Crave Mad For Chicken

5 stars for the food, 5 stars for the service, but 4 stars for the price. This place, I think, has the best Korean fried chicken (maybe because of their really good corn sauce thingy), even better than bonchon! Bibimbap was good (have it with beef-​authentic). Their rangoons were also really good. You can just taste that they didn’t cheat on ingredients (there was a lot of crab and the wrapper wasn’t too thick). The service was also great. Melvin was really friendly and gave us everything we asked for (pitcher of water and a lot of extra sides-​we are very needy customers) with a smile. However, it’s not cheap to eat here. I do recommend eating with friends to split the costs or have a coupon! Overall, I’ve never had a bad experience with this restaurant!

To me, this place doesn’t beat Bön Chon in terms of flavor. The first time I went there was the best, then it got progressively worse. Also, the few times that I’ve been here, the service was a hit or a miss. During my last experience, the waitress didn’t check up on us and got irritated when we tried to get the check from her.

The double fried chicken here is the best in Boston. It beats Bön Chon in my opinion. The chicken is fried to perfection and every bit is filled with juicy flavor. There’s a nice crispness in every bite that I don’t know what to compare it to. Don’t get the boneless. They’re good but they don’t compare to the wings.
The service is good. They have a nice casual atmosphere if you want to have a meal with a group of friends. They also have a lounge/​bar area of you want to catch a game and have amazing chicken. If you haven’t tried it I would put it on the top of your 2016 priorities.

Great vibe in there on a Friday afternoon. It was not busy at all! I had the sushi pancake which was excellent. My friends loved the fried chicken there.
Truffle fries are not as good as yard house truffle fries!

Had a lot of fun eating here. It was a high energy restaurant and just had a pleasant overall atmosphere. The Parmesan fries were absolutely delicious, and came with ketchup and another great sauce. We came in a larger group and ordered both the non-​spicy and middle tier traditional wings. I definitely preferred the spicier ones, it seemed like they had more flavor. The side dishes with the wings were good, and the pickled daikon helped to soothe the spice a little bit.
Definitely had a great group experience and would highly recommend it!

Finally gave this place a try.
I ordered buffalo and Bbq chicken. What separates this chicken from other places is the outside of the chicken. It’s cooked just right.
If I’m ever around that area I’ll probably stop by again.

Crave is one of my favorite places. One huge thing to like about the place is the parking lot in the back. You don’t have to worry about finding parking in Chinatown which is always busy. You just need to keep the receipt after.
The fried chicken is comparable to Bön Chon. We usually order the half and half but I personally like spicy ones the most. Just make sure not to order the super spicy one since it could be too spicy to even taste the soy sauce flavor. And sometimes the quality is not consistent so could be a hit and miss… But most of the time its pretty good. So I’m taking out 1 star here.
Additionally, they have great appetizers and maki rolls too! I love the jalapeño bombs and the Capitol and Kingslayers rolls. They are super delicious!!! The presentation also looks very beautiful! The Kingslayers roll has crispy taro strings on top and it’s truly heaven!
I must say though the waiting time can be very ridiculous. This is the reason why they’re not getting 4 stars… Their place is big but the table arrangement doesnt make sense, very excessive waste of space. You never get a good estimate of waiting time. And even when restaurant is empty, they won’t let you sit down if not everyone in your party is there. We had to stand there starving and waiting for a table. My friends were really frustrated and they finally let us sit when we told them we wanted to start ordering. So beware!

Good service from our waitress but wish she gave me more lemon wedges instead of just one small one when I asked for it for my water.
Been here a handful of times because it’s closer than going to Bön Chon in Allston. But in the future, I might just have to travel to Bön Chon to get my Korean fried chicken fix. The Soy Garlic chicken at Crave had no flavor whatsoever compared to Bön Chon. It’s such a disappointment because it’s really hard to find parking in Chinatown! They got the crispy part right but it still wasn’t worth me circling around Chinatown for a spot for the chicken here.
If I come back it will only be for the appetizers. The salmon dumplings, jalapeño bombs and parmesan fries are the best! We also had the Okonomiyaki yesterday — Japanese pancake with seafood and dried fish flakes on top. It’s a pretty large order so you should share it with a group of 6. My boyfriend and I can only eat one slice each because the flavor was so strong it got sickening after the first piece.
Will come back more often if they bring back the free parking lot in the back and if they lower their prices.

Hands down, the tuna dumplings are my fave. It’s the perfect bite. Savory and just a bit sweet from the citrus ponzu sauce. The sushi boat was really tasty, each nigiri has a special twist. Of course the fried chicken is to for as well. We ate so much we could barely walk home! My friends from Georgia loved it so much they ate here three times in 4 days while vacationing in Boston!

