Wingaddicts BLOG
For anyone on the hunt to find the best wings in New York City, the "BK" absolutely has some wing joints that belong in that conversation! Welcome to the "Wingaddicts Brooklyn, NY Wing Trail".
Brooklyn really challenged us to stick to our normal criteria for showcasing wing destinations with indoor bar settings. For this trail we made the decision to throw out our "rule book" and feature four fast food "to-go" spots and a pizza joint. We just had to.
Here's our wing travelers' list of 19 spots you need to visit on your search for wing utopia! Full disclosure, we didn't get a chance to visit all of these places yet (but we will)! For some we relied on research, social media groups and local foodies. We know you'll enjoy the "Wingaddicts Brooklyn, NY Wing Trail"!
Is it a bar? Is it a restaurant? Is it a nightclub? We honestly can’t say it’s a “wing joint.” But in reality, Elite Williamsburg is all of those things. It’s officially classified as a Latin Restaurant. The bar has Happy Hour from 5-8 all week long, Mac Monday’s, Taco Tuesdays and Wings & Tings Wednesdays. And while they only have three flavors on the “Wings and Tings” menu; Buffalo, Sweet Chili and D’Usse Guava BBQ (ummm, yes please!) it’s a place we had to add to the Brooklyn Trail because it just gives off that energy. The kitchen is open until 10 pm during the week and midnight on weekends. Go for lunch, dinner, brunch, or order takeout but make this a stop when you’re in Williamsburg. Maybe even relax in one of the rooftop pods.
This is another unique spot that’s difficult to call an actual “wing destination.” But Mekelburg’s is a Brooklyn treasure and a must-stop for any wing enthusiast. Opened by Daniel Mekelburg and Alicia Guevara in 2015, the idea was to create a craft beer bar/ restaurant that doubles as a specialty food shop. They have 20 craft beers on tap, classic pub fare and four wing flavors on the menu. Fill up a growler, choose from Buffalo, BBQ, Hot Chicken or their new Ginger Scallion wings, and then grab some groceries and food from the deli before heading home happy (and full).
One of BK’s most-popular sports bars also puts out some quality organic free-range, chicken wings. They offer Buffalo style wings in three heat levels warning customers that their recipe contains habanero peppers and to “eat at your own risk.” They also make it clear - right on the menu - that they don’t accept any returns if you order your wings too spicy! Gotta love it. They also come in Jameson BBQ and Hoisin Sesame. In addition to housing over a dozen large screen TV’s for sports viewing, Roebling also offers a large whiskey selection and transforms into a popular night spot when the sun goes down.
We’ll mention both these establishments in the same breath as they are brother and sister. Kilo Bravo is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in Williamsburg and Echo Bravo is just a few miles away in Bushwick. The kitchen, named Wing Jawn, is popular for its smash burgers and wings (including its legendary Pig Wings). The chicken wings are cooked from fresh and come in a half-dozen flavors including Buffalo, BBQ, General Tso, Lemon Pepper, Honey Sriracha and Garlic Parm. They also have occasional special including flavors like the “not so traditional” Chili Maple, Garlic Fresno, Calientes Rojo and other hot sauces in their “Hot Ones Challenge.” Both locations run “Wing Wednesday” specials as well and are perfect spots to sit at the bar and enjoy a ballgame with your wings.
You obviously notice the “P” word in the restaurant name. And while we normally shy away from adding pizza joints to our Wing Trails, we had to make an exception for Ace’s Pizza. While their famous Detroit style pizza is definitely the main draw, NY foodies will tell you that they also serve some of the best wings in the city. We also tend to shy away from takeout spots. Again an exception as Ace’s does have a bar and some limited seating inside so you can eat your wings they way there were intended to be eaten . . . straight out of the kitchen. There are a handful of traditional flavors on the written menu, but they add special flavors occasionally. It’s also recommended by our traveling wing foodie friend (and Brooklyn resident) Mike H at @allthingschickenwings.
With three Brooklyn locations (Greenpoint, Southside Williamsburg and Red Hook) Keg & Lantern is a full service brewery with a huge craft beer and cocktail selection and a full menu. They’re going to make you skip to all three if you’re on a wing flavor hunt as they each have slightly different flavor choices on their wing menus. You can find Naked, Buffalo, Smokehouse BBQ and Garlic Parmesan wings at all three spots, but you might want to try the Mango Fire Wings, Gochujang Korean or Hot Honey at the Southside spot; the Pepperberry, Hell Fire or Yakitori wings at the Greenpoint or the Devil Wings tossed in a mango habanero salsa at Red Hook. We say, “YES PLEASE.”
