Bonchon

I was so happy a Bonchon finally opened up in this area. I first experienced Bonchon when I visited Boston and it was amazing. However, I'm sad to say that this Chapel Hill location doesn't meet the expectations. The food was incredibly slow. Be prepared to wait up to 45 minutes. The wings barely have any meat and look more like tiny drumsticks. In fact, some customers have complained that they ordered wings and received drumsticks instead because that's how much they look like tiny drumsticks. Additional sauces and rice cost money. The bibimbap stone pot is too hot and overcooked the rice. Normally the stone pot is supposed to make the rice crunchy, but it burnt the rice instead.

Overall my husband and I were very disappointed in our experience at Bonchon. We’d previously heard positive things about the chain and excitedly awaited its arrival in Chapel Hill. We waited about 10-15 minutes to be seated once we arrived, which was no big deal. However, it took about another 15 minutes for us to have our order taken and then it took an hour for our food to come. We arrived over an hour before closing and we didn’t even receive our food until at least 30 minutes after closing. In terms of the the food, the chicken wings were tasty (despite the long wait), but the fries were INCREDIBLY small and overpriced. We ordered seasoned fries (which were $7) thinking they would be enough to share and that would be a specialty, step up from the regular fries (with fresh Parmesan and seasonings). They were not specialty, or enough for two people, they were literally just fries with seasoning with a portion size that I would’ve expected from the $4 fry option. It also took a really long time for us to receive our check and to go box. Honestly it kind of felt like everyone around was really unclear on what to do and restaurant operations/procedures. I definitely understand that there is a learning curve for a new restaurant, however this opening felt rushed. The bar isn’t stocked yet, service was extremely slow, and there were no managers walking around checking in about service. If you’re going to check this place out I’d wait a while and see if they work the kinks out. I’m not sure if I’ll be back because there are definitely other cheaper and faster Korean Fried Chicken spots nearby my home in Durham.