Boka

Decent price for the food and pretty filling. Although it is decent, I can't say that I would choose it over other Korean places if I had the choice. I would personally prefer to just take the train a bit and go to K-Town and get Korean fried chicken there. But if you're nearby and looking for Korean food, Boka is a good option.

Food: Ordered the spicy wings and they were delicious. Only ordered 10 and they were enough for two people. Fries were great as well. The drink was okay. Service: Because there's so many people at Boka, you have to wave someone down for you to be able to order. Atmosphere: Popping and gorgeous looking people. Beautiful. Nice environment.

I’ve been to place more times than I can count. It’s a monthly staple for me and the homies. Garlic soy chicken is like many others have mentioned amazing. I’ve yet to be personally disappointed with any item I’ve ordered at this place. On the down side the restaurant is that it is cash only (they use to take credit cards) and I have at times felt a little ignored by the waitstaff. Otherwise, I truly love this place, nice laidback chill environment with great food.

I came here with my partner a couple weeks ago. The wings are delicious. She liked the tuna rice ball, but felt there wasn't enough tuna inside. The pork belly baos were rather small, one had almost no meat in it. Overall, I think there are Korean restaurants in the area with better value for the money, but I only came here once so I didn't try that extensive of a selection of their menu.

The chicken wings were awesome in both flavors! As was the meat dish and dumpling appetizers that we ordered. The atmosphere was casual and fun. Very relaxed bench seating that easily fit our large party of 12! I would definitely go back!

The wings are awesome. The beer was awesome as well. Really good. I really really wish they renovate the restroom at some point in the future. It really needs a update. The odor is pretty bad in the restroom. Some deodorizer goes a long way. I came here alone. I dont think I would bring my family or a date.

Heads up: the restaurant is cash only. I’ve lived in the neighborhood for a long time and this was my first time trying Boka. We got there at around 4pm before any crowds. The restaurant has a chill vibe. We got the garlic soy wings which were great. The bulgogi was really tasty and overall the bibimbap was good. Would dine here again for sure. Didn’t have any issues. Hope this review helped, if so give it a 👍🏼

All in all, this was a pretty great experience. We went for a little sit down dinner on date night and we were impressed with the food. I had the bulgogi, which was delicious and my girlfriend had a noddle soup that she really loved, but I think we both agree that the fried chicken was the best part of the meal. It was perfectly crispy and the meat practically fell off the bone. My mouth is watering reflecting on it now. The spicy wasn’t too bad for the gringos out there who can’t handle much. And truly, the service was phenomenal. The wait staff was incredibly nice and attentive, which made for a great experience. If I can have any complaints, it’s just that it’s cash only(but whatever), and there was one guy bussing plates that was just too into it. If you finished with any utensil or plate, he’s come by and make it disappear. I get that some people are into that, but I find it oddly disruptive, however, it was a mild inconvenience at best, so who really cares? Loved it. Killer fried chicken!

I mean it's literally all you can eat Korean Wings and Beer. You get what you signed up for and the vibe is all dependent on the people you go with. That being said, I had a great time and would definitely come back again. They serve only Sapporo beer in a pitcher (Sapporo is good with Asian food) and two flavors of chicken wings or drums: soy, or spicy. They were good wings but not mind blowing ones that I'd want after the 10th wing. So we took it easy but ate and drank enough to have a good time. Solid and fun experience! Now, I know a few friends that would absolutely get me plastered and make this night even fun, and maybe I'll rerate the experience then, but we had a good time nonetheless not going too hard as we all had work the next day. Note: $27 per person cash only with a 90 minute time limit. Any excess unfinished by then will be charged, and it does take quite a while for the food to come out. Don't come here expecting to be competitively eating and getting bang for your buck, just come here for a good time (or order 100 in one go and knock yourself out LOL)

High-quality Korean fried chicken. Came here with a group of 3 and we got the AYCE deal - 90 mins of all-you-can-eat fried chicken and beer. We ordered 4 trays of medium fried chicken combo half-and-half (soy garlic and spicy), and 2 pitchers of Sapporo beer. Each tray contained 10 wings and 5 drumsticks and we were able to finish all 4 trays, but had about a pitcher of beer left. The chicken was flavored excellently and super crispy. This may be one of the tastiest Korean fried chicken wings I've eaten in NYC. Service was a bit slow but overall good.

