Kimchi Cult!.

Kimchi Cult!

Asked where she actually eats, the owner of Five March said the best fried chicken in Glasgow comes out of a Partick counter with about ten seats and no toilet.

Why go

It opened in 2011 as the first Korean fast food room in the city and spent years as the only one of its kind (Glasgow West End Today). The kitchen makes the kimchi in house, and it is the component the menu turns on: it carries the bibimbap, and on the cheesy fries it keeps enough acid and texture that the chips stay chips. Chicken comes two thighs to a portion, glazed in gochujang or soy, with a crust that holds over soft meat. Bao come in four fillings, the pork belly one built with pickled cucumber, hoisin and sriracha. The room was always tiny, three tables and a window seat, and the venue now sells itself on collection through its own site and Uber Eats.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the fried chicken thighs, one gochujang and one soy glazed, then cheesy kimchi fries. Bibimbap if you want the vegetables and the egg.
• Avoid: planning to sit down, and trusting the published hours without a call.

What locals & experts say

• Joanna Nethery, owner of Five March, in Glasgow's industry guide, asked where she eats: Kimchi Cult has the best fried chicken in the city! Always great, couldn't live without them.1
• Ava Richardson, Glasgow West End Today, August 2018, on the bibimbap: All the components of the bowl combine together with such a pop of flavour, each element carrying its own individual kick, with the kimchi the main component that carried the dish.2
• Emma Mykytyn, Foodie Explorers, 2016, cited as community signal rather than expertise, and the only source that tests the technique: the chicken had a crisp, crunchy exterior covering meltingly soft chicken inside, and the in-house kimchi worked surprisingly well with the chips in that it didn't turn them to mush like we've had in other places.3
• The same post's practical warnings, which have aged better than the prices: the sit-in seats cannot be booked, It must have one of the smallest sit-in seating areas in Glasgow seating 10 at a push, and there is no toilet.3

Jeff's take (his words)

• His review (Jeff, first-hand, 5 stars, 14 May 2018): "Tasty Korean inspired food that is warm and comforting -- ideal for murky Glasgow weather. The bibimap is well executed with hot stone bowls. The space is small, so I would recommend small parties. It's reasonably priced. The kitchen was a bit backed up when it got busy. I expected a bit larger prawns, OK, but could be better. Next time I'd get the pulled pork or bulgogi -- both looked delicious."
• Google review, May 2018 (five stars): "Tasty Korean inspired food that is warm and comforting -- ideal for murky Glasgow weather. The bibimap is well executed with hot stone bowls." His table-size rule: "The space is small, so I would recommend small parties." Next time he would order "the pulled pork or bulgogi."

Good to know

• Where: 14 Chancellor Street, off Byres Road at Partick Cross.
• Format: the venue's own site now offers click and collect, phone orders and Uber Eats, and does not mention seating. Older accounts describe about ten seats. Ring before you plan to eat in.
• Timing: noon to 9pm. The site says closed Mondays in one place and closed Tuesdays in another, so check.
• Booking: none taken.
• Facilities: no toilet.
• Hygiene: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme records a Pass, rating date 2 June 2026. Pass is the clean result in the Scottish scheme, and this is one of the freshest inspections in the current Glasgow set.5

Verdict

should-visit — Joanna Nethery runs Five March and co-founded two Glasgow drinks festivals, and when the city's industry guide asked her where she eats she said Kimchi Cult has the best fried chicken in Glasgow and that she could not live without them. That is a competitive claim from someone with a kitchen of her own, and it is the reason this ten-seat counter on Chancellor Street outranks better-covered rooms. It opened in 2011 as the first Korean fast food in the city and it has been the only thing of its kind for most of that time. The chicken comes two thighs to a portion, gochujang or soy glazed, crisp outside and soft through. The kimchi is made in house and it is good enough that it holds its texture on the cheesy fries instead of drowning them. Go in expecting a takeaway rather than a meal out: there were never more than about ten seats, there is no toilet, no bookings are taken, and the venue now sells itself on collection.