Address: | 273 Granby St, Norfolk, VA 23510, USA |
Phone: | +1 757-383-6173 |
Site: | bonchon.com |
Rating: | 4 |
Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM |
JO
Jonathan Weadon
Excellent food, when/if you get it. I have been twice. Once during the "soft opening" and once during the "grand opening" day. During the "soft opening" the portions were larger (see picture below of popcorn chicken appetizer) and things came out when they were ready, which is code for "we dont plan the cooking times very well." During the grand opening, they had a single waitress for the entire room, and while we waited for our food (for an hour) we saw numerous people come, wait an extended period, then leave. We also saw a number of people get up from their tables to complain about wait times, or to go pay at the bar when they grew impatient for their tab to arrive. I got the half-and-half chicken strip lunch special both times. The first time it was amazingly crispy, well-seasoned, and came with a hearty helping of french fries. This is absolutely a full-stomach meal at a good price. The second time I got it, it arrived ten minutes after the other two with me got their bimbimbap (one seafood, one chicken), and when my strips arrived, they and the fries were cold from having sat an extended period. The fries were still a generous portion, though. I was just sad to see about half of the popcorn chicken on our appetizer plate (attached picture was during "soft open.") One of the people with me with the seafood bimbimbap was very impressed, and really enjoyed the crust at the bottom of the dolsot. The one with the chicken bimbimbap was disappointed that the chef forgot to add egg, and there was no crust. Also, the seasoning was very bland for the most part, and relied on very heavily spiced chicken sauce for flavor. Both said the kochujang sauce was lacking flavor, and was more of a pure red pepper sauce. But there was no way any of us were waiting for the chefs to re-make the chicken bimbimbap with egg. We would have had to call out of work for the afternoon (coworkers already remarked at how long we were gone). So long as they manage their staffing better, and get better about serving appetizers before meals, and perhaps learn more about starting prep for meals at a time that allows food for a table to serve together, this will be an excellent addition to the Granby food options. For now, though, I think Ill only be ordering "to go," and well in advance at that.
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Brett Salonia
A while back, I posted a picture on Instagram of some delicious wings that I had eaten and a friend asked if they were as good as BonChons wings. I wasnt able to answer his question because I had never been to BonChon before. For what seems like an eternity, I have been checking the BonChon website to stalk their Coming Soon page. A Virginia Beach location has always been marked as Coming Soon, but it never seemed to happen. I am so thankful that someone in Norfolk stepped up and brought them to Hampton Roads, it was long overdue. My wife and I stopped in on Saturday for their official Grand Opening weekend. We went for an early dinner and the restaurant was buzzing. Luckily, we showed up at the right time and didnt have any issues getting a table. The look and feel of the restaurant was very modern and clean. We loved the high ceilings, exposed brick, and the fact that Star Wars was playing on the big screens. Heck, even the music was good. Our waiter, who seemed to also be the manager, was friendly and very attentive. Our drinks stayed full and he was very helpful when it came to helping us lose our BonChon virginity. When it came time to order, we went with 20 Garlic Soy Wings and 2 orders of Seasoned Fries. We probably could have gotten away with just one order of fries, but in the end, we were happy with our decision. In my opinion, the wings were absolute perfection... you couldnt ask for a more perfect combination of flavors and textures. When you bite into the wing, it is light, sweet, and crispy on the outside, yet the chicken inside is moist and delicious. I am not religious, but I am assuming that eating these wings is as close to a religious experience that I will ever have. The seasoned fries were great as well, they had amazing flavor and just the right amount of crisp. Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever brought BonChon to our area, I do believe that a special day should be set aside to honor your greatness. Definitely a new favorite. Highly recommend.
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Marshall Hollins
Not authentic Unorganized Inaccurate Extremely slow This restaurant does not produce food on the same scale as the Bonchon in South Korea which are amazing slow but amazing. When I arrived the place was packed but did not appear to have a designated greeter eventually a server came by and let me know it would take an hour to get seated but did not take my name or write anything down. Already starving we decided we could go check out another restaurant and place a order for pickup. So after being seated immediately at an amazing restaurant just a few steps up the street I placed a to go order they said it would be ready in 25 minutes. I return 30 minutes after I place my order and it still wasnt ready took another 25 minutes to get and wasnt correct as I ordered wings and got drums. But the real disappointment was when I realized that they didnt completely sauce the wings and they were only marginally cover with sauce. Moral of the story if you want Bonchon go to South Korea. If you have never had Bonchon in South Korea you may enjoy this but if you have it will probably disappoint and piss you off.
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sichen liu
The food is great. I loved the salmon ball and the chicken of course. However, I think there is room for improvements, and being a new place with new staff, it is understandable. 1) Our food took 45 min (fried wings and drumstick) to come to us. I understand that frying drumsticks will take around 40 min, but our starter menu item (salmon ball) shouldnt take 30 min to get to us. As we waited for our starter course, we saw people who arrived after us got their starter menu items. I also think that the store should notify the customers the estimated amount of wait time for wings, drums, or both. I have heard that KFC takes more time than other cooking methods. 2) Staffs might have varying degree of training. I felt like my waiter was dropping the ball a bit, but I will let that pass as the store is new and staff are new too. Overall, I spent about 1.5 hr in bonchon, with 30-45 min of waiting for food. I do not think that will be sustainable in the future. With that being said, I still gave good tips because I can tell that my waiter was trying! I really hope to see improvement in the future.
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lionso carrasco
I guess most people who walk in dont pay attention to their waitress/waiter. Bonchon tells you upfront that your food will take upwards of 30 minutes to cook so it can come out perfect. When we walked in our server Lyndsey immediately sat us and got our drinks. She explained how their restaurant works like how they bring everything out as they finish so you can have it fresh as opposed to all at once which I hate because your food gets super cold. We ordered the salmon avocado ball and it is was very good although I would recommend serving it with some pita chips or something like that. Next our roommate got the bibimap and she loved it! Me and my girlfriend ordered thirty wings and drums half and half with the spicy sauce and the gahlic! Oh man holy cow they were amazing. Single fried is cool but double fried is absolute perfection! I even love the aesthetics in the place its all very pleasing to the eye. I cant wait to go again that place is my new food crack!!!!!