I didn’t like the chicken. I feel the chicken itself needed more seasoning, even if just salt. As well as the breading. The soy garlic dipping sauce was tasty but the chicken itself, which should be the star, was so bland.
Sean
Very excellent and filling. I already went last year when my floormate drove me and his brother there, and I got the six piece chicken thing. But then I saw that my friend got the Padadak combo, which for $3 more gives you a lot more variety than just chicken. So I resolved to get the combo next time I came.The fried rice is very excellent when you pour all the soy sauce in it. The fries were kind of bland, not salted enough I feel. I had them as leftovers for breakfast the next day, and they don't taste great stale either.The mild spice garlic and soy flavor is apparently not spicy at all, I was told, and this is true. Good for me because I don't like spicy. If you do like spicy, my friends seem to like the normal spice level for sweet and spicy.It's interesting the order they get orders done. Most of my friends got the Padadak combo, but the orders were ready in a seemingly arbitrary order. It's not a FIFO queue. It's also a bit hard to hear when your order is ready.For the fountain drink I mixed Sprite, Coke, and Fanta together
Aaron M
Great place. Wings were very crunchy despite plenty of rich flavorful sauce. Loved the cheese balls.This place was very busy.
rui li
Not a bad choice.I only tried normal flavor since I don't like put sauce on fried chicken. The wings are so crispy, although it lost some juice. The topping was a bit too dry and lacked flavour, but that shouldn't be a downside if you like dipping sauces.The store is near the trolley station so it is good for those people we can't or don't like drive.The biggest problem is bit too expensive, but since now is 2023 and that place looks like a high rent...
Sheila L.
We came here for late lunch. We ordered 12 piece wings with 2 flavor sauce -soy garlic mild and sweet spicy mild. We wished they included wings combo box as they only have chicken strips combo box. The food was delicious and the service was great.
Henry Zhang
Great snacks! especially their cheese balls. Had it twice and both are amazing. Their popcorn chicken is also great.
Bau&Hoa
Disappointed chicken strip, wings and pop corn chicken was dry. However the fried rice was really good
Bill Brown
I ordered the Korean Ramen. I was shocked when I opened it. They served me instant noodles. Complete with the instant freeze dried vegetable bits. I told the person behind the counter who served me and he confirmed it. “They are instant noodles” he said. My girlfriend ordered the combo. The strips of chicken tasted like they were also frozen and cooked in an air fryer. The rice came with the frozen vegetable mix that one finds at the grocery store - tiny carrot bits, corn, and peas. The rice looked oily but when I tasted it I realized the it was not oil but fat, probably pork fat. The fat gave the rice a salty, meaty flavor and helped to keep the rice clumped together. Some might like the flavor but I couldn’t get past the frozen vegetable taste. Her fries were also a bit soggy and I’m sure were also frozen. In and out at least cuts their own potatoes. She ordered the “golden sparkling sauce” on the side. It was a powdered ranch dressing mix. I read one review that gave this place high marks because it was conveniently located. That’s funny. All places are conveniently located for the people that live around there. The best thing about the location here is that it’s close to other restaurants that serve actually fresh food. I would never again visit this horrible place. Any time they charge $8 for what they confirm are instant noodles and frozen and instant vegetables they should at the very least be open and honest with their customers. They should tell us that they are instant noodles instead of advertising “Korean Ramen.” There is nothing Korean about this place. Not even urban Korean. If you like frozen food and instant noodles and enjoy paying lots of money for them then you will love this place. As for me, I would never return for such poor quality food.Good to know that you do not cook your chicken from frozen. Too bad you serve instant noodles and pass them off as Korean ramen. Too bad you use frozen vegetables and fat in your rice. The only thing positive about your restaurant I’d that you’re close to places that serve fresh food. McDonald’s uses fresh tomatoes. More than I can say about your place. Ways to improve? Stop lying. Don’t tell people you’re seeing Korean ramen when it’s instant noodles. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Imee C.
Went here last night for a quick dinner. When you walk in, you place your order at counter then you find a table to sit in. Tables were not cleaned all the time. Our table was dirty and I had to wipe it down myself. One of the ladies behind the counter had her hair partially up. But lots of hair were not tied that can potentially get on your food. Their soda fountain was broken but they did have a few beers on tap. Our order came right away. I had the 6 piece mild soy ginger wings with a separate order of cajun fries. Chicken was very crispy on the outside and was very moist and steaming hot on the inside. Cajun fries were very good, too. Nice part of this was the packaging were sealed. Bonus in my opinion. Nothing would fall out and no one can touch what's inside. If they had people constantly cleaning the table, the experience would have been better.
Hannah J.
3.5/4 starsLocated in a plaza and MTS station with ample parking space. Pretty large seating capacity, service was a bit slow. Ordered a combo: chicken tenders were decent (soy garlic), fried rice was kinda bland, and the fries lacked salt. But if you're in the area and are craving fried chicken, this is an ok spot to visit.
