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Mahogany-hued chicken wings sit atop one another on a tray, with a cup of white radish cubes on the side.
Chicken wings from Chick Chick.
Alex Staniloff/Eater NY

Where to Eat Wings in NYC

Choose among traditional Buffalo, jerk, mango chile, and Vietnamese wings

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Chicken wings from Chick Chick.
| Alex Staniloff/Eater NY

A good plate of wings is sure to hit the spot. And while the deep-fried, hot sauce-doused version is still the top dog among the chicken-wing-eating public, there is plenty to do with a wing beyond Buffalo. Here are some of the best around town representing numerous styles including Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, American barbecue, and of course Buffalo-style wings for the purists.

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Chick Chick

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Here on the Upper West Side, chef Jun Park and BoMee Chu make some serious wings. Park batters the meat in a thin layer of potato starch and fries the wings twice, once at a lower temperature, then again at a higher one for extra crunch. The flesh itself has more of a chickeny punch than at the chains, thanks to vegetarian-fed birds, while black pepper soy sauce adds a bit of pleasant astringency.

Blondies Sports

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At neighborhood sports bar Blondies, it’s all about the wings, which are traditional Buffalo — packed with varying degrees of heat — and meant to be consumed while watching any number of games. Flavors also include honey mustard, barbecue, and honey barbecue.

International Wings Factory

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This no-frills wings specialist is a solid option for wings on the Upper East Side when the craving strikes. While standard wing flavors such as barbecue and teriyaki are available, International Wings Factory also has more offbeat options such as the Mexy Q, a Mexican barbecue flavor, and Soul Purifier, a house-made Buffalo-based sauce with spices and chiles. Aside from sauces, diners can also choose how crispy they want their wings.

Jasmine's Caribbean Cuisine

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Chef Basil Jones, late of Footprints Cafe, brings serious Jamaican fare to the Theater District, including a legit rasta-style pasta, tender brown stew chicken, and very good rendition of ackee and saltfish. One would be mistaken, however, to overlook the simple jerk wings. Jones lightly smokes then grills the marinated bird, which packs subtle aromas of hardwood and allspice. Expect a serious kick of heat on the finish and a hint of sweetness from molasses.

A small pile of jerk wings sit on a patterned blue plate.
Jasmine’s jerk wings.
Ryan Sutton/Eater NY

Pelicana Chicken

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Korean chicken chain Pelicana offers up some of the city's juiciest Korean fried chicken, and the wings are no exception. They come in several varieties — original, spicy, grilled, and soy garlic — and all are recommended.

Madame Vo

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Hit East Village Vietnamese restaurant Madame Vo is known for its pho, but the wings are an ideal starter. Crunchy and spicy from a caramelized garlic fish sauce, they’re a big flavor hit.

Dan and John's Wings

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This Smorgasburg favorite welcomed long lines within days of opening its first brick-and-mortar location in the East Village. Fans love the restaurant’s specialty: traditional Buffalo chicken wings available in five spice levels of Buffalo sauce, and two levels of barbecue. They’re beloved among wing purists. Now with locations in Murray Hill, Chelsea, The Lower East Side’s Market Line, and Brooklyn’s DeKalb Market Hall.

Three types of wings in separate paper baskets with celery alongside.
Mild, insane, and sweet chili wings at Dan & John’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Fish Cheeks

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After Pok Pok closed, the Fish Cheeks wings may have become the go-to for a Thai version. The zabb wings are fried and spiced with chile, lime, and mint, rendered crunchy, spicy, and citrusy all at once.

Several pieces of golden fried chicken wings with a green garnish sit in a white bowl.
Fish Cheeks’s fried zabb wings.
Carla Vianna/Eater NY

Bar Goto

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This contemporary Lower East Side izakaya is best known for its cocktails — Pegu Club vet Kenta Goto opened the place — but it also serves one of New York’s best bar food menus. The miso chicken wings are drenched in thick miso and studded with black sesame seeds and scallions. The result is crispy, spicy, and dreamy. The wings are also on the menu at Bar Goto’s Brooklyn outpost, Bar Goto Niban.