I now see why the reviews are not as high compared to how delish the wings are. The service is AWFUL! Dealing with the hostess or whoever answers their phone for deliveries really needs an attitude adjustment. You work in the hospitality industry for crying out loud don’t act like you’re doing all of us a favor FFS!
I ordered delivery through GrubHub and not only did the food take almost 2 hours, when the food arrived they forgot one of our appetizers. When I called to ask about it the RUDE girl on the phone kept saying, «UMM well it’s NOT on the order form we received. It’s not.» NO apology at all just an effed up attitude. Well since it’s all computerized and grubhub sends the same copy of the order to the store and to the user I highly doubt that one appetizer just randomly went «missing» on that order sheet that CRAVE received. The girl blatantly lied to put the blame on Grubhub.
I don’t think I’ll be eating here again, the wings aren’t worth dealing w/​that stank attitude.

So crunchy and so delish! Upon first entering, Crave looks like your average pub. But don’t be fooled! They serve some next level fried chicken. It’s super crispy on the outside and still juicy on the inside. We went as a huge group so we were able to order a lot of food. There was a lot of variety such as side dishes with corn and radish and even sashimi. My favourite was the spicy garlic and the soy garlic wings. The extra spicy garlic wings were ACTUALLY extra spicy… so yummy but so spicy at the same time!

Seriously, what’s up with the spotty service here? Since when do people have to wait 20min for fries? I know this isn’t a McDonalds that prides itself in fast service, but damn. All you gotta do is throw those pre-​cut potato sticks into a fryer. When my table decided to bug our waitress about it, the order magically appeared with seconds. Hmmm suspicious…

«WHOOOOOOOOO!» was the last thing I said as I was leaving that Wednesday night.
I wasn’t planning to go here for my 21^st birthday since I come here so often, but that day my In-​laws came along and ordered the typical fried chicken, the crazy eyes sushi, Parmesean fries (Oohh that chipotle mayo dip that goes with it…*drool*), the deep fried dipped in batter jalepeno poppers, the snow crab salad and … *drumroll* the 2 gallon Mason jar mixed drink!
I didn’t realize my sister in-​law ordered a 2 gallon drink after I started sipping on my fruity moscato. The drink came out and my eyes popped. I knew the menu said for 4+ people but… anywhoo the only ones drinking it was me and the sister in-​law (Plot twist: she’s a lightweight) I drank ²⁄₃ and I was pretty hammered. By the time the check came was was swimming on the floor (I know, I’m a lightweight as well and I don’t plan to drink again for a while after that stint).
Overall I had a fun time. The food came out quicker than normal :) But it’s always hard to flag down a server, but everyone is always nice and friendly when I do see one.

It’s been a while since I updated this place so here goes:
I’m not a big fan of crave. I’ve been here a couple more times since the last time I reviewed this place but it’s not that special. In terms of big groups, alcohol, some chicken and appetizers, Crave is a great spot. But quality-​wise, the food is ALRIGHT.
We ordered okonomiyaki and their famous fried rice with an egg.
Both dishes came out luke warm and that really made me sad. If the food came out hot, I would have upped this review to ⁴⁄₅.
Service here is very chill, most employees are young and the atmosphere is almost a hit or miss. Sometimes it’s SUPER loud that I can’t hear myself, and other times, it’s great. In terms of comparing this place to another chicken place, Bön Chon still has my heart and burns a hole in my college wallet.

When I mentioned to my fiancé that I’d never had Korean fried chicken (despite being completely into anything and everything Korean), he decided that he needed to induct me into this branch of Asian cuisine. So, after getting off work on Friday, we grabbed another friend and made the trek over to Crave.
To start off, we ordered the Wonton Mozzarella Sticks, Truffle Fries, and Sushi Pancake. The mozzarella sticks weren’t anything particularly noteworthy, although we find that their wasabi marinara sauce seems to taste more like cocktail sauce. Truffle fries were super tasty (so much truffle flavor!) and something I’d definitely order again. The sushi pancake was a bit of a wild card — our waiter recommended it, so we decided to give it a chance. I wouldn’t have even realized that the breading was a crispy rice pancake if it didn’t say so on the menu, but the different fish and sauces came together well atop this creation. Also recommended.
We also ordered a bottle of their yogurt soju, which was alright. Suitable if you’re in the mood for yogurt soju, but I’ve definitely had much better.
For entrees, we ordered the Chicken and Waffles with furious (xtra spicy garlic) sauce (my order), small boneless chicken with angry (spicy garlic) sauce, and small boneless chicken with mad (soy garlic) sauce.
I’m usually a huge fan of burn-​your-​tongue spicy (and especially Korean spicy), but something about that just didn’t feel right with their fried chicken. This is my first time trying Korean fried chicken (I’ve only ever had southern style in the past), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just a preference thing. Alas, take my opinion with a huge grain of salt. I also tried my fiancé’s and my friend’s angry and mad chickens, and actually enjoyed those more, so maybe I’ll just have to reserve my spicy craving for more traditional Korean dishes.
However, I will say that the waffles were phenomenal! Nicely crispy on the outside but warm and soft on the inside… served with maple syrup and whipped cream… and sprinkled with a light dusting of powdered sugar. SO GOOD. If I go back, I might actually try to get just an order of waffles… OM NOM NOM.