I love their crispy fried chicelken it's so juicy and tender. The staff are so friendly and helpful.
Christel L.
This was the first Padadak I tried and remains the one I'll prefer to go to, as there are others scattered around the county but my experiences at this location have been far and away better. Parking is in a shared lot near the MTS garage. The area gets pretty busy since the university campus is nearby, but I appreciate that ordering ahead is available through their website and on other platforms. I usually pick up, but there is ample seating inside and some outside.There are various flavors for their chicken with different heat ranges. I've tried the soy garlic, gold sparkling, and sweet & spicy--the latter being my usual. Since the price points are a little high my go to is the combo box (chicken, fries, rice, drink) for slight value. The boxes are always neatly packed with separated portions and sauces.The Korean fried chicken market has gotten competitive, but Padadak is a decent choice when others aren't nearby nor available.3.5 stars
Peter Z.
Food was pretty average, but man am I disappointed in the chicken :'( I had gone last year and the chicken tenders were big, but now they are half the size! It's quite expensive for what you really get here, and the fries were not a good texture. A few of the fries were black as well which is not appealing to me.For $14 you get 4 mini tenders, rice, mediocre fries, and a cup of coleslaw. I'd say it's just ok - nothing impressive here.
Hing T.
We had a death in the family. So we thought it wasn't easiest to call and just pick up the food. We had people coming over. I called many times and no answer. So I had to drive and wait for the food. I asked for the manager. But was told he wasn't there. I was asked to leave my phone number and email address. But no response. I decided to look up corporate to tell them what happened. I left my information again. No response. To me it seems the food is good, but they do not care about their customers. There is a lot of competition with fast food fried. Not going back there!
Allison Z.
This is the Korean fried chicken place I frequent most often! The chicken is solid and crispy, and it's relatively cheaper than a lot of the other places in SD. I usually get the medium size wings (soy garlic + sweet and spicy), tteokbokki (which is actually SO good), and fries (which are just alright but gotta have my fries). It makes a good meal for 2 with some leftovers. There have been some inconsistencies that I've noticed, like different rice cake thickness or fry type, but overall the food has been decent and definitely satisfies my craving for KFC. -1 star because they never seem to answer their phone. Even during times when they aren't very busy. I'm not sure if there's even a phone set up there lol. I'm not going to order on DoorDash/UberEats/etc. because there's an upcharge. Bummer, I would order takeout from them more often if they took phone calls.
I didn’t like the chicken. I feel the chicken itself needed more seasoning, even if just salt. As well as the breading. The soy garlic dipping sauce was tasty but the chicken itself, which should be the star, was so bland.
Very excellent and filling. I already went last year when my floormate drove me and his brother there, and I got the six piece chicken thing. But then I saw that my friend got the Padadak combo, which for $3 more gives you a lot more variety than just chicken. So I resolved to get the combo next time I came.The fried rice is very excellent when you pour all the soy sauce in it. The fries were kind of bland, not salted enough I feel. I had them as leftovers for breakfast the next day, and they don't taste great stale either.The mild spice garlic and soy flavor is apparently not spicy at all, I was told, and this is true. Good for me because I don't like spicy. If you do like spicy, my friends seem to like the normal spice level for sweet and spicy.It's interesting the order they get orders done. Most of my friends got the Padadak combo, but the orders were ready in a seemingly arbitrary order. It's not a FIFO queue. It's also a bit hard to hear when your order is ready.For the fountain drink I mixed Sprite, Coke, and Fanta together
Great place. Wings were very crunchy despite plenty of rich flavorful sauce. Loved the cheese balls.This place was very busy.
Not a bad choice.I only tried normal flavor since I don't like put sauce on fried chicken. The wings are so crispy, although it lost some juice. The topping was a bit too dry and lacked flavour, but that shouldn't be a downside if you like dipping sauces.The store is near the trolley station so it is good for those people we can't or don't like drive.The biggest problem is bit too expensive, but since now is 2023 and that place looks like a high rent...
We came here for late lunch. We ordered 12 piece wings with 2 flavor sauce -soy garlic mild and sweet spicy mild. We wished they included wings combo box as they only have chicken strips combo box. The food was delicious and the service was great.
Great snacks! especially their cheese balls. Had it twice and both are amazing. Their popcorn chicken is also great.
