Pelicana Chicken

“Their sweet potato fries reminded me of those Korean sweet potato chips and I couldn't stop eating them.”

“We ordered the Cheesy fries, chicken wings, marinated popcorn chicken and the Mango beer.”

“Yeji served us and was very helpful in helping us with our order since this was our first time here.”

Pelicana Chicken

Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. There are so many Korean chicken restaurants in this area and this doesn't exactly take the cake from the others.

    They serve a few different items and the chicken comes in these huge portions.
    Their fries have different flavors like ppurio which is a bit on the sweet side but delicious in the beginning. Then it became a bit too sweet for me.  But my friend still loved it.
    They also have fried dumplings in the same sauces as the chicken. My friend ended up ordering one (i forgot which one it was) but it had a spicy kick to it that i enjoyed. Ended up making me eat 4 of them when i was trying to save room for the chicken!

    The chicken itself wasn't what i expected. I thought it'd be a lot better but i thought it was very average tasting. We tried the garlic and sweet & sour flavors. Maybe it was those flavors but neither of us ate any more than 1 piece from each side. Also because the chicken was so big, it was really uncomfortable to eat. We ordered boneless and it was annoying bc we needed to cut up each piece.

    The drinks here are particular. You definitely won't find them anywhere around here and they're super yummy and flavorful. I definitely recommend that you at least try their ice cream beer just for the heck of it. There are also a lot of different fruit flavored ales that are non-alcoholic which are pretty addicting to me.

  2. I came under a recommendation of a friend. It was good fried chicken since it tasted fresher than other k fried chicken since they use, supposedly, better ingredients, but you rely heavily on sauces since the chicken and the batter pretty much has no taste.
    I ordered the crispy wings snowing with cheese. I thought it was ok. Bf ordered the peli chicken with scallion sauce on the side. We also ordered the mango beer and the pomegranate soju. I didn't like the mango beer as it has this after taste, but the pomegrante soju was pretty good.
    The place was too dark honestly. They wanted to make it more like a bar look but it's a chicken place.

  3. This place has definitely become one of my favorite go to Korean fried chicken spots. Their variety of sauces/flavors on their menu is what usually attracts me and my friends. Try them, they're very good! If you aren't sure what to get, ask the waiters for their suggestions/opinions. Every time I've been there they have been very helpful with giving their suggestions.

    Service is great as they are very helpful and quick. The reason why I'm taking off a star is just because sometimes when we order it takes forever for the chicken to come out. The past two times I've been here, my table waited about 30-45 minutes for the chicken and the place wasn't that busy one of the times. But when the chicken does come out, it's steaming hot and tastes great. This place also has finger "condoms" (as my friends like to call it) while you're eating too so it's a plus.

    Also definitely order their ice cream beer, it's pretty good! And makes for a great snapchat/photo that'll make your friends jealous.

    Parking is also a hit or miss with this area, so it depends on the time of day that you go.

  4. If you order spicy you better make sure you can handle spicy. I should've took the hint when my waitress looked at me and said "are you sure you want spicy" , I'm no punk so of course I said yes…. I should've said no. It hurt during and after I finished and no amount of beer or water could put out the fire.

    But aside from their lava chicken. Their other fired chicken options are really good. The garlic wings and cheesy wings are top notch. They fry their chicken in a tempura style batter that makes me unique compared to other fried wings like Bon chon or Debasaki. The wings are packed with flavor and the sauces stick on great. They also have some sides like fries and sweet potatoe strings but the wings are what you'll come for.

    Despite great flavors the wings are heavily battered and you get a lot of fried breading which can be kinda heavy and off putting after a few wings. Overall good food and great frozen beers. Definitely will come back.

    Again beware of the spicy wings. If she asks, you make sure you think it over before you say yes.