A misshapen oval white bowl filled with chicken wings, with two decorated plates with chopsticks flanking the bowl.
Bar Goto’s miso chicken wings.
Bar Goto

Peeps Kitchen

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Stop by Peeps Kitchen for some serious fried and glazed chicken, with wings that come with sweet and spicy, soy garlic, or “extreme” sauces. It’s easy to pick out the restaurant from its blue mural depicting chicks grazing in chef’s hats along McGuiness Boulevard. There’s no seating, but the restaurant is located a short distance from McCarren Park and delivers on most ordering platforms.

A mural depicts two chickens in chef’s hats grazing against a blue wall.
Find fried wings for takeout at Peeps Kitchen.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Mekelburg's

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Brooklyn’s craft beer bar and specialty food shop offers four or eight wings, whether it’s Buffalo, hot chicken, or barbecue flavored. Mekelburg’s wings are big and saucy, and on weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m., order them for a dollar each with the purchase of a drink.

Hometown Bar-B-Que

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If you’re a fan of wings that start their life in the smoker, leading to flavor that’s boosted with sweet sauces, Hometown takes the idea a step further. Its Vietnamese wings are first smoked and then coated with a sauce redolent of scallions, scattered with sesame seeds, and served with cilantro ranch alongside. Yes, the seeds are extraneous, but these wings sure are good. Be forewarned these are whole wings, which means you get the wing tip as well — a bonus for gnawers.

Three whole, three section wings in a cardboard box with a green-flecked white dressing.
Vietnamese hot wings at Hometown Bar-B-Que.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bonnie's Grill

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Buffalo natives are behind this classic American version found at Bonnie’s Grill, a well-worn neighborhood joint along Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. The wings come in four spice levels — the hottest version is no joke — or coated in barbecue sauce. Cooling celery, carrots, and blue cheese dressing come on the side.

Island Cz Cafe

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One of the best bets for wings in this busy stretch of Brooklyn is Island Cz Cafe, a corner restaurant known in the neighborhood for its heaping Hennessy cocktails and oxtail dinners. Its plump chicken wings are a worthwhile add-on to any order, with almost enough meat on the bone to make for a small meal. They come six to a container, coated in mango barbecue, jerk, or sweet chile sauce you won’t want to leave behind.

An overhead photograph of an aluminum takeout tray of saucy jerk chicken wings.
An order of jerk chicken wings from Island Cz Cafe.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Chick Chick

Here on the Upper West Side, chef Jun Park and BoMee Chu make some serious wings. Park batters the meat in a thin layer of potato starch and fries the wings twice, once at a lower temperature, then again at a higher one for extra crunch. The flesh itself has more of a chickeny punch than at the chains, thanks to vegetarian-fed birds, while black pepper soy sauce adds a bit of pleasant astringency.

Blondies Sports

At neighborhood sports bar Blondies, it’s all about the wings, which are traditional Buffalo — packed with varying degrees of heat — and meant to be consumed while watching any number of games. Flavors also include honey mustard, barbecue, and honey barbecue.

International Wings Factory

This no-frills wings specialist is a solid option for wings on the Upper East Side when the craving strikes. While standard wing flavors such as barbecue and teriyaki are available, International Wings Factory also has more offbeat options such as the Mexy Q, a Mexican barbecue flavor, and Soul Purifier, a house-made Buffalo-based sauce with spices and chiles. Aside from sauces, diners can also choose how crispy they want their wings.

Jasmine's Caribbean Cuisine

Chef Basil Jones, late of Footprints Cafe, brings serious Jamaican fare to the Theater District, including a legit rasta-style pasta, tender brown stew chicken, and very good rendition of ackee and saltfish. One would be mistaken, however, to overlook the simple jerk wings. Jones lightly smokes then grills the marinated bird, which packs subtle aromas of hardwood and allspice. Expect a serious kick of heat on the finish and a hint of sweetness from molasses.

A small pile of jerk wings sit on a patterned blue plate.
Jasmine’s jerk wings.
Ryan Sutton/Eater NY

Pelicana Chicken

Korean chicken chain Pelicana offers up some of the city's juiciest Korean fried chicken, and the wings are no exception. They come in several varieties — original, spicy, grilled, and soy garlic — and all are recommended.

