Chi’Lantro

This establishment is cashless! Cards and Apple Pay only!
This place is super busy; we went midday on a weekday and it was still a 30 – 45 minute wait!
Came for the legendary kimchi fries to see what all the hype was about and was sad at the outcome.
The fries lacked seasoning and by the time it came out to use the fries were cold. The flavors didn’t blend well together and it just felt like everything was throw together at random.
They seem to have other good stuff, maybe I’ll come back after this wound on my heart is scarred over

When visiting Chi’Lantro, definitely try their kimchi fries. It’s huge, so be sure to share this with a friend! The rice bowl is really filling as well, with beans, rice, kimchi, egg, veggies, and a choice of protein. Brown rice is apparently extra cost. Get the ribeye!
My favorite thing to get from Chi’Lantro is definitely the wings. If you don’t mind spicy, gangnam sauce is the way to go! A bit pricier than the other items in terms of the price-​to-​portions ratio ($ 7.5 for 6 wings), but it’s really good so you won’t regret it!
The restaurant itself is adorable. Lots of natural lighting and simple wooden furniture fits right in with «hipster» Austin. Service is quite fast as well.

This place is a 3.5 for me. Their transition from food truck to fast casual was done well. Also pretty impressed with their good service. Their food though, was meh at best. I got their burrito and quickly realized that although the flavors were pretty good, the execution on «fusion» was not. The texture of beans next to the Asian spiced meats didn’t do it for me.
I’ll come back, but probably only for the kimchi fries.

Didn’t try much but still loved what I had. But one important thing to note is that they do NOT take cash. For someone like me who always pays in cash that kind of a bummer, but it was still definitely worth it.
The place itself is really clean and the people who work here are super friendly! We came for lunch on a Friday so it wasn’t too packed but I imagine this place gets pretty busy on other days.
I ordered the ribeye beef kimchi fries and they were absolutely delicious! They are a little bit spicy, but then again I can only handle a little bit of spice so if that’s more your style these might not even have any impact on you. But the serving size was huge and filled me up until dinner time which I think is pretty great considering how cheap it was.
There’s also tons of other cool looking stuff on their menu, so I’ll definitely be back here again soon!

My biggest complaint about this place is that it’s so full of itself. I love the IDEA of Mexican infused Korean BBQ, but the execution is pretty stale.
I ordered the chicken tacos because how can you mess those up? They did. Over-​spiced and way too small. Also, they don’t need to use double the amount of cilantro just because it’s the basis for their name. Too much cilantro makes everything taste like soap.
For some inexplicable reason, there were no prices listed anywhere on the menu. I’m not eating a fancy dinner at a French restaurant, I’m eating lunch at a rip-​off of Chipotle (which is miles better than this place). Wound up paying 10.63 for tacos and a fountain drink. Chipotle would have actually been cheaper!
And can someone please explain why a place that started off as a food truck now only accepts credit cards? That’s not cool, new-​aged, or convenient. It’s annoying. And to top it off, they have one of those credit card machines that asks you to tip 15%, 20%, 25% or Other Amount. Sorry, but you aren’t waiting tables, so don’t expect me to tip you like you are. If you were a cash business I would have given you the coins I received from my change, but since you’re not, you get nothing.
And to top it all off, they have that crappy kind of soda fountain that dispenses the no-​name brands like «Doppelgänger.» I would prefer a place that dispenses Pepsi than this crap!
Stay away from this cesspool.

The décor was very cute but there was not a lot of seating available when we arrived. You order up front and receive a table number. The food was good but not anything too special, sort of like a Korean version of Chipotle. The kimchi fries were our favorite and was packed with a lot of flavor. We weren’t a huge fan of the wings so I wouldn’t recommend those.

Terrible service. Greasy food.
My friends and I ordered vegan tacos and fries and ended up getting chicken in both. We put the weird taste down to the fact that we hadn’t had Korean food before.
By the time the waitress came around about 15 minutes later, saying this is your actual order (with a casual «sorry guys» and no prior warning that we had gotten wrong orders), we had ploughed our way through most of the food.
I’m not going here ever again.

