My 2025 Chicken Wing Rankings & Tiers

97 WNY Wing Spots Put Into Seven Tiers

This is now the fifth year I’ve put out my personal ranking/tiers of wing spots for Western New York and I have to emphasize the word personal—more on that in a second.

A brief recap of what got this going. Growing up I actually didn’t eat chicken wings—not sure if it’s because my parents couldn’t afford the latter half of pizza and wings combos or if I simply didn’t like them, but that’s neither here nor there. As an adult I got into them but it was a slow build to really falling in love with them. Even then I’d only have them from a handful of places.

Then I moved to Florida in 2016. I started having some wings down south. Long story short, they sucked, like all of them. Started coming back on visits to Buffalo a handful of times per year and practically every day I was suddenly trying new wing spots. I’ve always had a fondness for writing up quick reviews and power ranking everything, so I started doing that with wings. The list grew and grew, and then in 2021 I moved back to home to Buffalo and have now had wings for what feels like a gazillion times.

Anyway, when I first started this exercise. I ranked from first to worst. At some point I concluded that was kinda BS because a straight list can be deceiving, There’s so many places that have wings that are of similar quality, and ranking something 20^th and another 39^th because there’s 20 spots I feel are roughly the same felt to uneven.

On that note, I got the 97 spots I’ve had broken down into seven separate tiers. Some places have closed since last year and are gone from the list, and there’s still admittedly several (literally) places I haven’t tried to have an opinion on.

Here’s my seven tiers with a brief explanation of each.

Mt. Rushmore: The four undisputed championship wing spots of Western New York.

The Elite: The next best thing—right on the brink of being immortalized.

All-Pro: Perhaps not MVP material but categorically deserving of being discussed among the best.

Solid Starter: You certainly won’t be complaining. Exactly what the description reads—solid.

Depth Chart: You can do far worse but at this point — significantly better as well.

Roster Bubble: If left with few other options these places may suffice, but I can’t recommend them.

Waiver Wire: I’d rather eat pizza or something else.

A few things that need to be said before getting to my 2025 tiers and rankings. Like I just said before, I offer apologies to literally dozens of places I’ve yet to try including a handful of spots that have become pretty well known for wings. I’ll do my best to get to more first-time spots to add to this list.

Lastly and most important---this exercise is quite literally the opinions of one person, me. That’s it, the end. I don’t take myself too seriously and nor should you. What’s great or mediocre for me may be completely different for you. Wings or any food really may be the most subjective thing on earth.

That said, I understand I have a pretty good following between content creating and wing reviews/takes, so I’m often sought for my opinions. I do take the task of being honest how I feel about places to heart because I want my thoughts to feel authentic and credible. My goal’s to not steer anyone wrong while not being outwardly a jerk about wing spots I don’t love. Almost all these spots have something fun and delicious to offer, even if not wings.

Let me say that again—almost all these spots including “Waiver Wire” and “Roster Bubble” tiers have things about their establishments that are enjoyable and worth going to for, even if it’s not wings.

On that note—the tiers with a few notes from each:

TIER 7 NOTES: Obviously none of these are spots I’m going to for wings. I can’t emphasize enough, however, that most these places are awesome at other things. Essex Street Pub has been one of my favorite neighborhood dive watering holes for decades… Glen Park Tavern (I need to get back there to give the wings another crack) has incredible beef on weck and other items…. Wiechec’s has one of the best fish fry/beef on weck one two combos in the region… Connor’s Restaurant is a great family spot in West Seneca with hearty fish fries.. Pasquales has solid Italian dinner selections…

TIER 6 NOTES: (Yet) again, don’t love the wings at any of these places but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth hitting up…. I need to give Hat Trix Bar & Grill another look with them at a new location, maybe the wings are better now…. Pat’s Pizzeria has an incredible steak hoagy, as does Mineo’s South… Mandy’s Care is a primo drinking spot I enjoy in West Seneca…. The Banshee downtown is as fun as it gets for parties, Irish events and soccer games if that’s your thing… Brick Oven Bar has bomb Italian dishes and a really nice bar to chill at….. 240 South is another spot I enjoy going to for pints and basically anything else other than wings..

