Gala Chicken

They made it fresh to order and it's a very large portion! Their katsu is really good, it feels like Japanese Hawaiian style. Highly recommend!

It’s my favorite chicken place! I definitely recommend this place for fried chicken 🐔, especially the spicy flavor. It’s more of a sweet and spicy combination, so I really enjoy it even though I'm not good at eating spicy food. Also, the fried chicken tastes like old KFC chicken, with various herbs evident in its crispy exterior and moist interior. I highly recommend the original taste as well.

Decent chicken super slow. For a food court you usually expect food hot and ready after we paid they told us it would be a 15 minute wait. 20 min later we got our food. Decent but certainly unremarkable. The spicy was extremely sweet.

Amazing Korean chicken, some of the best Korean fried chicken in the area! Try the sweet chicken because it is more moist, the original chicken is a bit dry. Plus, I love their logo—reminds me of the Okinawa rail!

Best chicken , tasty, delicious and crunchy, including my blood sugar stays low after indulging. Chicken still taste fresh after a few days. Fast, friendly mom and pop business. Our favorite pandemic dinning which provides us comfort food. Thanks so much for the wonderful food with friendly service.

My favorite fried chicken place in town! Chicken is always perfectly juicy, lightly crispy, and the sauces are unique and delicious. I always get the whole chicken half crispy half sweet soy with a side of spicy sauce.

The spicy wings was ok. The sauce tastes a but weird. The soy garlic was good. Didn't get to try the crispy one.

02/25/25 It appears that Zion has moved locations, and Gala Chicken did not move with them :( I really hope they are able to find a new location to open. It was one of my favorite chicken spots in San Diego, and I feel awful for the owners after seeing them slowly grow and develop their menu! --------------------------- I love their chicken. I'll occasionally head over to Zion just to get their chicken, and I can't get enough. Not too crispy, not too soft but just the right blend, with good flavor. The owners are really nice, respectful and seem like they enjoy what they do. Definitely one of the few small businesses I enjoy supporting!

Wow! This place serves up chicken like I've never eaten-in a truly delicious way. It is fried, but the coating is so crusty and light, I could have eaten twice as much as this big portion. Flavorful and tender, I dipped a couple of pieces into the sauce, but found myself completely satiated eating the chicken bare. The macaroni salad and side salad with a thousand Island style dressing added plenty of sweetness, while the rice served balanced the platter of goodness. This cafe is inside the Zion Market. Parking lot Tables or takeout. I bought a coffee at Paris Baguette in the same food court, and a Fanta in the market to add to the meal

It's good Korean fried chicken! It's inside the Zion Market and has mainly food court vibes. Tables are not the cleanest, and with all the closed stalls around it's kind of sad to be honest. We got the family style original and the snow styled fried chicken. It's crunchy and most importantly has all the flavors that Korean fried chicken is known for. I have had juicier wings, but overall solid for what it is. I would not recommend getting the katsu here, the chicken is flattened out way too much. It loses a lot of the juiciness that katsu is known for. Kind of like cardboard.

Hands down the best Korean fried chicken place in San Diego. I'm hoping they make the move to the new Zion location!

This chicken is so damn good and addicting that i suspected that it had crack on it. As a recovering addict, i know how addicting crack is. All joking aside, this the best damned Korean fried chicken in San Diego. Them other places in Kearney Mesa serve fancy beer and a bunch of other BS to poison your pallet before they feed you their wack@$$ knockoff Korean fried chicken. If u a man bun wearing kinda person, it's all u. But as a real person with real tastebuds, this place beats them all. The other day I was kinda mad cuz I always order the whole chicken with spicy sauce and it came with 3 legs and 3 wings. So I had to google what a 3 winged 3 legged chicken looked like. It turns out they just hooked me up and gave me extra cuz these people just good like that. P.S. their chicken definitely doesn't have crack in it. I know cuz I smoked it and didn't get high.

The corner suite in the Zion Market food court where Gala Chicken is now located used to be the stall for Myung In Dumplings. I never bothered to wander into the grocery section of the market to visit the former spot of Gala Chicken so I think it was a wise decision for them to move out front where they are more visible and accessible to customers. Their presence in the food court is also positive because it adds diversity to the offerings. Having tried a couple of Korean fried chicken (KFC) competitors on Convoy St, I used those experiences as benchmarks to compare the products from here. I selected a regular order of the Soy Sweet wings which came as eight pieces. The crust wasn't as light and crispy as one of the other places, and the size of the wings were smaller than the other place. In my opinion, Gala Chicken ranks behind the local top KFC competition which was why I gave them a three star rating.