Kim chi fried rice Korean Chicken Wings Watermelon Soju from an actual watermelon Always delicious!

After many years of consuming plenty of Korean fried chicken spots, i had to update my review of Boka. Boka was my introduction to Korean fried chicken so it holds a special place in my heart but i would not give it a perfect score as I once did. Boka has very good Korean fried chicken. the crisp is right and the flavors are good. The wings are better than the legs though. The flavor isnt marinated and doesnt seep into the meat at all so when you are done with the skin, you are left with fairly tasteless meat. it seems the flavor is only on the outside. The wings are smaller so you get a good ratio of flavored skin and meat. They have an AYCE deal going on for $25 unlimited wings so thats pretty awesome. The price is decent but be warned...is it cash only. I've had better korean fried chicken but this is always a solid choice so I would still recommend if you are in the area.

I'll start with the bad, cash only and expensive. I'm also pretty sure they charged us for the free soju we got. Watermelon juice was not worth it. If they accepted card I'd probably be willing to give this place a 5. Came here with a few friends and it was a perfect choice. The portions were big enough that we were able to try each other plates. The fried chicken was fried to perfection. Other than that, I've had better. The wings were noticeably better than the legs. The pancake personally wasn't for me. I won't say one way or the other about it. I wasn't a fan of it. The French fries were great. We got them with bulgogi. I don't think there was a lot of meat on it but it was good. The bulgogi was good, thin slices with veggies. My friend couldn't finish it. The little bit that I tried were good. Finally the Galbi Jjim, it was delicious! I got it spicy but it wasn't spicy. What it was, was hot! I had to wait for it to cool down. The meat was great and easily came off the bone. I would come back again.

Service: Friendly, good service! Food: I love their duk-bok-ki and their Bibimbap. I asked the owner, how do they make their vegetables in bibimbap so soft. They use this cooking technique called "blanching," and they DO NOT use oil on the vegetables. Sounds healthy and it was delicious! Loved it.

The worker tried to force me to give a tip. A couple co workers recommended I come check out this spot so I came before work. I ordered the 10 pc Fried Chicken which tasted great but I only ate a couple wings before I had to pack it up and go to work. I only spent about 10 mins in the spot. Shout out to the chef the food definitely came in time but when it was time to pay I paid the price of the food. The guy kept emphasizing the tip. Which I responded "Is it mandatory?" Because he's over here making me feel like I'm obligated to pay the tip. I've dined into plenty of places and being so focused on one person in an empty restaurant about a tip is crazy. Also, I wasn't oppose to paying the tip I just felt like it's the approach. If the business really needed the tips to help them I'm all for it but if you're just stalking me for a tip that's crazy. I do food reviews and that is just a turn off.

What I don't appreciate from restaurants is including automatic tip in the charge then having the how much tip to add at the bottom. We tipped on top of a tip. Its a sleazy move. The music played inside was nice and interesting, it was smoothing piano at first then they started playing 2016 hits haha. Both were a vibe. The lighting inside is pretty as well. These two things are a 5/5 for me. Food - only got 10 wings half/half and split this with a friend. The spicy is definitely spicy which is great. The soy garlic was a nice break from the spicy. The wings are small though and some of them were extra fried and this overcooked the meat, which made it very hard to eat/almost to the point of being inedible. Also the banchan was extra/not included

Great Korean fried chicken, sweet and spicy Open late Cocktail pitches will get you drink

Every trip I make to NYC, I dine at Boka. Their Boka Fried Chicken is a MUST. I personally don't like spicy so I have ordered the soy garlic flavor. The breading is a little on the heavy side but it's perfectly crispy and delicious. Their Fried Rice pairs well with it. I personally love the veggie fried rice. It has a mixture of green beans, green peas, carrots, onion and egg. It's simple yet flavorful. This is a cash only restaurant so be prepared!

