This is where you get insane Korean fried chicken in Paris. Dong Né Chicken is a tiny spot on Rue de Richelieu, steps from the Palais-Royal, and the moment you walk in, Paris suddenly feels a lot like Seoul.
It is small and colorful, more street-food counter than restaurant, tucked into the first arrondissement where you would least expect full-on Seoul energy. That is exactly the charm. You come for one thing, fried chicken done properly, and the room gets out of the way and lets it happen.
First you choose your fried chicken flavor, then, depending on how brave you are, you pick your spice: spicy, or super spicy. It is a build-your-own system, and half the fun is deciding how far to push it. We went with the classic yangnyeom, the sweet and spicy glaze, and cooled it off with a bite of their creamy red cabbage salad between rounds.
The yangnyeom chicken first, that classic glaze, sweet and spicy and lacquered onto craggy, crunchy skin. Then the corn cheese, pan-fried corn with mozzarella and mayo that pulls cheese for days, the kind of side you fight over. A short break to take in the interior, refill the Coke, more rice, and on to the caramelized soy chicken. That one is sweet, salty and packed with umami, and it hits perfectly with their bright pickled daikon cutting through the richness.
If you are in Paris and the croissant fatigue has set in, this is your reset button. It is casual, it is quick, and it is exactly the kind of place you want after a long day of walking the city. Go with someone so you can order more flavors than one person can finish, and do not skip the daikon and cabbage, they are the balance the whole meal needs.
The place is small, the flavors are not. We will be back for the other flavors, and this one will not disappoint you either.
But now… the real question is… where do we go next?
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