dak & bop

Reviews 3

CH

Chelsey Lay

Saturday night, I decided to call in my order ahead before entering. When the lady answered the phone I stated I would like to place an order but we would eat it when we get there/dine in. The lady said "OK" and then handed the phone over to the hostess and the young lady proceeded to take my order. My boyfriend and I arrive at the establishment, sit in the bar area and I informed the bartender I called in an order ahead.While the order is being processed we are approached by the “manager” who was very aggressive and stated they had a strict rule that prohibits us placing an order by phone and then eat inside their establishment. I told her that when I called in the order that I specifically stated “Hi, I would like to place an order but we want to eat it when we get there. So we want to go ahead and call it in since it was an hour before your restaurant closes and we also had a movie date”. This was all stated when I placed the call. The manager had the WORST attitude and continued to state we don’t allow people to place orders and eat in the establishment. As a person who has worked in the restaurant industry and also has done restaurant consulting, my first thought was is there an issue with us having a server because if we sit at a table we have no problem tipping a server we just want to eat our food and head to our movie. The whole point of calling the order in was to save time and prevent them from having to cook a 30min meal right before closing. The manager continues to be rude and states that the hostess absolutely didn’t hear me say we wanted to eat in the establishment. The manager then starts getting extremely hostile and calls the blonde-haired hostess over and wants her to validate that she didn’t hear us say that. So then it becomes a he say/she say argument. My boyfriend and I are still trying to figure out what’s the issue with us sitting in the establishment eating our chicken and paying a server if needed, we spent 20 mins arguing with an unprofessional manager and an immature hostess. I asked for the manager and she stated she was the manager, at which I proceeded to ask who was her supervisor? she said it’s just the owners and they are very hands off. This was extremely sad news, being that I am someone who has worked in the restaurant industry, and this is the person you have representing your company. I’m left to believe this company is RACIST and we were DISCRIMINATED against. I get that you have a policy in place and we knew no knowledge of this policy until it was stated by the manager... I GET THAT. Would it have been too much to take a more subtle approach as a professional establishment and say “I’m so sorry for the confusion, go ahead and eat your food this time but going forth we don’t allow this.”? But instead we are approached by an unprofessional manager and an immature hostess who spoke very rudely to the point that I had to calm myself down and realize I was dealing with two unprofessional adolescents. My boyfriend and I didn’t understand where all the hostility was coming from until we left and we realized we were being discriminated against. I completely understand if we were bringing in outside food like Popeyes into the restaurant but it was your restaurant’s food and we spent $30 plus dollars in your establishment and we weren’t allowed to eat on your premises THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL. I work in the medical center and my coworkers and I order from your establishment frequently but after this last encounter, you don’t have to worry about us EVER returning based on how we were treated and this has been emailed to all my coworkers in the medical center and we no longer will be supporting a DISCRIMINATORY establishment like this one. As a consultant you should want your establishment to deliver legendary service but that definitely wasn’t exhibited instead we were yelled at for wanting to eat the food we bought from your restaurant inside your restaurant.

AM

Amit Garach

I was craving fried chicken and what better way to amp up the basic than with Korean spice!? Well I came to Dak & Bop for my fix. It was a Tuesday so youd assume parking in a garage would be easy but unfortunately it wasnt. Not on the first floor at least but luckily the parking gate was broken so I went to the second floor and parked for free. Doubt this is the case on the daily so I advise arriving early enough to wait for a free spot. Alright onto the food. We ordered a half order of the kimchi fries and the medium mix of 3 wings + 3 tenders + 2 drumsticks. Two flavors we chose were "hot and spice" and the "Sriracha lime". Since we knew the chicken would take about a half hour we ordered beers to keep us distracted. The fries came out in about 15 minutes piping hot. The fries themselves were cooked to perfection. The sauces didnt seem to have any special/secret ingredients added to them. There was a sweeter hoisin/plum sauce, along with Sriracha and spicy mayo. Fries were topped with sesame seeds and cilantro. The kimchi was the best part of the dish. Their kimchi had the most perfect kick to it. Its been a while since Ive had good kimchi and that hit the spot. Id give the fries a 4/5. Definitely only order a half order though cause we didnt even finish that. The fried chicken came out extremely hot as expected. The drumsticks and wings were on point with the extra crispy outside. You can actually hear every bite. The tenders on the other hand I would never order again. They were completely soggy when they came out and got worse as they sat. The hot and spicy sauce didnt taste as spicy as I expected it to but the temperature of the chicken definitely intensified the level of spice. For me it was perfect. It was almost as if the chicken was both dry spiced and then dunked in hot sauce. The Sriracha lime on the other hand was pretty awful. I like Sriracha but not my entire chicken wing drenched in it. I also didnt like how the lime tasted in the Sriracha. The wings and drumsticks get a 4/5 and the tenders get a 0/5 Overall this is probably the closest to "best" Korean fried chicken you can get in Houston. I dont think Ive had anything as crispy. Customer service is avg. Friendly faces with no frills.

JU

Justine Hernandez

All of the recent excitement surrounding Dak & Bops "incredible" Korean fried chicken made me a bit skeptical. ToreOre inside of H-Mart has been making proper fried chicken for some time, and Fat Bao has been serving up their KFC (Korean, not Kentucky) once a week for about six months. When Dak & Bop came around, flaunting their trendy charm and minimalist design, I assumed they were just another Flavor of the Week. My spread consisted of parmesan fries (garnished with parmesan, seasoning, and possibly a bechamel of sorts), chicken baos (boneless KFC, citrus slaw, house made pickles, and "D+B Sauce" a.k.a. spiced up Hoisin sauce), bulgogi mac & cheese, soy garlic wings, and Sriracha honey lime wings (only available periodically). The parmesan fries rivaled those of Fat Baos in the best way. The chicken baos left something to be desired; these definitely require D+B sauce to be worth trying. Their bulgogi mac & cheese, accurately described on the menu as "Asian beef stroganoff," showcases some of the best bulgogi in Houston. Albeit, the dish does not boast loads of cheese, the balance of flavors is just as it should be. Dak means "chicken" in Korean, so wouldnt that be a shame if their chicken didnt stand out? Luckily, the soy garlic wings are killer. The double fried exterior is like soy-garlic candy. With some form of Korean sorcery, the wings are crunchy on the outside without being greasy, while maintaining the juiciest, succulent chicken within. If your mouth has a death wish, go for the Sriracha honey lime wings when available. The heat will sneak up on you so subtly that your first comment will be, "Oh, these arent so spic-eEEH, OUCH, MY MOUTH!" So, is Dak & Bop hot or hype? Its both. Dak & Bop holds its own in the Korean Fried Chicken game, but I dont foresee the fried chicken trend lasting for long. Paying top dollar for chicken wings is about as realistic as a successful high-end street taco joint. So run, dont walk, to Dak & Bop for the best of the best while the phase lasts.