Need to come here during the happy hour but come with an empty stomach. one of the options was all you can eat chicken and beer. the event is from sunday to thursday from 4-7pm. the portion sizes are big and and the there is plenty of meat on the wings. there are different options in terms of wings and different different sauces which make it worth the stay. the wings do hit the spot after a long day.

Came here with friends after some drinking at a local bar since people wanted fried chicken and wanted some no frilly/nonsense kind of place. Boka checks off all those boxes with plenty of seats, somewhat quick service, and classic Korean alcohol. We ordered a bunch of fried chicken for the table as well as a kimchi pancake and seafood stew. Everything tasted really good - about as good as any similar Korean place can be. Annoyingly, the restaurant was cash-only, which wasn't an issue for us, but come on, in this day and age I would just want to tap my card or even just Venmo. I don't really understand the bad reviews - this place is literally just a bunch of tables, alcohol, and Korean drinking food... not sure what kind of westernized service they expect.

Ordered: Boka Steak & Eggs (~$25): BBQ beef short rib over kimchi fried rice and 2 sunny-side up eggs. Medium Korean Fried Chicken Combo (~$15): 6 wings and 3 drums with soy garlic and half spicy sauces. Aya's take: you can't go wrong with Korean! And both these dishes hit the spot. Rich flavors, crispy chicken, and great for sharing.

Each time I come to NY, we love try new restaurants that offer Korean Fried Chicken. For some reason the bay doesn't have a solid spot for me to go too. Korean fried chicken and Watermelon soju? Perfect combo. You have an option of heat? But we opted out to soy glazed. Peep out my photos! No complaints and I would definitely come back.

Literally the best and crunchiest Korean chicken wings I've ever had. No frills spot on St Marks near Astor Place. Had the medium assortment of wings and drumsticks... both spicy and sweet. Amazing. High end culinary experience disguised as a basement dive bar. Perfection.

The best Korean fried chicken in the city! The crisp and crunch is unreal and it's so juicy. The spicy wings are very spicy but still delicious. The kimchi fried rice is really good as well. The prices are very reasonable. The service is fast

Their wings are amazingly delicious! Go try them! Service was good, but I was there on a Tuesday at 5pm and the only one in the restaurant.

This is the most horrible food experience . They put tons of MSG inside the Galbi tang soup. After I ate , I have all the allergy reaction. Get all the redness and can't even breathe. Need to go to meet doctor. Super bad experience on Saturday dinner time.

We got there and were immediately seated but, the server took a little while to come around. Once they did, the food came quickly, and it was delicious. The seats were a little wonky, but it was a nice space.

The food slaps! It was packed so I ordered to go to take back to my hotel. I got the wings and rice. Can't wait to visit NYC again to go back.

Love it here. Always come with my partner for the sticky wings and lychee drink. Vibes are great and prices are fair

The recent visit the food was almost not edible here... Bulgogi $19 - it was so salty, greesy, heavy, and unhealthy.... Kimchi Jigae Soup $15 - it's fine just very dense and heaby in a small bowl. I kept adding hot water in to dilute it at 1:1 ratio. Vegetable Pancake $7 - just looks sad even looking at it. Flavorless and soggy. It's sad to leave this review during this time but we come out to support restaurant and restaurant also need to look at what they are serving. I understand korean food we are suppose to eat with rice (well the rice was the only perfectly cooked item among what we had), but this was just unacceptable. It was becoming a pain every single bite, and towards the end felt sick from the food. And since it was extremely heavy, the flavor in my mouth and my body made me feel nausea throughout the rest of the day. Felt such a waste of money and damaging my body from this meal. Never again.

Chicken wings are very tasty. I always get the soy garlic flavor! It never disappoints. This place is cash only with lots of seating

The fried chicken is good on another level. My family order some jap chae and two large drumsticks with a seafood pancake. Firstly the drunk sticks are way larger then I expected and so full of meat! My family was so hungry and still had leftovers with five people. Jap chae was delicious and the pancake I recommend if into seafood. (Other options are probably just as good) Soy garlics for the drumsticks In the image below I have the location from outside, menus and the food I got! Totally recommend for you to try! Also the waiter was extremely nice! Gave us beer on the house

I love Boka. I have been coming here for over 15+years and those wings keep reeling me in. Always excellent and fun food to eat w your hands. Just saw that from Sunday (or Monday...I forget) to Thursday at 4p to 7p, there's an all you can eat wings for $25 but for 1.5hrs! All members of party must participate and if you don't finish your wings, it's $1 per wing that's leftover.haha. I love this...I eat a lot but slowly....I think it took me 30 min to eat 10 wings....anyway, this seems like a fun deal!

