Korean fried chicken robots have arrived 🤖 #shorts

Denver's Korean fried chicken scene has gotten legitimately interesting over the last couple of years, and bb.q Chicken is a big part of why. The South Korean chain now has two Denver-area locations — one in Aurora that soft opened last year with a limited menu, and a full-service spot in Lone Tree that's been making the rounds on my radar. I finally made the drive south to check it out, and I came back with greasy fingers and a story about a robot.

The Lone Tree location is suburban in the most expected ways — strip mall parking lot, easy to find, no real drama getting there. That's not a knock. Sometimes you just want to sit down and eat without circling a block in RiNo for fifteen minutes. We walked in, got seated quickly on a weeknight, and within a few minutes I was introduced to the thing everyone talks about when they bring up this place: the robot waiter. It rolls up to your table, arms out, food balanced on its tray, and waits for you to grab your order. The whole thing takes exactly as long as a person walking it over would. It's not faster. It's not more efficient. But my kids would have lost their minds, and honestly, even I thought it was kind of fun in a "we live in a weird timeline" way.

What You're Actually There For

The robot is a gimmick. The chicken is the real reason to go. bb.q Chicken does the Korean fried chicken style well — the double-fry technique that gets the skin genuinely crispy without feeling heavy. Wings are the move here. They come in a range of sauces and styles, and the quality holds up across the menu now that the full lineup is available. For a while, the Aurora location was running a limited menu during its soft opening phase, so it's worth noting that Lone Tree is where you can get the complete experience right now.

Korean fried chicken in Denver has had a rocky stretch. Mono Mono Hot Korean Fried Chicken closed its Blake Street location after four years, which was a loss for the downtown scene. Bonchon has been around and has its fans. But bb.q Chicken has carved out its own space, and the Lone Tree location being fully operational gives it an edge at the moment — you're not gambling on a partial menu.

What Works, What Doesn't

The chicken is the high point, and it's not close. The wings have that crunch that holds up even as you're halfway through the basket, which is harder to pull off than it sounds. The sauces range from straightforward to pretty complex, and I'd suggest getting a mix if you're going with a group — the menu is built for sharing and ordering across a few styles. The sides are fine, nothing I'd drive back specifically for, but they round out the meal.

The robot is memorable but not a reason to rush in alone expecting some futuristic dining revolution. It's a conversation piece. Roman McDonald, an eight-year-old featured in a Denver Post piece on the Aurora location a couple years back, probably had the right reaction — pure delight. Adults will smile, take a video, and move on to eating. Which is exactly what we did.

The suburban location isn't for everyone, but if you're already in the South Denver area — Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock direction — this is worth adding to your rotation. Parking is not a problem. Getting a table on a weeknight wasn't either, at least when I went.

If you haven't tried bb.q Chicken yet, the Lone Tree location is where I'd start. The full menu, the robot, and solid Korean fried chicken in a part of the metro that doesn't always get the food coverage it deserves. That's a pretty good combination.