Was in the Korean market and saw some restaurants on the other side of entrance and went to check out the different offerings. This place had some good looking pictures of chicken wings so I partook and did a combo order with the original and sweet soy. Both succulent, crispy awesomeness with perfection. More than impressed and plus was super hungry that evening so that probably added to it! For sure will be back.

Best KFC I've found. I have tried pretty much all the Korean fried chicken options throughout San Diego County and beyond and Gala continues to be my absolute favorite. What ever they put in that spicy sauce recipe is seriously addicting. Have to also mention that the people who work there are always friendly and provide great customer service.

nice food, nice service, friendly owner open early for breakfast , would recommend the place

The chicken is crunchy and made fresh with a 10-15 minute wait time. I only got the original strips with sauce on the side. I was tempted to get the sweet soy or try the spicy one but weighed out the pros and cons of getting spicy chicken on a hot day. The service was good, just to let you know they do not provide water and you have to buy bottled water. It is also on the more $$ side but you have to weight that out based on convenience of just shopping at Zion. If you want to take a trek and get 5/5 star chicken, Calvin's Korean Fried Chicken is still at the top by UCSD.

I wanted to get the drumstick meal with 2 sides of macaroni salad instead of 1 side of Mac and 1 side of cabbage salad. The lady told me they can't do that. Bad business! The chicken looked good but if you aren't willing to work with the customer then why should I give you my money?

Awesome bulgogi rice. Great service. It's a food hall but definitely worth checking out.

We've tried this place couple of times and hasn't changed. They are the 2nd in place for me when it comes to Korean fried Chicken (Bonchon is my favorite) since they are closed and won't be open until dinner we went something quick. They are located inside Zion Market by the food court. I liked their soy flavored chicken, it's on the sweeter side but not too sweet. Crunchy and great size as well. Not care much of the original flavor I think it lacks of flavor. We got the family meal that comes with sides of rice, macaroni salad and pickled radish (boy this one is tart and too vinegary). Complemented the fried chicken so that's fine with me. Wait time is about 10-15 mins.

Located inside Zion in their food court. Corner spot down from Paris Baguette. Friendly staff. Chicken strips were finger sized slivers. Cooked well, not tough or dry, nicely crispy. Flavors : spicy and soy were both a little too sweet for me. Spicy was a good heat, not too much. Also tried the fried pork cutlet, it was good. Mac salad was good but didn't like the bell peppers.

Delicious spicy fried chicken and worth the price. I hope they relocate along with Zion market when they move to the new location.

Oh. My. Goodness. This chicken is made with love. I've tried a few things on the menu and my favorites are the spicy chicken and the chicken katsu fries. The owners are friendly, the food is delicious and the portions are generous. You've got to try it for yourself.

I went into the Zion market after being in the area for an appointment and I was so excited to try items in the food court! I ordered the original Gala Crispy Wings. It was an order of about 7 wings. I didn't get a sauce on the wings because I wanted to really taste the breading and flavor of the chicken. But These wings were pretty good! They were fried perfectly and we freshly cooked! They're Depina authentic Korean Fried Chicken! I enjoyed them with a side of jajangmyeon from Hong Kong Ban Jum right next door. I defiantly plan to try a new flavor next time!

Great food, service was quick and food came out hot and fresh. I had the chicken box with soy garlic which was flavorful and delicious . Would come back again

Crispy, flavorful chicken right here! The soy flavored one is our favorite! Never had a bad order from this place, always great tasting and always crispy! Always cooked to order as well. Highly recommend to try, after shopping at zion market!

I am one who has been very diverse in taste, but I am 100% Korean and boring as hell? Anyways, this chicken is rock and roll it's original and delicious. But my taste is not like yours,so to each is their? own taste!!! Thanks young, dude!!

NOT the best chicken in San Diego. I bought a chicken strip combo spicy to share with my kid. The spicy was basically sweet and sour sauce with black pepper added. Macaroni salad was definitely from a big box store. Coleslaw was tough cabbage with red mayo on top. The strips were basically 2 normal chicken strips cut into fourths to make it seem like more, and lightly breaded. Honestly was just ok. I got better strips at Canes and I legit wanted Korean fried chicken and this wasn't it. Overpriced meh.

