunjip - Interior

    Interior

    Kunjip - #13 Cheese maeun galbi jjim ($82)

    #13 Cheese maeun galbi jjim ($82)

    Kunjip - Mul naengmyeun/cold buckwheat noodles

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    Mul naengmyeun/cold buckwheat noodles

    ToBang

    ToBang

    4.1(3k reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$$
    Takes reservations
    14 years in business

    This is one of my fave places in this Korean plaza!…read more I always find service to be so friendly and kind. They are a small team but do their best to chat with you and make recommendations. We typically get a 1-meat combo which is more than enough for our 2-3 person family. The portions are huge and the banchan is refilled so unless you're craving tons of different meats, no need to order a ton more. I also love their tofu soup, it's not too oily and also keeps well if you have leftovers. The interior is clean and well kept so you'll be comfy with a group anywhere from 2-6 people. Larger groups might be harder to accomodate but I've never had to reserve for under 6.

    The foods were good but I do not like the services here at all…read more There are 4 Korean restaurants in the same plaza which kinda weird because they all serves almost the same atmosphere. We came here around 5:30PM so we did not wait for a table of 5 at all. We wanted to order the package B which comes with 3 protein of choice with add on ramen and cold noodles but they refused to let us order package B but insisted us to order package C which comes with 4 protein of choices. I and my niece don't eat meat so package B was good for us. There are 5 of us but 2 of us don't eat meat, we basically eat the banchan with the sauces. I do not like how they handle the situation at all! I clearly told them I don't eat meat so package B was good for us and they refused. We can not finished with 4 protein for package C which had a lot of left over afterward. The galbi was $9 add on more which the portion are small and over cooked! The grilled chicken was okay, the pork belly and the beef brisket overly thin slices below average quality. The best part of this was the banchan they were given, the potatoes salad was delicious. The hot sauce was very good. I just add all the banchan with white rice and hot sauce to make the best Bibimbap ever. The cold noodles were excellent just like how it tasted in Korea. When my daughter gets up to pay for the bill, they expected us to tip them 18% instead of 15% because there are were party 5 of us. You lucky that we even tip you 15% while we felt the services was horrible! Overall, I like the foods here but the service was not right!

    Photos
    ToBang
    ToBang - Summer Special  Soju $9.99 Beer $4.99 Seemed egg $4.  Bibim Naengmyun $10 (with Special combo)

    Summer Special Soju $9.99 Beer $4.99 Seemed egg $4. Bibim Naengmyun $10 (with Special combo)

    ToBang - Mushroom soup

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    Mushroom soup

    Jang Su Jang - Maeun Galbi Jjim ($75) Spicy Braised Beef Short Ribs

    Jang Su Jang

    3.8(2.3k reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$$

    We had the budae jjigae and mul naengmyeon…read more The stew had lots of fermented kimchi flavor. If you like that, this is great. My preference is basically a shin ramyun which has a thicker broth. I loved how this had tteok, sausage, and spam. It's also wonderful that it comes out still boiling inside the stone pot. I love their fresh, sweet kimchi banchan. The place is nice and clean and the service is friendly. It's nice that they also have private rooms available. I liked it enough but if someone asked me a Korean place to eat, this isn't one that would come to the forefront of my mind. It's good but not mind blowing.

    Jang Su Jang is a solid Korean BBQ restaurant in Milpitas. While none of the dishes had any…read more"wow" factor, the food was above average and the prices were reasonable. The decor is a little dated. Service was efficient and met expectations. We ordered Wang Mandoo, LA Galbi, and a Cold Noodle Combo. The Wang Mandoo were described as king size boiled dumplings with beef, pork, and kimchi, and the sizes did not disappoint -- indeed very huge, even larger than the mandoo I've had in Korea. The meat was tender and overall very tasty. The LA Galbi came out as large slices of BBQ short ribs and were tender, juicy, and flavorful. The cold noodle combo came with cold noodles in broth plus bulgogi. You can pick other protein but that's what we chose. The cold noodles were refreshing and the noodles were chewy and bouncy. The portions were fairly large. The bulgogi was probably the most disappointing of all the dishes we had. It was tender beef but lacked some bbq flavor. I appreciated the wide variety of Banchans that were brought out to our table. They also gladly refilled the banchans as needed.