TIER 5 NOTES: Admittedly I don’t generally speaking get a lot of movement from tier to tier either way when I do these annually, but there are from. One of them is Kettle’s, who I actually had in the bottom of tier seven last year. I’ve been back since and the wings were much better… Surely Doc Sullivan’s is a controversial choice in this tier. Many would have them in their Top 10, I just don’t think they’re wings are anything more than average. Again, don’t get me wrong the bar is great and so is the menu, just not the wings…. Riverfield 365 has potential and I’ll be back but for now, I didn’t thing their wings lived up to the hype… Rodney’s a nice little spot out in Hamburg that could climb further in the future… Ebenezer Ale House can be elite at times but are too inconsistent with their wings, and I’ve had them enough to know… Skoob’s is pretty good and could end up higher in the future.

TIER 4 NOTES: Once you get to this tier, I have zero problem banging out wings from these places at any time. These are that top 30-45% of spots in my opinion…. Duffs and Gabriel’s Gate are two of the most popular and well known spots in Western New York. I don’t think either is more than “pretty good” and don’t really have anything to add other than a reminder this isn’t a consensus vote but rather my own list…. Strikers has really good wins for a bowling alley…. Coles/Goodbar define for me what “solid starters” wings are… Gene McCarthy’s, The Big Tree and Wales Center are three other largely popular establishments that find their way here… Mooney’s is a sneaky good spot that probably deserves more recognition… Bada Bing is a great time (and solid pizza) downtown and last but not least, find me a better party/dive bar than Vinny’s---good luck with that…

TIER 3 NOTES: Not only are these all places I’ll gladly eat wings at but I’ll be excited about it as well, literally any of them… Klimek’s may be one of WNY’s best kept secrets if you live outside of North Tonwanda….Ditto for Potter’s Field if you’re not in West Seneca/South Buffalo…. Sports City Pub has great wings, solid pizza and it’s an elite spot to drink and watch sports… If you thought Transit Music Lounge didn’t have great wings because it’s a music bar, you’re wrong… Imperial is a utility knife of excellence whether its wings, pizza, fingers, subs or their bar area… Macy’s Place can be top five on any given day and just need to be a little more consistent.. La Nova is an all-time favorite especially for BBQ wings. It’s hard to go to Mulberry and not get an Italian dinner but their wings are the bomb—at the very least split them with someone as an appetizer…. Bruno’s is a spot I only discovered over the past year and they have elite potential.

TIER 2 NOTES: I robbed Kelly’s Korner by not having them in Tier 1. Trust me, I wanted to but I couldn’t cheat and had to keep the Mt. Rushmore limited to only four—they’re as deserving as Adolf’s or Sonny Red’s of being there, the coin flip just didn’t go their way…. I’ve had Elmo’s No. 1 before and now their “only” in my tier 2 elite category. That’s because I concluded that as amazing as their signatures are, the traditional hot/medium just don’t quite hold up with the biggest of the big boys.. Belt Line Brewery has amazing wings and is still a low-key spot to many.. The Audubon North is a spot I fell in love with years ago in Amherst, awesome wings you can have cooked on the grill right in front of your face (and maybe the best chicken fingers in town)…. Bar at Main and Hamlin is right there with the very best, their only flaw is it’s tough to choose them first when you know who is literally across the street from them in East Aurora…

TIER 1 NOTES: Selfishly I miss the days where Sonny Red’s was a place most outside of Lackawanna didn’t know about. I can understand why it’s had a rocket strapped to its back over the past 1-2 years. Their wings are flavorful and about as good as anyone, not to mention the brick oven pizza is great, as are their chicken tenders and if the food isn’t enough, they now have a gorgeous outside patio to enjoy the good weather. Going by the packed house most nights you can see how new people keep discovering Sonny Red’s every week… Adolf’s is as traditional of a dive bar/watering hole as you’ll see anywhere in the city and I love it. Their traditional hot or hot garlic parm wings are absolutely out of this world good… Sometimes I wish I could crap on Bar Bill a little bit because it’s become the place EVERYONE recommends for people coming into town for visits. I hate it because there’s so many other great spots, but I also get it because they are a place that somehow lives up to their impossibly large hype. There’s not really much else to say, they’re simply THAT good…. And last but not least yet again is Nine Eleven Tavern. If you’re looking for signature wings, large comfy eating spots, reservations or a bathroom bigger than most people’s closets you’re out of luck (for now at least), but if you’re craving the absolute best medium or hot wings you’ll get anywhere in Western New York if not the world, then you came to the right place. They’re the goat.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the podcast in audio or video form covering this list below.

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