BonChon

Cambridge, United States

3.3

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 617-868-0981
Website:
www.bonchon.com
Address:
57 John F Kennedy St, Cambridge, MA, 02138
Harvard Square
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
190 ft16 Eliot St
290 ftEliot St @ Bennett St
310 ftJFK St @ Eliot St
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No

Today

Today 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Cambridge) 12:45 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Saturday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm

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Nearby

Near this location:
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Staples
57 JF Kennedy St
20
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The Maharaja
57 JFK St
30
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57 JFK St
50
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Om
92 Winthrop St
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wagamama
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Shake Shack
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20 reviews of BonChon

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
Juicy, succulent and tender wings and drums! I would recommend the soy and garlic sauce. Consistent service and taste (be it dine-​in or take-​out).
Place rating: 3
Arlington, MA
Food is definitely awesome! Their delivery service takes waaaaaay too long. But still worth it!
Place rating: 4
Quincy, MA
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.
Place rating: 4
Cambridge, MA
Sometimes I just get an insatiable craving for Bonchon. The chicken is double fried to get a beautiful crispy skin with an audible crunch when you bite into it. They have two types of chicken flavors: soy garlic and spicy. My favorite is the soy garlic. The best time to go is during weekday lunch when they have a great lunch special, where you can get 4 drumsticks or 8 wings and 2 sides (rice, French fries, or coleslaw) for less than $ 10. I’ve tried some of their other Korean menu items but found them to be relatively pricey compared to the same quality in the Korean restaurants in Allston, so I usually stick to the chicken since that’s difficult to get at other restaurants.
Don’t be fooled by the basement location! It might look sketchy walking down there next to Staples, but once you are inside the restaurant is clean and spacious.
Place rating: 3
Quincy, MA
The food was OK. Kind of disappointing considering how good the food is at the Allston location. I came here on Friday night at 8pm and ordered 20 wings for take out. The hostess told me 10 minutes but I had to wait 30 minutes for my order.
Place rating: 1
Wheeling, IL
My two friends and I didn’t like the chicken because it was quite dry. It also didn’t have a good crisp on the outside. My friends and I have been to more traditional Korean restaurants that serve better fried chicken. I would suggest skipping this place unless you want American style chicken wings with somewhat dry meat inside.
Place rating: 2
Boston, MA
Did I come here for jerky or did I come here for chicken? Maybe I came on a bad day, but the half soy half spicy wing combo I got was a huge disappointment. The spice was there, but all the wings were overly fried — the chicken meat was incredibly dry and jerky like! With that said, the apps and entrees I sampled from my cousins’ plates were good (one was an app containing octopus) and they have sparkling matcha green tea that’s quite delicious ($ 5). Kimchi fried rice isn’t bad, a bit greasy but I’m sure would definitely be a good accompaniment for bulgogi. Might be a good idea to order a little at a time in case the chicken’s not good that day. BonChon in Allston is better. Service was fantastic — very attentive and nice, smiley staff members. I won’t rule this place out but the overly fried chicken was a turn off.
Place rating: 1
Boston, MA
Allston/​Brighton location definitely the place to go for BonChon! Better service, cleaner and bigger portions — would never eat at a BonChon again if I visited the Harvard location first.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
This is one of my favorite spots in Boston! I found it on Phantom Gourmet and was not disappointed! The soy garlic chicken strips are TO DIE FOR! The wings are amazing too! Make sure you order some chicken fried rice to go with it :)
Place rating: 4
Arlington, VA
Kimchi slaw is not on the menu but they do have it if you ask and it is awesome. It’s a cross between kimchi and cole slaw, not as spicy as kimchi and spicer than cole slaw. My rating is on these 2 menu items only. The place was full of Koreans so you know it’s good authentic Korean food, lower priced than the hibachi restaurants and if you think 10 wings for $ 22 is a bit steep then try to imitate these at home, they’re twice cooked, huge and super flavorful. Worth the trip.
Place rating: 4
Peabody, MA
Came here about 8pm on a Saturday night. Random location in a basement can easily over look it. But overall I like everything I ordered. They start you off with cole slaw and radish. Didn’t like the radish, but I’m picky with cole slaw and theirs was good! Very peppery! I ordered a medium size half and half of their chicken strips. Delicious. Loved the soy garlic ones. But as soon as I ate one piece do their hot chicken it was really hot but good. I also ordered their home style fried rice with chicken, and took a bite of that next thinking it might help with the spicy-​ness of the chicken… nope! Warning! The rice is super spicy! Maybe even hotter than their chicken!!! Anywho, delicious food but maybe next time I’ll get white rice. Oh… Bring lots of tissues. Lol
Place rating: 2
Boston, MA