    Photos
    Jang Su Jang
    Jang Su Jang - Haemul Pajeon aka Seafood Pancake ($29), expensive

    Haemul Pajeon aka Seafood Pancake ($29), expensive

    Jang Su Jang - Jang Su Jang - inside bbq seating area

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    Jang Su Jang - inside bbq seating area

    Paik's Noodle - Stir-fried Noodle ($14)

    Paik's Noodle

    4.3(1.9k reviews)
    1.3 mi
    $$

    I've been to Paik's Noodle several times and have also tried locations in other cities! I forgot…read morewho originally recommended this place to me, but I'm glad they did Their prices are super good and their food is consistently good. I get the jajangmyeon ($10.95 for a small) every time, mostly because the noodle texture is TOP TIER. The noodles are thick, chewy, and springy, and they pair really well with the jajang (black bean) sauce. There are also plenty of ingredients mixed into the sauce, although I find it a little salty sometimes. The tangsuyuk (sweet & sour pork, $15.95) is super crispy, and I really liked the tangy sauce with it. I personally prefer dipping the pieces in the sauce so they stay crispy, but you can also pour the sauce over if that's your preference! The restaurant can get pretty busy on weekend evenings, with waits usually around 10-30 minutes. There's plaza parking available nearby. Would definitely recommend if you like or want to try jajangmyeon!

    Paik's Noodle has multiple locations around the Bay Area and it's about the same experience at…read moreevery location I've visited. I ordered Jajangmyeon and Jjamppong. The noodles for both dishes have a pleasantly chewy bounce to them. They are thick, satisfying, and cooked perfectly right. The Jajangmyeon's black bean sauce was savory with a touch of sweetness and contains peas, onions, and pork. The Jjamppong has a spicy seafood broth with squid, mussels, pork, and veggies. Every meal comes with pickled yellow radish on the side to help cut through the richness of the meal. Service is not what you come here for. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated and a part of that was because they skipped our name on the waitlist. They claimed they called it, but we were standing less than 15 feet away from the front door and never heard a thing. The music the restaurant was playing outside didn't help. Once sat inside, it is a turn-and-burn operation. Food is ordered, dropped off, payment is collected, and nothing more. Again, don't go here for the service, go for the noodles. The atmosphere is casual and bit cramped. It has a cafeteria-like feel inside and can get a little noisy. Parking can be tricky especially when busy since they share a small parking lot with neighboring businesses. Bottomline, Paik's Noodle is good for a quick and solid bite but that's about it.

    Photos
    Paik's Noodle - Counter / cooking area

    Counter / cooking area

    Paik's Noodle - Fried Dumpling ($8.50/8)

    Fried Dumpling ($8.50/8)

    Paik's Noodle - Beef Jjamppong / Beef Noodle Soup

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    Beef Jjamppong / Beef Noodle Soup

    Hong Dae Pocha - Padak KFC: Fried Chicken w/ green onion, house sauce | $25 (boneless chicken thigh)

    Hong Dae Pocha

    3.9(317 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    Not only was this the worst Korean food I've had to date, but the service was a mess. I try my best…read moreto be understanding and I usually never leave negative reviews, but this one I had to share. We ordered a combo (contains three dishes) and not only did they forget two of the three items, but when we asked for the two items they only brought out the second one over an hour later. By the time we were done with our second item, we asked them to just not bring out the third item in our combo because it was clear they hadn't even begun to prepare it because they forgot again. Despite only receiving two of the three items in our combo over the span of our two hours, they still charged us the full $73 for the combo. Additionally, they kept bringing out the wrong items and also brought out things twice when we had already received it. Food overall was undeniably bad for how it was priced. The quality of the pork in the katsu was extremely tough and stringy, not to mention how it was absolutely drowned in sauce. Kimchi fried rice was wet, as it was drowned in sauce and oil, barely fried. Chicken wings were also drenched in oil and sauce, and it was soggy, rubbery, and overall terrible. In conclusion, don't waste your time or money here. This was my second time at this establishment, and both times were atrocious.

    Came with a few friends on a Saturday night and it was absolutely packed! The drinks here are…read morerelatively cheaper compared to other pochas, bars, or pubs, but the high food prices pretty much make up for that. We shared a soy garlic fried chicken and some fries with a beer and a few sojus. We were still hungry so we then ordered combo #4 and asked to replace the fish cake soup for more fries; our server originally denied the request but came back and said he'd do it this one time. I highly recommend ordering the combos here over ala carte! All the food came out piping hot and fresh. It was the perfect bar food; just really expensive for the quality of what you're eating. The place had ambient purple lighting inside, kpop & korean street food videos displaying on the TVs, tons of korean idol posters, and music absolutely blasting overhead. I enjoyed the lively vibe, but will say the music got a bit too loud and my friends and I really had to raise our voice to speak to each other. Overall, I had an enjoyable experience and would definitely come back!

    Photos
    Hong Dae Pocha - Inner room

    Inner room

    Hong Dae Pocha - Half Fried and Half Sweet Spicy Chicken Wings

    Half Fried and Half Sweet Spicy Chicken Wings

    Hong Dae Pocha - Corn cheese!!! + cocktail

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    Corn cheese!!! + cocktail

    ChiMek - korean - Updated September 2026

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