Wing Review: Bruno's (Lancaster)

One Of WNY's Biggest Sleeper Wing Joints & They Don't Even Know It

Four days before Christmas I found myself at Bruno’s in Lancaster (5259 Broadway Avenue) alongside my wife to try some wings. Honestly, I would’ve never heard of Bruno’s were it not for the tireless work of the guys at Buffalo Wing Coalition. Because of their BWC site, I was looking for something new on a Thursday and discovered Bruno’s had their wing night (10 for $10), so I went there without the highest of expectations, if any at all.

Needless to say that night I was blown away, to the point of boasting on Bruno’s as a prime wing sleeper spot and top 10 place for wings in Western New York overall. However, I never feel good about crowning any spot after just one try. Maybe we got lucky that night—there’s many spots throughout WNY where you find a treasure one night only to come back the next time and get garbage. That’s a problem, maybe THE biggest problem for so many wing spots –consistency. You never know what you’re going to get.

Long story short I did make my way back to Bruno’s again for wings and to have a more thorough review. We got 10 hot, 10 hot cajun and 10 lemon pepper (along with a “Big Slice”). These are my takeaways:

PROS

Delightfully Tasteful: Simply put---they’re really, really good. The traditional hot has plenty of heat without blowing your taste buds off and it’s definitely not some generic Frank’s hot sauce/butter ratio mixed together either. Meanwhile the hot cajun have insane flavor and plenty differentiate from the traditional hot. So many places offering cajun ends up being merely a sprinkled on difference in flavor, but not here. I will warn -- the cajun gives these hot wings penetrating heat so if you’re not a fan of that, get medium cajun instead.

Flawlessly Prepared: The wings were cooked pretty much flawlessly---plenty of crisp without going overboard and verging on dry. Very appropriately sized as well—not monsters but not little babies either. Nice little presentation on the plate as well—seems more and more people are glamorizing dishes of wings, I ain’t hating on it.

Great Blue Cheese: I don’t personally use blue cheese (nor ranch either—relax) but my wife who accompanied me did and said theirs is excellent.

CONS

Could Use A Bit More Sauce: I think the wings could’ve used just a smidgen more sauce. Not to say they were served dry but I would’ve liked them a touch more wet, and I don’t like having to ask for extra sauce because that usually results in plates with a swimming pool worth of sauce. If you’re reading this before heading there and like sauce, ask for just a little extra sauce.

Lemon Pepper Didn’t Do It For Me: The lemon pepper wings didn’t really do anything for me and because the juice was clearly poured on them with the wings still piping hot, too much juice slid off and left em a little bland. In fairness I’m not much a lemon pepper wings guy anyway so I won’t hold any of that against them—I don’t go to any spots primarily to get lemon pepper but at any rate, they were just meh for me.

Definitely Pricey: Minus the sauce volume nitpicking the only thing I take exception here with is the price. $18 for a single order is high end, among the highest prices I’ve paid anywhere. I also don’t like a lack of any tiered pricing for either---meaning the cost per 10 should average less with the more you order. That’s pretty standard at most places but not here. 10 wings is $18, 20 is $36 and 30 is $54. Fifty-four bucks for a triple order of wings is too expensive, even in today’s market. For reference, that’s several dollars more expensive than the biggest hitters in the wing game like Bar Bill, Elmo’s and Nine Eleven Tavern.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Side Dishes Were So Good: We’ve also tried their fries, which are unique and taste fantastic. Also had their “Big Slice”, which is actually two smaller slices of pizza on a dish and that was significantly better than I expected.

Solid Layout And Elite Service: The restaurant is clean, has an old-school feel to it and has a dining room and bar room sitting areas---plenty of seating. Lastly, the service was absolutely outstanding—shoutout to our server Madison. That’s no insignificant matter either. When you go out and spend $72 between thirty wings, a side pizza slice and a few sodas, service and environment means a lot. Bruno’s excelled here.

VERDICT

Without question I feel comfortable saying this one of the absolutely upper echelon spots in Western New York to get wings. It’s pretty remarkable considering they even admit they’re not a really a “wing spot” as much as an Italian food destination in Lancaster. Essentially, they’re such a sleeper spot for wings that they don’t even know it.

For me, Bruno’s is top 10-12 for wings and I’m stoked I came back a second time because I couldn’t help but wonder if my first experience was a fluke. It clearly wasn’t. If these wings were an NFL team they’d not only make the playoffs but advance to at least the divisional round.

TIER RANKING: Tier 2 “The Elite”

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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.

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