CARD ONLY/​CASHLESS
Great food but a little pricy
I got spicy Korean-​styled wings and honestly as a Korean, it was not Korean-​styled… However, the service was very nice and the kbbq inspired burger was great and they actually used a kbbq sauce.

Amazing fusion food combo of Korean and Mexican. I had the rice bowl with sirloin beef, basically a combo of rice, corn, kimchi, salsa, lettuce and sirloin beef in a Korean bbq sauce. It was delicious & not too spicy, just right. We shared the kimchi fries – in a word – fabulous! Spicy sauce, salty fries and the tender beef,
Melt in your mouth!

Tacos are super yummy! The rice bowls are great too but the dip set wasn’t anything special. I would definitely come here again. Perfect spot for lunch considering price and convenience.

This was the first location I had been to when I first tried Chi’lantros.
I guess I didn’t have the full experience because I only had the rice bowls and kimchi fries. All my friends told me I needed to try the KPOPS and I had no idea.
The rice bowls were okay! I don’t think they were super tasty. A the kimchi fries were pretty tasty though and that’s because I love kimchi and fries!
Rice bowls: ³⁄₅
Kimchi fries: ⁴⁄₅
You go up to the counter to order and pay and then they’ll serve the food to you!
Prices pretty average as anywhere else. This is a must go to in ATX!

Kimchi fries are bomb. Tacos aren’t bad, either, but I come for the fries.
Still not too sure how I feel about the standalone restaurant. I love the food truck concept. I’ll probably keep coming back. Alas.

I must have heard about Chi’Lantro about 10+ times from Austin-​ites to try it out.
As a Californian used to Korean-​Mexican fusion, I say eehhhhhhhhhhhhh. what’s up, doc?
Kimchi fries were surprisingly kind of dry and unimpressive. The Bulgogi tasted kind of strange and jerky-​like. If you like jerky. then I say go for it.
Let me let you in on a little secret… Kimchi tastes good with everything! I’m serious, try it with pasta and pizza (spoken like a true Korean!) SHH!
My friends told us that their Bulgogi Burrito was pretty much filled with 80% rice.
Thoroughly unimpressed. Although I can say the cashier dude was really friendly.

Since I am a LA Burger fanatic (or, used to be) I am quite critical of the kimchi fries from any other place. These fries were alright, they could be a little more crunchy and the kimchi and bulgolgi mix could be better and more flavorful, but it just falls apart after a while. And maybe it’s because I eat slowly, but so do my friends, but I’m glad they enjoyed their fries.
I got the K-​pops which were Korean sauce slathered on HUGE chicken wings. Now, these were good, but I feel like the sauce combo I ordered were not that great together. I got a sweet and sour sauce and the Korean sauce on the wings did not complement them at all. But I still finished them and they were pretty good. Next time, I’ll try another flavor. Maybe a more spicy one, since I just love hot wings.
Still, give it a try, and it’s a must-​try Austin place for those traveling to it.
Seating is very very limited. We 4 were lucky to have some when we ordered. But the way they give your orders is adorable. They have some number blocks and the ceramic number tiles and it’s just so aesthetically-​pleasing to my artsy fartsy self.

I actually came here quite awhile ago, but never did a review for it until now. The first time I came for a snack, so the only thing I’ve actually tried here is their kimchi fries. It’s been awhile, so I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the toppings consisted of ribeye beef (you can pick from several choices of meat or tofu), caramelized kimchi, onions, cheese, sriracha, and cilantro. There’s a lot of hype about these fries and I’d say it met my expectations decently well. I don’t love them, but I’d definitely want to go eat them here and there. They’re pretty good, but kind of heavy since it’s loaded with so many toppings.
Can I just take a moment here and say that although I did like these fries, I always wonder why they’re called kimchi fries. Yes there’s kimchi in it, but I feel like at Chi’lantro and other places that have these kinds of fries, there’s really not that much kimchi in it? I feel like the cheese and sriracha always just overpowers most of whatever kimchi is in the dish. It’s just puzzling that most of the spice comes from the sriracha when there could be enough spice coming from the kimchi if there was a decent amount of it. It’s been awhile though since I’ve had kimchi fries anywhere so my memory could be a bit fuzzy, but that’s what I remember from most of my experiences.
But anyways, I’ve heard good things about their other items in the menu and I’ll definitely try some of them the next time I come here!