I need to stop going to restaurants insanely hungry because then I start ordering the whole menu. Guess it’s good for my review right now since I have more to write about :)
We ordered chicken combo (½ and ½), seafood pancake, Parmesan truffle fries, and a maki roll called The Governor.
Chicken was pretty good. Still don’t know if I can decide if I like BonChon or Crave better. The spicy is pretty darn spicy (probably more than Bonchon), so get ready for your mouth to be on fire. Chicken takes awhile to come out, so I would definitely order that first. I’ve heard different reviews on how some people like Crave better cause it’s more fresh. One thing I didn’t like we’re the radishes. BonChon definitely has juicer radishes. The corn side was interesting.
The Parmesan truffle fries are SO amazing. Super Parmesan-​y and truffle-​y. ugh. And the sauce that it comes with is so yummy. I. Want. It. Again.
The seafood pancake was good, didn’t seem crazy special from other places. Kind of wish it was a little more fried.
Lastly, the The Governor maki was good! Yellowtail and jalapeño. It was a break from all the fried food we had.
I would come back! BonChon is much closer to where I live so depending on if I want those fries or not… I think that would be my deciding factor for if I want BonChon or Crave.
Staff were very nice and always attentive to anything we needed :)

I don’t think I’ll be craving this place, but it wasn’t repulsive.
I went for a lunch special of 4 wings and 2 drums, since I wanted to try both. The salad and soup that came along were okay, seemingly run-​of-​the-​mill Japanese bento material. The angry sauce on the wing was pretty strong and did raise my internal temperature a bit. The only thing I didn’t care about the sauce was that there were too many sweet notes with the sauce. I guess I’m just more used to a buffalo wing sauce and don’t necessarily want that attempt of a sweet and hot balance. I thought the chicken was reasonably crispy for both wings and drums.
I don’t really dig the décor that much. Service was average but a tad slow. Considering the nominal size of the wings (not malnourished but not sizable either), I was not impressed with the price either of $ 10.

I rounded up to 4 stars because Chinatown needs a place like Crave: Mad for Chicken. It’s a casual joint where people can come to drink booze and eat pretty good bar food.
They have giant «punch bowl» (though they come in giant kimchi jar– looking vessels as opposed to bowls) that are fun to share. I don’t think the alcohol content is super high, as I’ve gotten lots of ice every time I’ve ordered, but the sweet syrups do a good job of letting the alcohol hit you by surprise. So be careful.
All the chicken is fried to order so if you order the drumsticks, your order will take 20 minutes to come out of the kitchen. Wings don’t take as long to cook so if you’re in a rush and want fried chicken, go with those. As for sauces, they are really not kidding when it comes to spicy, and I love that.
Don’t skip dessert. The fried ice cream is too delicious.

Came here with my friend for dinner on Tuesday. We shared a truffle fries appetizer and split the medium combo (8 wings and 4 drums), half of them «mad» (soy garlic) and the other half «angry» (spicy garlic).
The chicken takes a while to prepare, but in the meantime, our truffle fries came and they were delicious and unique. It comes with ketchup and what I’m guessing is some sort of truffle sauce. The serving size was very generous too, and I actually already felt kind of full by the time our chicken arrived. However, it was worth the wait and the fullness, because this was by far the best Korean fried chicken I’ve had. The chicken was crispy and thoroughly coated in sauce, the meat was tender, and the pieces were decent size.
The service was great — nothing to complain about.
The ambiance and décor is also nice — very clean and large space with ample seating. The place has a nice modern look.

I was so excited when Crave was coming to town. I heard from my friend in NYC that the wings are comparable to Bön Chon wings, and boy aren’t those delicious with a bottle of beer? However, I left disappointed after my visits. Truth is that this Crave is not up to par as compared to the ones in NYC or any Bön Chon.
I chose the 4 wings and 2 drumsticks combo with half and half. They came with my choice of 2 sides. I had corn salad and pickled radish. Both were decent and served as good balance to the savory deep fried chicken. The chicken, on the other hand, was a total let down. They were not only small but also covered with so much breading. When you bite into it, you won’t find much meat on your wing or drumstick. The flavors were also off from what I was looking for — Mad (soy garlic) was not as flavorful as Bön Chon wings and Angry (spicy garlic) didn’t have enough kick to it.
The next time I had the sushi lunch special. I got 2 maki rolls, spicy tuna and spicy salmon, which came with miso soup and house salad. The miso soup was pretty standard. House salad had a mix of springs and a refreshing dressing! Both maki tasted fresh and had generous portion of tuna and salmon. However the rice was a little too sticky for sushi. Also each piece was quite large that it was a little awkward to consume each one in one bite. Overall it’s not a bad deal for $ 10. You’ll definitely be full afterwards.
The Asian fusion concept is a great idea, especially among the gazillion traditional restaurants in Chinatown. The interior is modern and hip. There is a dining section as well as a bar and lounge area. Drink selection looks pretty cool. Staff are polite and always have my food ready for pick up on time. I just wish the food overall was better executed.
I most likely won’t return for the chicken but I may come back to grab a few drinks and wind down.

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