  5. This place is legit, top-notch Korean fried chicken.

    My first time here, I wasn't ready. The chicken that arrived to our table was covered in a wet sauce, and though it was good, it seemed incorrect, somehow. I'd had Korean fried chicken at all the millions of places in NYC – where the standard options are "soy garlic or spicy," where your order can be rattled off as "half and half large wings please," where the chicken is encrusted in a dry glaze that retains plenty of crunch. No goop, less sweetness. What was this sticky chicken that Pelicana was serving, in a zillion wild flavors?

    Then I went and ate tons of Korean fried chicken in Korea. I see now. I seeeeeeee.

    On a recent visit to Pelicana, we got a half garlic/half original whole chicken ($21). Just like last time, it was juicy and not too heavily battered, the flavor was excellent and not overwhelmed by the admittedly very nice glaze. I expected something more overtly garlicky like [the underwhelming] Two Two Chicken in Seoul, but the garlic here was perfectly balanced.

    When Pelicana first opened, there was talk of all their chicken being organic. Not sure if that's still the case. Still, compared to getting an order of wings at Kyochon or something, the value is fantastic.

    Service was relaxed and extremely friendly, even though it was Sunday at 1am and the place was empty.

    If we're comparing the best of both varieties, I still prefer the dry kind (US chimaek franchise style??). But of all the KFC I've tried in New York, Pelicana is the only place where it tastes just like the best I had in Korea. Actually, I had plenty of mediocre KFC in Seoul too – so Pelicana is a far safer bet than a plane ticket.

  6. Oh, you like chicken? Then you must try Pelicana. They have the most extensive menu of mostly chicken I have ever seen. All kinds of chicken! There's gotta be something for everybody here so long as you like chicken.

    My hubby and cousin order a few dozen wings – one was coated in cheddar cheese (almost like the dust from cheese puffs). It was a very unique idea and he seemed to enjoy it. Another dozen was garlicky and the last was your regular buffalo wing sauce. I know it wasn't KFC, but it seemed to be finger lickin' good.

    I on the other hand, ordered the fried soy dumplings. It was fried and had a soy sauce coating on the outside which made it perfect so that you didn't need soy sauce for dipping.

    The food was fine and dandy, but did I mention the frozen ice cream beer?!?!! Do yourself a huge favor, and TRY IT!!!! It's flavored beer with a frozen drink on top, something like a Mike's Hard Lemonade. I tried the Mango frozen beer and loved it. Just a heads up, it's sweet and doesn't have the traditional beer taste.

    Can't wait to go back!

  7. We did not eat here but only came here for drinks. That is where we discovered ICE CREAM BEER! OMG, where have you been!!! It tasted like soda with a "kick" with this creamy foam on top. It reminds me of butter beer from Harry Potter World. It goes get overwhelmingly sweet after awhile…or could it be that we had 4 pitchers of it!?

    black cherry- my favorite but it tasted like cough syrup after it was sitting and it became  frizzless and warm. Drink quick!
    orange cream sickle- taste like the name
    grape fruit- We had this last and I liked that it had the bitter kick.
    mango- The first one we tried and I chugged this so quick, I don't even remember the taste. All I know was that it was good!

    The chicken looked really good. I think I will be back to try the food.

  8. Pelicana Chicken is one of those cool hipster place where it's great for friends to hangout, drink and eat some unhealthy fried chicken.

    The interior is quite dark, with glow in the dark walkways to help guide you walk. The service is quick and friendly which is much appreciated. My party ordered fried gizzards, not a bad finger food; fried whole chicken in garlic sauce, not bad at all, the chicken was very tender even though it was fried, the sauce started to get overwhelming towards the end, too thick of a coat; soy wings were pretty average, nothing too special about them but I would probably order this again.

    We also ordered a pitcher of mango frozen beer, we weren't fond of it because it was too sweet. There wasn't much beer flavor, the mango and sugar literally took over the drink…

Rate and write a review

162nd Street 41-23
11358 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Tuesday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Wednesday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Thursday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Friday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Saturday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Sunday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am