Disappointed chicken strip, wings and pop corn chicken was dry. However the fried rice was really good
I ordered the Korean Ramen. I was shocked when I opened it. They served me instant noodles. Complete with the instant freeze dried vegetable bits. I told the person behind the counter who served me and he confirmed it. “They are instant noodles” he said. My girlfriend ordered the combo. The strips of chicken tasted like they were also frozen and cooked in an air fryer. The rice came with the frozen vegetable mix that one finds at the grocery store - tiny carrot bits, corn, and peas. The rice looked oily but when I tasted it I realized the it was not oil but fat, probably pork fat. The fat gave the rice a salty, meaty flavor and helped to keep the rice clumped together. Some might like the flavor but I couldn’t get past the frozen vegetable taste. Her fries were also a bit soggy and I’m sure were also frozen. In and out at least cuts their own potatoes. She ordered the “golden sparkling sauce” on the side. It was a powdered ranch dressing mix. I read one review that gave this place high marks because it was conveniently located. That’s funny. All places are conveniently located for the people that live around there. The best thing about the location here is that it’s close to other restaurants that serve actually fresh food. I would never again visit this horrible place. Any time they charge $8 for what they confirm are instant noodles and frozen and instant vegetables they should at the very least be open and honest with their customers. They should tell us that they are instant noodles instead of advertising “Korean Ramen.” There is nothing Korean about this place. Not even urban Korean. If you like frozen food and instant noodles and enjoy paying lots of money for them then you will love this place. As for me, I would never return for such poor quality food.Good to know that you do not cook your chicken from frozen. Too bad you serve instant noodles and pass them off as Korean ramen. Too bad you use frozen vegetables and fat in your rice. The only thing positive about your restaurant I’d that you’re close to places that serve fresh food. McDonald’s uses fresh tomatoes. More than I can say about your place. Ways to improve? Stop lying. Don’t tell people you’re seeing Korean ramen when it’s instant noodles. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Went here last night for a quick dinner. When you walk in, you place your order at counter then you find a table to sit in. Tables were not cleaned all the time. Our table was dirty and I had to wipe it down myself. One of the ladies behind the counter had her hair partially up. But lots of hair were not tied that can potentially get on your food. Their soda fountain was broken but they did have a few beers on tap. Our order came right away. I had the 6 piece mild soy ginger wings with a separate order of cajun fries. Chicken was very crispy on the outside and was very moist and steaming hot on the inside. Cajun fries were very good, too. Nice part of this was the packaging were sealed. Bonus in my opinion. Nothing would fall out and no one can touch what's inside. If they had people constantly cleaning the table, the experience would have been better.
3.5/4 starsLocated in a plaza and MTS station with ample parking space. Pretty large seating capacity, service was a bit slow. Ordered a combo: chicken tenders were decent (soy garlic), fried rice was kinda bland, and the fries lacked salt. But if you're in the area and are craving fried chicken, this is an ok spot to visit.
Restaurantji Recommends
I love their crispy fried chicelken it's so juicy and tender. The staff are so friendly and helpful.
This was the first Padadak I tried and remains the one I'll prefer to go to, as there are others scattered around the county but my experiences at this location have been far and away better. Parking is in a shared lot near the MTS garage. The area gets pretty busy since the university campus is nearby, but I appreciate that ordering ahead is available through their website and on other platforms. I usually pick up, but there is ample seating inside and some outside.There are various flavors for their chicken with different heat ranges. I've tried the soy garlic, gold sparkling, and sweet & spicy--the latter being my usual. Since the price points are a little high my go to is the combo box (chicken, fries, rice, drink) for slight value. The boxes are always neatly packed with separated portions and sauces.The Korean fried chicken market has gotten competitive, but Padadak is a decent choice when others aren't nearby nor available.3.5 stars
Food was pretty average, but man am I disappointed in the chicken :'( I had gone last year and the chicken tenders were big, but now they are half the size! It's quite expensive for what you really get here, and the fries were not a good texture. A few of the fries were black as well which is not appealing to me.For $14 you get 4 mini tenders, rice, mediocre fries, and a cup of coleslaw. I'd say it's just ok - nothing impressive here.
We had a death in the family. So we thought it wasn't easiest to call and just pick up the food. We had people coming over. I called many times and no answer. So I had to drive and wait for the food. I asked for the manager. But was told he wasn't there. I was asked to leave my phone number and email address. But no response. I decided to look up corporate to tell them what happened. I left my information again. No response. To me it seems the food is good, but they do not care about their customers. There is a lot of competition with fast food fried. Not going back there!
This is the Korean fried chicken place I frequent most often! The chicken is solid and crispy, and it's relatively cheaper than a lot of the other places in SD. I usually get the medium size wings (soy garlic + sweet and spicy), tteokbokki (which is actually SO good), and fries (which are just alright but gotta have my fries). It makes a good meal for 2 with some leftovers. There have been some inconsistencies that I've noticed, like different rice cake thickness or fry type, but overall the food has been decent and definitely satisfies my craving for KFC. -1 star because they never seem to answer their phone. Even during times when they aren't very busy. I'm not sure if there's even a phone set up there lol. I'm not going to order on DoorDash/UberEats/etc. because there's an upcharge. Bummer, I would order takeout from them more often if they took phone calls.