Came here again with my sister! Wings were huge! Fresh and saucy! Skip the nachos they weren't that good unfortunately. Fries are crispy and service was great! The waiter with the long hair in a ponytail (sorry I didn't catch your name) is very nice and attentive.

We had the mixed (drums and wings) soy garlic wings and omg they were delicious! They were fried to perfection, super crispy, and flavorful. Also had the watermelon soju which was refreshing yet very strong. Cash only m.

Korean fried chicken is one of my favorite food groups. When the idea was put down for a Friday adventure to St. Marks for Boka, It. Was. Time. Group of 9, wait was long but fair. The chicken wings soy garlic and spicy came in the form of 3 trays of 20 wings. Quick rundown: Wings - Yes Soju - Yes Radish (with wings) - Yes Fun times - Yes What surprised me on some entrees was the overuse of nacho cheese. To this day, I am not a fan. Skip on the loaded fries and cheese rice cakes. I would have used shredded gooey mozzarella jnstead on these dishes. Next time, more fun and possibly the boka special fried rice with the egg and bulgogi. Who wants to go? Must be ready to eat ;)

Rating: 3.5 stars My friend and I entered the restaurant around 7 PM on a Sunday night. The restaurant was only half full so we were seated right away. The main thing that stood out to me as soon as I walked in though was the smell of the restaurant, it did not smell very fresh inside - slightly like a public bathroom which isn't too appetizing. Service itself was very efficient and quick though. We ordered our food pretty quickly after we were seated and got it in a good amount of time. To share we ordered: --Fried chicken (mixed combo): breading was delicious and flavor was good as well. Chicken was also juicy which I liked. Sauce worked really well. --Fried cauliflower: same breading and flavor as chicken. Cauliflower works surprisingly well as a substitute! --Beef bimbimbop: Pretty average bimbimbop, beef was good though! All in all, a fairly average Korean restaurant but a good meal.

Closer to a 3 than a 4. Fried chicken was crispy and tasty, though not extraordinary. Rice doesn't come free with the chicken, even though everyone else at my table got a free side of rice with their entree, including someone else who ordered a chicken dish- that was a little weird. Now for the really bad: They write 18% gratuity into the bill WITHOUT TELLING YOU. And the bill has an additional tipping section at the bottom, so if you don't look carefully, you're easily tricked into tipping on top of the built-in gratuity. That's sneaky. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Usually go to Turntable/Bonchon for Korean fried wings but wanted to try Boka this time. It was really good and prices were decent. Came in around 10pm on a Saturday and the waiters were very attentive. We ordered two beers, large half spicy, half soy garlic wings ($23 for 20 wings), and the Kalbi beef tacos ($12 for 3). We really enjoyed that the hot wings weren't overwhelming. They were super spicy but not anything that you couldn't handle. The soy garlic were delicious and crispy! The tacos were also really good and had a bunch of different flavors in them because of the guac, rice, kalbi, kimchi, etc. loved these! Giving a 4 star not a 5 because the men's bathroom downstairs was overflowing with water. No one fixed it. It was horrible to use for my boyfriend.

Korean wings and Japanese beer in the heart of the east village!! What's not to love?

Let me start with... you must order the wings!!! The chicken wings were so good- perfectly crispy and very flavorful. We also ordered the fries- my friends loved them. I wasn't too big of a fan, but that's just me. I like plain fries with any sides or condiments on the side. There was the option of choosing your spice level for the spicy rice cakes. We chose mild- they definitely were NOT mild. For the amount given for the price- it's not worth it. Whenever you in Mark's Place- come here for the CHICKEN!!

Best Korean Fried Chicken!! I always try to stop by when in the east village and/or order delivery and always taste amazing, hot and perfectly crispy!