I don't discriminate when it comes to chicken tenders and I don't plan to start now Can't put my finger on why exactly, but these chicken strips tasted so good to me!!! The crispy flour coating and its flavor is addicting! Simply delicious The tenders could definitely be a lot bigger and have more chicken since they're so thin, but either way I already like it a lot. Located in Zion Market

Scent of fried chicken is in the air. I recall the nights my mom left me alone I would run over to the nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken and I smelled that scent before I got inside to place my order. I did not like being left alone but once in awhile I could go out for fried chicken and stay up late watching tv. Now I can eat fried chicken at Gala Chicken when I want except Monday and after 8pm. This visit I try 2 different preparation of wings. Crispy wings batter was very crunchy and I enjoyed the mild seasoning. Juicy wings were fried perfectly. I love the crispy style which is kinda like extra crunchy at KFC. Soy garlic wings were not as crunchy but had an additional flavor from the soy sauce. I didn't like the distractions to the fried goodness. 2nd visit I tried a large order of drumsticks which was 6. I liked the crunchy batter but mild seasoning didn't provide much flavor to the drumsticks. They were overcooked a bit and drier than I would have liked. Gala Chicken was located inside Zion near the meat area. I prefer the new location in the food court as you can more easily get dessert to complete your meal. The wings are good here but Cross Street Chicken has more flavorful Korean Fried Chicken.

So good! Be aware the "full chicken," option does come with pieces that don't have as much meat. We always get the "drumsticks," option! The radish is so crunchy and tart, both the soy and spicy flavors are a must try!! The man working as cashier is always friendly and fast!

Located inside Zion Market. I went here for lunch last week. I usually get the fast food Korean BBQ next to it but I thought I'd try something different for a change. It reminds me of Krispy Krunchy Chicken inside the Ranch 99 on Balboa. I got an order of their Soy Garlic Wings which was delicious and flavorful. It didn't need any dipping sauce, which they actually don't have anyway. It comes with macaroni salad and rice. It came out to about $9. I'm definitely going to get lunch here again and this time just get the wings without the sides. I wasn't a fan of their mac salad and I'm not huge on rice anyway.

I get it. Convoy area is sooo lucky to have so many great Korean fried chicken spots. But I am upset this place is so slept on!!! I love how you can visit Zion, get your grocery shopping on, then stop at the food court. There are SO many options at the food court, yet I keep finding myself at Gala Chicken. I came here so many times during the pandemic for take out and continue to come here at lunch during work hours. I feel like I've dreamt about their soy garlic sauce and it haunts me when I wait too long to return. I have bought the family box meals too many times to count. What a great deal for my entire family, with just enough chicken to feed them and still have enough leftover for future meals. In addition to half soy, half original, it comes with two sides of rice, one side mac, and two small things of radish. When I eat alone, I end up eating their strip meal which is also good. I just don't think you can top the prices and sheer convenience for the quality and quantity of food you get from Gala Chicken.

The Spicy Sauce here is Amazing!!!! Get that as the only flavor for sure! Either Strips or drumsticks. Sweet Soy is a little bland.

Got the fried chicken wing meal. Chicken was crispy and great flavor. Third time here and consistently good every time. Great customer service!

I wish I remembered to take a photo of our order at this food court Korean fried chicken joint! The food was average priced compared to other similar restaurants, but the chicken wings were very small. We ordered the soy sweet and snow honey, both flavors were alright, but not memorable. The chicken itself seemed a little dry, not juicy like other Korean fried chicken places. Perhaps we came too close too closing? I don't think I will be coming back, there are better options available nearby.

Located inside Zion Market food court. They were out of wings so we ordered the drums in sweet soy flavor. The chicken was crispy, and juicy; and the sauce was delicious. Wished I had taken pics but we were too hungry. A nice mom and pop shop. Check it out to see for yourself! Most importantly, support local businesses!

Incredible and delightfully delicious fried chicken. We got the sweet soy crispy chicken strips, side of rice, side of macaroni & radish. All tasty and can't wait to return for some yummy Korean fried chicken. Plain and spicy available but Gala Chicken has pork cutlets and other options to enjoy.