Madame Vo

Hit East Village Vietnamese restaurant Madame Vo is known for its pho, but the wings are an ideal starter. Crunchy and spicy from a caramelized garlic fish sauce, they’re a big flavor hit.

Dan and John's Wings

This Smorgasburg favorite welcomed long lines within days of opening its first brick-and-mortar location in the East Village. Fans love the restaurant’s specialty: traditional Buffalo chicken wings available in five spice levels of Buffalo sauce, and two levels of barbecue. They’re beloved among wing purists. Now with locations in Murray Hill, Chelsea, The Lower East Side’s Market Line, and Brooklyn’s DeKalb Market Hall.

Three types of wings in separate paper baskets with celery alongside.
Mild, insane, and sweet chili wings at Dan & John’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Fish Cheeks

After Pok Pok closed, the Fish Cheeks wings may have become the go-to for a Thai version. The zabb wings are fried and spiced with chile, lime, and mint, rendered crunchy, spicy, and citrusy all at once.

Several pieces of golden fried chicken wings with a green garnish sit in a white bowl.
Fish Cheeks’s fried zabb wings.
Carla Vianna/Eater NY

Bar Goto

This contemporary Lower East Side izakaya is best known for its cocktails — Pegu Club vet Kenta Goto opened the place — but it also serves one of New York’s best bar food menus. The miso chicken wings are drenched in thick miso and studded with black sesame seeds and scallions. The result is crispy, spicy, and dreamy. The wings are also on the menu at Bar Goto’s Brooklyn outpost, Bar Goto Niban.

A misshapen oval white bowl filled with chicken wings, with two decorated plates with chopsticks flanking the bowl.
Bar Goto’s miso chicken wings.
Bar Goto

Peeps Kitchen

Stop by Peeps Kitchen for some serious fried and glazed chicken, with wings that come with sweet and spicy, soy garlic, or “extreme” sauces. It’s easy to pick out the restaurant from its blue mural depicting chicks grazing in chef’s hats along McGuiness Boulevard. There’s no seating, but the restaurant is located a short distance from McCarren Park and delivers on most ordering platforms.

A mural depicts two chickens in chef’s hats grazing against a blue wall.
Find fried wings for takeout at Peeps Kitchen.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Mekelburg's

Brooklyn’s craft beer bar and specialty food shop offers four or eight wings, whether it’s Buffalo, hot chicken, or barbecue flavored. Mekelburg’s wings are big and saucy, and on weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m., order them for a dollar each with the purchase of a drink.

Hometown Bar-B-Que

If you’re a fan of wings that start their life in the smoker, leading to flavor that’s boosted with sweet sauces, Hometown takes the idea a step further. Its Vietnamese wings are first smoked and then coated with a sauce redolent of scallions, scattered with sesame seeds, and served with cilantro ranch alongside. Yes, the seeds are extraneous, but these wings sure are good. Be forewarned these are whole wings, which means you get the wing tip as well — a bonus for gnawers.

Three whole, three section wings in a cardboard box with a green-flecked white dressing.
Vietnamese hot wings at Hometown Bar-B-Que.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bonnie's Grill

Buffalo natives are behind this classic American version found at Bonnie’s Grill, a well-worn neighborhood joint along Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. The wings come in four spice levels — the hottest version is no joke — or coated in barbecue sauce. Cooling celery, carrots, and blue cheese dressing come on the side.

Island Cz Cafe

One of the best bets for wings in this busy stretch of Brooklyn is Island Cz Cafe, a corner restaurant known in the neighborhood for its heaping Hennessy cocktails and oxtail dinners. Its plump chicken wings are a worthwhile add-on to any order, with almost enough meat on the bone to make for a small meal. They come six to a container, coated in mango barbecue, jerk, or sweet chile sauce you won’t want to leave behind.

An overhead photograph of an aluminum takeout tray of saucy jerk chicken wings.
An order of jerk chicken wings from Island Cz Cafe.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

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