I've heard the hype about Boka and decided to finally give it a shot. It's definitely OVERRATED if you're a food connoisseur like most of us yelpers. Fried Chicken- 3/5 was mediocre and nothing special. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. Mad for Chicken, Bon Chon, Debasaki, and Pelicana are by far much better for fried chicken. Spicy Rice cake- 5/5 was very good and a must try item. If it wasn't for their spicy rice cake they would have received 2 stars. Bulgogi fried rice- 3.5/5 was good but I wouldn't recommend it or order it again. Service- 2/5 stars. He was friendly, but never came to check up on us. There was also one server for the entire restaurant.

Nice little place in St Marks. Restaurant was empty when we got there, thank god. 10 minutes later and it was packed. Service was good, korean wings were awesome. These are not rinky dinky wings either. Great portion - probably ate too much.

This place is pretty terrible. I eat Korean all the time at a lot of different places and this spot is probably the worst I have been. The service was bad. We didn't get our drinks until half way through our entrees. The waitress seemed pretty clueless. Besides the dismal service the food just sucked. We got the miso pork bao buns -- the bun itself was not soft or warm -- was clearly old. The pork was tough it was like chewing on rubber. The spicy pork and beef bulgogi bibimbaps were both so bland. Thank god for gochunjang! The food was not hot enough to even cook the raw egg they put on top of the meat. The rice wasn't getting crispy in the dolsot and the amount of meat was very disappointing. To top it off they are cash only -- come on! It's 2022! They also add 18% gratuity. I normally always tip at least 25%; but the service was so bad here I felt like it was too much. This is not the place.

Seriously some of the best Korean Fried Chicken I've ever had!!!! I was visiting from LA and a local took me here to satisfy a KFC craving. Did not disappoint. The wings were well flavored down to the bone. The outside was super crisp. The inside tender and juicy. I tried the regular ginger soy and the spicy wings. Both were delicious. The spicy definitely has a kick, but not overpowering. The regular wings had amazing flavor. I alternated eating a spicy followed by a regular and it was perfect. Paired with an ice cold Sapporo, you have a match made in heaven. The bathrooms are are filthy! Hold it if you can!

Really good, my toddler loved it. They also have an all you can eat wings& Beer; Sunday -Thursday 4-7 pm but definitely worth it I believe. Tasty, fresh and affordable food.

Had dinner here last night. The place has a modern, no-frills aesthetic that fits in well on St. Mark's. We had the spicy pork bibimbap, the beef bibimbap, and the chicken wings. The bibimbaps were both pretty good (comparable to other bibimbaps I've had in the past) and came out quickly after we ordered, but the real star of the meal was the wings. Crunchy, spicy, flavorful, definitely a must get if you go to Boka!

1 star for food 1 star for ambiance 1 star for service My friend and I ordered the soy garlic chicken wings. The wings were not up to my expectations. If you like more of a drier wing and a crunchy touch this would be your type of wings. I personally like more wings more juicy. My friend on the other hand prefer wings that are super crispy. I also order the Bulgogi, it was really dry as well. (It was over cooked) I definitely had better. Overall I'm glad I tried it.

Cash only and auto gratuity of 18% is added without warning, ADDITIONALLY, the suggested tips is calculated below which is very misleading and led us to double tip on accident. VERY SHADY. Below average food and service.

I've been here a few times and enjoyed it a lot! Had wings and drumsticks of course, but also the bibimbap and buns. The soy garlic drumsticks are amazing. Sometimes they're juicier and sometimes they're drier, but I guess it's hard to be consistent when churning out nonstop fried chicken? The bibimbap I've had before is also decent, not that I have high expectations for it. The Lychee Soju I've had in the past is actual alcohol and not crazy priced, but yesterday, when I went to Boka, I wanted to try the Watermelon Soju. That was $29 for a small watermelon with weak soju and basically only filled 3 glasses. So expensive. Since it was a birthday celebration as well, I did ask for a reservation set aside for 23 people (originally 18) and I'm ecstatic that Boka was able to accommodate. They have nowhere to put cake in the back, but luckily we put it on a seat and therefore, there was no extra cake charge. Problem though: aside from accepting ONLY cash, our receipt already had 18% tip tacked on, yet there were gratuity amounts listed at the bottom, so I gave an extra 20% tip without noticing. @Boka: Please don't do this; it is super shady and upsets your customers aka potential future revenue.