L.O.L… I don’t ever remember the strips being this shitty. Where is the crisp in it? Why is it sooooo tiny? McDonald’s chicken nuggets is crispier than this. I’m giving it a two star than a one star because the wings were still decent enough to swallow and digest. This is like chicken breasts seared in hot sauce. I can make this at home. Unhappy customer.
Place rating: 4
Cambridge, MA
This was my first experience with Korean fried chicken and I loved it! Might be some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had — it was nice and crispy on the outside but not too heavy! We also got some kimchi, japchae, hamul pajeon, coleslaw, and edamame all of which were very good and complemented the fried chicken will EXCEPT the edamame. DON’T order the edamame here, it was so overcooked it was like mush. Probably the worst edamame I’ve had in my life and that’s saying something.
Overall — loved it — except the edamame — and look forward to coming back!
Place rating: 2
Boston, MA
I am fond of the BonChon in Allston, but this one does not do the chicken right. The sauces just taste really off. The spicy sauce is always too spicy while the soy garlic has too much sugar. Also, the texture is not as crispy as that of the wings at the other location. The service is just OK — I always have to ask for water and more napkins. The bathroom is pretty gross too. And please, turn up the lights! It reminds me of Abercrombie, but better smelling and with college students instead of high schoolers. I have dined here and gotten take out multiple times, so I am really disappointed.
Place rating: 5
WEST HILLS, CA
Coming back from a delicious meal at this Harvard Square location. This was my first time here.
Although they are renovating, it’s a nice change of location and atmosphere. I’m glad I came here because there was no wait time which is what you’ll NEVER find at the Allston location. I was seated right away at prime time dinner time 7pm.
We ordered garlic soy chicken (always a go-​to) but tonight I also ordered Mandu-​guk soup.
That broth is to die for. I drank all my broth and didn’t finish any of my dumplings so I took it home! But it’s so warm and huge! It’s the size of two people’s faces. You can definitely share this bowl of soup with friends.
Side dish of radishes are never anything to complain about and service was great! We had beverages on the house hehe because of connections~
Place rating: 3
Boston, MA
It would be two stars but I’m adding one back on because the fried chicken truly is remarkable. Get the half and half — I think the spicy ones are better, but your tastebuds need a respite every once in a while.
Otherwise, I have two complaints. The first is that this place rarely feels clean. I distinctly remember our table feeling greasy. The terrible lighting doesn’t help either. Second, the pickled vegetables that they give you with the chicken are not good. They taste like they’ve been marinated in Splenda; they have that flat aftertaste that to me, reminds me of artificial sweeteners.
We used to try and get food here to go with our chicken, but the more things we try, the more we’re disappointed (a really greasy and bland seafood scallion pancake comes to mind).
Place rating: 5
Cambridge, MA
How this place isn’t a 5⁄5 across the board is beyond me.
True story: after finishing a 3 year stint of total vegetarianism, BonChon is the first chicken I really craved.
Their sweet garlic wings and drumsticks are pure crack. Really, that must be the secret. If you haven’t tried it yet, you probably shouldn’t; it is the worst decision for your waist line and bank account ever (but best decision for overall life happines).
Place rating: 3
Washington, DC
I had been to BonChon a couple of times in NYC at their Times Square location, and was relatively impressed by the crispy and delicious chicken and chic décor. I was intrigued that BonChon had a Harvard Square location, and came to check it out.
The restaurant is located in the basement of a building, and their ventilation system is very poor. I left smelling like oil and smoke. I was essentially eating in a greasy dungeon.
We ordered some fried chicken to split among the table, and I ordered a sundubu for myself. Everything was kind of «meh.» The chicken lacked that notable extra crispiness, the flavors did not permeate into the meat, and the sundubu was rather bland.
Korean options are extremely lacking in the Harvard Square area, but I wouldn’t give this BonChon a second glance unless you have some serious cravings.
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
I really thought the chicken was good here.
Hell I would take it over Crave down in Chinatown.
Soy Garlic and Hot were awesome along with fries. Ordered some cold noodles with this and was super full. Overall service was really nice and quick.
Was kind of weird when we asked for a booth seat but was rejected because they were saved for «others» when it was less than a quarter full.
Anyways, I would come back if i had the cravings!
Place rating: 3
Boston, MA
Fried chicken. You can hardly go wrong. BonChon was ok fried chicken, but I had such high expectations I might have set myself up for failure. With two options for sauce (hot or not), I tried both and they were good. The main thing I thought was odd, was that the drumsticks were the size of a rotisserie or grilled chicken drumstick: huge, plump with dark meat. The little wing-​ettes (if you will) were tiny and small, making for a weird aesthetic, certainly, but also different tasting experiences. The crispy coating was yummy, but again, in a very odd ratio with the different types of chicken.
The other main turnoff was the cleanliness of the place. The bathroom was not clean and the tables were barely wiped off. There are no windows, as it is in a basement, and you can see right into the kitchen (and not by design).
Again, I think all the hype killed the place for me. It wasn’t bad and it wasn’t exceptional.