This will be my first time having Chi’Lantro’s since they moved away from West Campus ]’: My go to items from the truck were bulgogi burrito and kimchi fries. But I got a bulgogi burger instead because I wanted to try something different, and because I thought that the burger will be less filling than a burrito.
Wrong. The burger was definitely worth $ 8 for the amount of bulgogi we got! It’s good that it’s worth the price, but not so good when you get overwhelmed and you’re not even half way through. Personally, the bulgogi in burger felt saltier than what i remembered. Though, it might just be that the rice in the burrito balanced out the flavoring of bulgogi.
Either way, I enjoyed it. Would I come back? Yep. Would I get a whole burger for myself again? NOpe. I recommend sharing a burger/​burrito/​etc. and kimchi fries so you get to try more food and don’t get overwhelmed by the portion size!
Also, the décor is super simple and cute! Lovely setting is always a plus!

Home of the original Kimchi Fries.
I remember this place when they were working out of a food truck. They’ve really come a long way. I’ve tried Kimchi Fries from a few different places but I think Chi’Lantro is the best. Be sure to stop by here, even if it’s just for the fries! (PS — Kimchi fries w/​beef is the best!)

I finally made it to the South Austin location and to tell you the truth I feel like I was the only one hasn’t been to Chi’Lantro. I’ve only had their food at festivals. I was suprised at how small the location was. I was very fortunate to find a seat which happened to be the last seat available when I arrived. I had the spicy chicken tacos with garlic parmesan fries which hit the spot. I’m a sucker when it comes to fries. Take it from me, it wasn’t that spicy and I’m the type of person who can’t handle spice at all. Sounds like I need to try more of their menu.

Back in the day after going out on 6^th street, my go to food truck was always Kebabalicious. But I soon noticed Chi’Lantro parked across the street and decided to give them a try. Oh my bulgogi! I fell in love with their kimchi fries. Everyone these days has their own version of fries with some unique topping and special sauce. None of them compare to the kimchi fries found here. Seriously the best ones I’ve ever had. The fries have a great balance of salty, sweet, spicy, savory and they do not feel overly greasy. The Asian inspired burritos and tacos are also quite tasty, but the shining star here is definitely the kimchi fries.
I’m a bit late to the party, but I finally checked out their store front after being gone for a couple of years. The kimchi fries taste as good as ever. Stop on by and give them a try!

I love Korean food and I love Mexican food. Put them together, and Korean Mexican fusion always leaves my taste buds utterly happy.
Chi’lantro was on our list when we were in Austin, and I am so glad that we made it here. The food was delicious! We had the K pops — with gangnam sauce and honey butter. The gangnam sauce was tasty, while the honey butter was somewhat disappointing because it was more butter than honey (which is fine, but reading honey butter on the menu made me think of a certain flavor profile and I did not get it). We also had the tacos — bulgogi and spicy pork — and everybody was pleased. The favorite, but of course, was the kimchi fries. They more than lived up to the hype! The kimchi fried rice balls, lime buttered rice, and simmered black beans were mediocre compared to the other things we tried.
We came an hour before closing time and it was still busy. Be warned, you have to be a little aggressive. When you see people about to be done, do not take your eyes off them and once they stand up, pounce immediately. This is a small place, and the seating situation is less than ideal. Be also prepared to hit or be hit by other people’s elbows. It was not a dealbreaker for us, but I thought I would be useful to let other people know.
Chi’lantro, your kimchi fries would be one of my first stops next time I am in Austin.