I'm a big fan of Korean fried chicken and this place is located inside Zion market, I have eaten here several times, they recently moved to the main food court area of the market. I have eaten Korean fried chicken in Korea and it is not exactly the same here but it is very good. Basically the place is a fast food service, you order the food, pay and after getting your food you find a table to seat, good thing there is plenty of tables available. I have tried their whole chickens in their 3 different flavors; spicy, sweet and original and all of them are very good. I have always ordered a combo which includes 2 cups of steamed rice and pickled radish, it is a little expensive in my opinion since the chickens are not that big. This is not one of the healthiest food but it is very tasty so eating it once in a while should be ok. If you have never tried Korean style fried chicken don't wait.

Ordered the box of chicken. It was very crispy and juicy but it didn't have any kind of seasoning and tasted bland. What threw me off the most was the little of amount of chicken and how much it cost. Don't get me wrong, the chicken was yummy but not $20 worth of yummy especially when majority of it was drumsticks. I can get better tasting chicken elsewhere that comes with more chicken and additional sides. The combos don't make sense either or the way they advertise their menu is very confusing. I thought I was getting the best deal until I realized a different menu had a better one and it was too late. I would recommend to try it, but I'm not sure how often I would go here.

The only item I have tried here so far is the chicken wings. I ordered them to take away and they were still great tasting when I got home. One order is 6 or 7 pieces so they order is not big. The pieces are of decent size. Great for a quick snack or a quick fix. They come in several different flavors. Staff is friendly. Wings are cooked to order so give it some time while waiting for you order.

Best korean fired chicken place in San diego. Chicken taste is the same as good old-time korean chicken. Other korean chicken franchise taste got too complicated nowadays, but they kept original taste. Friendly service, good old Korean neighborhood chicken restaurant ambiance .

Literally the best chicken I've ever eaten. They're a local SD mom and pops shop in Zion market. Honestly they have amazing chicken and katsu. If you're ever in the mood for hockey, come visit this place and support a local business!!!

Located in the Zion market food court. I got the drumstick meal. It is 3 drumsticks, cabbage salad, macaroni salad and rice for $12.99. with a soda total lunch cost is $15.61. The chicken was just OK. Not much flavor to the coating and the drumsticks had tendons that made them hard to eat. The sides were all good. Overall, it was a pretty expensive lunch for it being just average.

Literally a hole in the seemingly slept-on food court wall of Zion Marketplace..... but I'm here to tell you, sleepeth not on Gala Chicken! The Kearny Mesa (Convoy) area is already a thriving community of various delicious, authentic, Asian-inspired eateries, but lately Gala Chicken has been an underrated favorite as of late. While most sit-down style restaurants that also serve chicken usually have a long wait, Gala is the perfect spot for a to-go order of chicken to feed any group size, from a family to just you and your boo. I've only gotten chicken wings there and while their flavor options are limited to 3 flavors (crispy/regular, spicy, and sweet soy) those options are all tasty enough to appease all kinds of cravings. Keep it simple right? I also love that their chicken is juicier and the ratio of chicken to breading highlights the chicken more, while others places rely on the breading to carry the overall flavor. Compared to places like Cross Street Chicken, their wings are definitely smaller but still a perfect size to keep you happy. Easier to share and more bang for your buck in my opinion. I think for 14 wings it came out to about $20, and I'm typically used to paying $15 for about 10 wings at mainstream places. Love that their workers are really nice and friendly. This elderly woman with white hair usually helps me out when I come by. And it's nice that they have some articles or recognition up front that back up how good they are. Definitely my favorite place in the food court. And if the wait is too long, you can either call ahead for kill time walking around the market.

Tried the Katsu fries, and it was so good!! A combo not really thought of but actually paired really well! The business seems to be family owned and the owner really cared about how the speed and quality of the food. It is in the food court of the Zion Market and definitely deserves more attention as they have a wide variety of foods from korean fried chicken to katsu. Definitely recommend!!

Great place for Korean fried chicken. Crispy, crunchy just the way we like it. Soy garlic sauce is our go to sauce!! Must get before or after grocery shopping at Zion!!

I got the spicy pork cutlet and it was a HUGE portion that came with a scoop of rice, macaroni salad, and cabbage salad. It was just the right amount of spicy and the cutlet stayed crispy the whole time. The macaroni salad was a little too sweet for me and the cabbage salad could have used more than just cabbage. Service was nice and organized. Because this restaurant is in the Zion Market food court, you order at the counter and they give you a buzzer for when your food is ready. It is located in the corner of the food court and there are tables in the middle for everyone if they choose to eat in. Prices are decent, especially for how much you get. I have yet to try the chicken wings but they did look delicious. Gotta come back for round 2!