3.5 stars Solid option for Korean fried chicken in the East Village. We arrived at their listed opening time of 11am for lunch but they did not open until 11:30. Not a big issue since there's a ton of things to do in the area to pass the time. When we entered we were greeted and seated right away. Food came out very quickly after we ordered! Fried chicken- We got the soy garlic flavor and the skin was very crispy. The sauce could've been a bit more flavorful though, especially since I'm so used to the bold soy garlic sauce at Korean fried chicken places in Flushing. If you want to try both the wings and the drumsticks, the combos are a pretty good deal. Beef bibimbap- Loved the crispy rice that came in the hot stone bowl Seafood pancake- While the flavor wasn't bad, it came out very limp and mushy, which was kind of a disappointment. Japchae- Comes with jalepeno peppers!! Added the perfect amount of heat to a delicious noodle dish. I wouldn't say this was the best Korean restaurant I've ever been to but the food here was definitely good and it's located in a convenient location. Prices are standard for this type of cuisine. Rounding up because the service was excellent!

"Secret's in the sauce!" Let's be straight here: there are plenty of things on the menu at Boka, but you're really here for the Korean fried chicken, aren't you. (Of course you are.) On that front, the spicy, crispy, saucy wings do not disappoint. I'm a fan of the spicy option, but honestly, the soy garlic sauce is equally fantastic. I recommend ordering half and half. A heads up that service here can be spotty and lackluster. Accept that as your baseline going in, and you will enjoy your meal.

Decent food, but not the best in the area. We got the watermelon punch, seafood pancake, and the steak and eggs with kimchi fried rice. Out of them all, I enjoyed the seafood pancake although it did not look as appetizing as it tasted. The pancake had a good crunch on the outside but was still soft in the center. Other food was mediocre. The fried eggs stuck to our skillet and made it difficult to eat. Also, I was very disappointed in the kimchi fried rice because it did not seem to have any bits of real kimchi at all? Or flavor for that matter...it was more like plain rice. Meat on the other hand was decent. The watermelon punch was ok but it didn't taste like it had enough alcohol in it. Also would've liked it if it came with sprite/7up in it.

Boka is an amazing Korean fried chicken spot! We ordered medium drumsticks and medium wings, both half and half. The spicy is definitely spicy, but eaten with soy garlic... it's perfect! The staff were really friendly as well. If you're sitting outside and it's raining, just make sure not to sit too close to the end of the tent, because every time a big car drives by fast the tent might pour some water down.

You're in New York and you want a good place to eat. Where do you go? BOKA. This Korean spot is so delicious!! My cousin that lives around the area had taken me to this spot last night and i'm so glad she did. She had ordered for us since she knew what was great off the menu. She had ordered us Soy Garlic wings!!!!! Soy is amazing, garlic is amazing. So the both of them together are my weakness.

Perusing St. Mark for a post-dinner chill spot, my friends and I ended up at Boka. On a Friday night, there were many people trying to get in and out of the place. However, we were very quickly seated; there were ample tables inside. I was first very surprised by how modern and pretty the decor inside was. The black brick walls matched well with the unique light bulbs on the ceiling. There was a bar area with counter seatings and booth areas for larger parties. The place was bustling with customers and active staffs. We got 2 mixed sojus to share, mango and lychee. The Mango soju was rather diluted and didn't taste much different from straight soju. On the other hand, the lychee was delightful, sweet and fresh. Although we have already had dinner, we couldn't resist the aromatic fried chicken smell that permeated the whole place because every table seemed to order it. We got a Medium Combo Platter with 6 wings and 3 thighs. They also let us do a mix between Sweet Spicy and Garlic. The chickens were amazing, soft and juicy on the inside and flavorful and crispy on the outside. With solid food, drinks, and atmosphere that let you hold proper conversation, Boka is a great spot for friends to hangout late into the night.