After trying the KFC from Seoulful Korean Fried Chicken, I started looking into other places that do it in the Bay Area. And Bonchon was one that kept coming up. People tout it as the best KFC they’ve ever eaten, and a lot of people thought that the KFC that I loved so much from Seoulful KFC was not on the same level as Bonchon. Clearly this required more hands-on research, so one day when we were heading down to Santa Cruz for a party, I suggested we stop in at Bonchon to give their chicken a try and see if their Korean food was as good as the hype. Honestly, I was a bit concerned given Bonchon has become a bit of a chain, and generally (but not always) chains just fall a bit short for me in terms of food quality. But, a person can’t know unless they try it out for themselves!
We stopped in for lunch, and we decided to try some of the other Korean mains as well, so we ordered a small order of spicy chicken wings, a beef bulgogi bibimbap and tteokbokki which is fish cakes and rice cakes cooked in their house hot sauce. It sounded weird and interesting, and I love to try new things, so it was something that really jumped out at me! Now when we arrived shortly after they opened, there were a couple of tables full, but the longer we sat there, the more people started coming in, so it definitely felt like it was a busy and popular place.
The chicken arrived, and it did look really good, but I was concerned that it seemed there wasn’t a whole lot of sauce on the chicken. However, once I bit in, the chicken was really moist inside with an incredibly crunchy exterior. And the sauce was actually much hotter than I thought it would have been, so it was incredibly enjoyable and moreish. It may possible be some of the best KFC I’ve had. Ours came with a side of pickled radishes which were also incredibly tasty. It completely surpassed my expectations of a chain restaurant with their chicken. The chicken is clearly the most popular thing they do as most tables seemed to just be ordering giant platters of chicken with a few sides to share around the table. I was slightly worried about the small order of wings having ten pieces, but the drums are considered their own piece, so it was really like five full chicken wings.
The mains arrived and they both looked fantastic. The tteokbokki seemed to be just a bunch of stuff piled in a rich, thick, spicy sauce. And it was really enjoyable! There was a couple of fried rolls on top with glass noodles inside. It was a massive plate though, so it was definitely not something we could finish with the chicken and the bibimbap. The bibimbap though was a bit disappointing. It was a bit dry and needed more flavor, and even with the addition of the sauce that came with it, we were still adding some of the sauce from the tteokbokki to try to improve the bibimbap.
I was pleasantly surprised by the food at Bonchon. The chicken on it’s own definitely gets a 5/5 as it was spectacular. And while the tteokbokki was very good, the bibimbap was quite disappointing. I could definitely see myself coming back here, but I think it would only be for the chicken as it seems like a bit of a waste to get anything else considering how delicious and moist it is. If you’re a fan of spicy KFC, it’s the best place I’ve found so far, so go ahead and give it a try.
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: Chicken. With a side of extra chicken.
Bonchon
2278 Westborough Blvd. Suite 208
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Can’t wait to try this place! Funny about the bibimbap and the tteakbokki, since the bibimbap has a nicer presentation.
The chicken looks and sounds outstanding, though.
The chicken is great! And there are several places around the bay area….
I’ve found out that sometimes presentation isn’t everything!