Located inside the Zion Market, this place used to be in the middle of the store, by the meat section, but has since moved over to the food court. They offer Korean fried chicken in 3 flavors: crispy, spicy, or sweet soy. The menu is pretty simple. You can order a whole chicken (think KFC), wings, or chicken strips or drumsticks. Combos come with rice and pickled radishes and they have macaroni salad as a side too. Great addition to the Zion food court.

Best darn chicken we had in a really long time. Super crunchy, great flavor, and decent price. My husband devoured all but one piece (side eye) so I didn't get to enjoy all that much (we also had jajjangmyun and stuff too), but what I had was super yummy.

Thanks to my amazing boyfriend he brought me lunch from this tasty place. Not Bonchon but close enough. Ordered the combo which is two whole chicken chopped into pieces, your choice of the three flavors they offer: spicy, sweet soy or crispy. We ordered 1/2 spicy and 1/2 sweet soy. They're definitely crispy as can be... Made when you order so it's fresh as it can get. The spicy... Tasted more like the spicy jufran (the Filipino banana ketchup). Sweet soy was good :)

This place is a growth story. It started off as a place inside Zion, did well and upgraded to have bigger store front in the food court with the other restaurants. They have a pretty simple menu. 1/4,1/2,full chicken or chicken strips. With the sauces: Original, Sweet, Spicy. Simple, so no deer in headlights while looking at the menu. The chicken here is more normal sized chicken, not the frankenchicken fro KFC. The fried chicken comes out sauced or naked for you and is super crunchy but also super juicy with great flavor. I like to get the full chicken with 2 different sauces. That along with an extra serving of the pickled daikon. You can call ahead to help avoid a longer wait. The food is made to order so you can expect the food to be fresh and hot. No pre-made food under a heat lamp here. So plan ahead and give them a call or order and walk the aisles of Zion looking for a nice drink to wash down the food.

My favorite and go to place for fried chicken place in San Diego! Super fresh ingredients and I love their pickled radish! I always get the chicken box which is more than enough for 2 people. It's good to note that they take their last order at 6:30 pm instead of 8 pm during the weekend.

Place has really scrumptious chicken but good luck getting any. In the last year or so since they have moved from inside the grocery store to the little restaurants to the side; they've always been terrible with actually staying open. Almost every time I go in to grab food they are closed. Sign is always half*ssed to change to whatever time they want. Sometimes I go by after my shopping inside just to see & I kid you not I've seen them close at 5,530,6,630 but seldom actually at 7. If they changed their time and kept it at that one time, that'd be one thing but they don't. Anyways, good food. A bit pricey but I suppose worth it. Their inconsistency makes me not want to grab food from them. Sad.

Had original chicken strips. Near perfect coating and tenderness.. the dipping sauce was also delicious definitely a return trip to get the other products

Alright alright alright.. so this place for me just made its place to my top 1 pick for BEST KFC ( Korean Fried Chicken). I am not lying on how good it is, it might be better than Cross Street Chicken! Gala Chicken is located inside Zion Market food court. It's a little shop next to a little shop, so it might be confusing. Just ask them which one is which. Lol! Don't expect a restaurant style sitting, it's in the food court. So first come first serve on tables. There's a huge parking lot, but it can get crowded during rush hour or on weekends because people are doing their grocery shopping. My husband and I ordered the combo for $19.99, we picked 2 flavors and it comes with 2 rice and a side of radish. Our 2 flavors were the sweet soy and spicy; the chicken itself was very crispy!!! I was afraid the spicy flavor would be too spicy for me, but surprisingly it was just perfect. You get the spice and little bit of a tang (they use the Korean red pepper paste for flavoring). The sweet soy has so delicious.. I can't even explain how good it taste. Both flavors are good with a pair of soju or cold beer... too bad you can't drink in the food court. Every order is made fresh so it can take a while for your order to be ready. Just get a little shopping while waiting! I would totally recommend this to anyone craving chicken! :)

So glad that I can still get chicken! and Gala Chicken is the best I have found for Korean styled wings. The batter ratio is why I ranked them No.1 in my books. There is no too much batter or too little, the better amount for that extra crispy skin. Plus their sauce is amazing!