Bonchon Waltham

Solid option for Korean wings in Waltham. Never been a huge Bonchon fan, but I like coming here for the lunch specials. Bonchon isn’t particularly big in Korea (in fact, the first one I ever tried was in New York), but given the options around Boston, this place ends up being a good choice. BBQ Chicken (the only major Korean chain actually from Korea in MA) doesn’t offer lunch specials, and their quality has dipped recently in some Boston locations. So whenever I’m in Waltham, I like to come in here. The lunch specials at Bonchon offer excellent value. Eight wings or four drumsticks (or a mix) plus a side for $13. Flavor-wise, my go-to is soy garlic. It gives you the crispiest exterior out of all their sauces. For spice, I prefer their newer Korean yangnyeom over the Korean BBQ as it has more heat and a cleaner balance. Since Bonchon uses a relatively thin batter and their sauces run pretty strong, I actually prefer the drumsticks over the wings. The extra meat helps balance out the sauce, and the texture stays more consistent. Probably not the best Korean fried chicken out there, but for really good value meals, I recommend giving them a try.

We were at a restaurant and noticed an unpleasant smell. We didn’t really like it. To start with, for some reason the waiter had a very strong odor. It was impossible to sit comfortably when the waiter was standing nearby taking orders because the smell was overwhelming. We almost couldn’t breathe. We ordered food, but the portions were very small, and the meat tasted as if it was spoiled. Overall, we didn’t like it at all.

I ordered through Uber Eats from here, and I liked the food! The wings could be a little crispier, but they tasted good! The fries come with a lot of seasoning, but they could also be a little crispier. Overall, not a bad place to get dinner from!

The chicken was so salty it burned more than the spice. Crazy thick breading that was not crisp but hard. The rice with pork belly was utterly flavorless. The waiter said barely 3 words to us. Easily top 5 worst dining experiences I had and it was really expensive for the portion and quality. Nothing fresh, nothing flavorful. Insult to Korean food.

This was easily the worst restaurant experience I have ever had in my life. A friend and I dropped in on Sunday night for dinner. We were seated quickly as there were only 2 other parties in the entire restaurant. I have dined at the Allston branch of this restaurant many times so I was expecting a similar experience. A staff member took our order which took at least 25 minutes to arrive at the table. When we tried the food, we wished it had never arrived at all. The dumplings were so salty they were inedible. When we tried to send them back, instead of apologizing, the waiter said "okay, but I can’t take them off your bill". When we asked why he said that was their policy. The wings were really salty as well and they weren’t good either. The saving grace was the cole slaw which they brought instead of the side dish that we had actually ordered. That was good. We have all had bad meals at restaurants. It happens, and if that was the main point of this review, I would not have written it. The most appalling aspect of the entire experience was the was complete absence of any kind of hospitality or service from the two staff members working in the restaurant. It took me 3 requests for water to actually get a glass of it. The woman who took our order wandered off and we never saw her again. The man who delivered our food was incredibly rude and unhelpful. When my friend pointed out that they had not delivered the side dish we ordered, he aggressively said that we should have said something when the order was delivered (not that anyone came back to check after the food was dropped off). She responded that it was their responsibility to get the order correct. When she told him he was being rude, he responded: "well you’re pretty rude to me. I didn’t even take your order". I have worked in hospitality for over 20 years and I have never seen anyone behave like that. Waltham has a lot of great restaurants to choose from. I would recommend staying far away from this place.

Never going here again. After me and my friend were seated, we waited 20 minutes just to get our menu’s, the waiter was able to sit another group and even clean before even handing us our menus. After receiving our food, the main dish, the omelette was way too salty. The chicken was salty and the skin was hard instead of crispy. We also used ordered a dish we later didn’t receive and charged for. After we were done eating we payed and waited 15 minutes just for our change. The waiter even had to audacity to say "where’s my tip?" After all this. Had no shame in asking for a tip after this horrible experience. Genuinely one of the worst experiences I’ve had with a restaurant.

I came into bonchon the other night and had an amazing dinner with my family. The staff was very friendly made us feel so welcome. The waiter was amazing he gave us so many recommendations wish we could have picked them all. When it came to the food the food was nice and hot everything looked amazing. The wings here were so good you could taste the flavor in each bite and the vibe of the place was just over all amazing definitely coming back here soon to try the rest of the menu I suggest you guys come here and the best chicken around.