This legendary Bushwick neighborhood bar, renamed Clara’s in 2017 (after owner Eric Borg’s daughter) is a popular destination during sporting events as it’s large bar is outfitted with a dozen TV’s around the centralized pool table. It has become an area favorite for its wings as well. Wings are the star of the show here, brined for 24 hours so that they come out crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The local media voted their Buffalo wings “Best in Bushwick.” They have five menu flavors including Buffalo, BBQ, Jerk, Honey Garlic and Nashville Hot.
This historical bar at 64 Court Street in Brooklyn Heights has been pouring beer since the days that Pee Wee Reese, Don Drysdale, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson graced the baseball diamond for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbet’s Field just three miles away. It developed into a full “bar and grill” restaurant in the 1970’s and is now a popular place to gather, relax, watch sports and eat chicken wings. The bar serves over 20 draft beers as well as specialty cocktails and offers wings in the traditional BBQ, Teriyaki, Honey Garlic and Buffalo flavors. The classic wooden bar, brick interior and tin ceilings will remind you that you are on hallowed ground.
If you close your eyes and try to conjure up the perfect place for chicken wings in NYC, you’ll imagine Dan & John’s. Its original location in the East Village has blossomed into four more including this one in Brooklyn (see the Manhattan Wing Trail - yeah they made it on that one too!) Dan and John are a couple of Buffalo transplants that wanted to bring their city’s authentic wings to the Big Apple. They serve the classic Buffalo wing with five levels of heat, three varieties of BBQ, and Garlic Parmesan, Sweet Chili, Teriyaki and Honey Mustard. It’s more of a fast food restaurant scene than a bar, but they do serve cold beer. One of the best in the city. Period.
When Brooklyn-born-and-raised wing enthusiast, Jamir White opened Buffalo Boss his goal was to create a wing joint with an urban feel that focused on quality ingredients with “that famous Brooklyn Hip Hop swagger.” Backed by his first cousin, Jay Z (do I need to explain who Jay Z is?), White has accomplished that mission. He now has multiple locations around the country including this popular spot at The Barclays Center as well as in Orlando, FL and in Milwaukee, WI. Choose from a dozen house-made flavors from lists of “Heaven” and “Hell” Sauces. The jumbo wings contain no hormones or antibiotics and are fried from fresh. Don’t plan to sit at a bar, as it is a fast-food environment. But you’ll love the process as you place your order by kiosk and then either take them to go, or grab a table for indoor seating.
When a restaurant has the word “Wing” right there in the name, it’s hard not to at least stop in and investigate. When you visit Wingbar you “Enter into the Wing Zone” and though they only have a limited flavor selection - Buffalo, BBQ and Voodoo (yikes) - locals will swear that they serve the best wings in BK. Wingbar has been using a “secret” family recipe for nearly 40 years at this thriving Carroll Gardens neighborhood. Sit at the bar or dine outside on the patio and see why everybody is raving about these legendary wings.
One of THE classic BBQ stops in the Northeast, Dinosaur started out 40 years ago as an early version of the “food truck.” They opened their first restaurant in Syracuse, followed it up with Rochester and Troy and finally made it out to the Big Apple with spots in Manhattan and (of course) Brooklyn. Dinosaur is the only BBQ joint on the Brooklyn Wing Trail and for good reason. Even though wings aren’t necessarily the primary focus there, they come in 7 great flavors and will never disappoint you. Oh, and you can bring that flavor home forever because their wing sauces are bottled and available nationwide.
A wing “traditionalist’s” dream come true, Bonnie’s won’t confuse you with choices on a huge menu. You’ll order Buffalo or you’ll order BBQ. Patterned after the OG Anchor Bar in Buffalo, Bonnie’s serves traditional hot sauce-and-butter wings (seasoned with a proprietary “secret” spice). They always cook from fresh and they are said to have the best blue cheese dip in NYC. Again, don’t come here looking for Mango Habanero or Garlic Parmesan wings. Come here and expect excellence in traditional Buffalo wings. And shhhh, you can even take a jar home. We don’t do ratings at Wingaddicts, but Brooklyn resident, and mega wing foodie @allthingschickenwings does. And he gives Bonnie’s a super-high 9.25 rating!
This classic restaurant/bar in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn doesn’t have an extensive wing menu, but they’ve been putting out a quality product since Wade Hagenbart, Laura Kleinman and Clay Mallow took over and renovated an old pet shop back in 2008. The woners are “Displaced Wisconsin Alumni” so don’t be surprised to see sports team colors that don’t necessarily fit in BK (ie the Green Bay Packers). Dram Shop has that epic bar feel we all love, with booth seating, TV’s, an outdoor patio and even a pool table. They take a lot of pride in their cheeseburgers, and wings aren’t a huge focus, but they serve large jumbo wings in four flavors including BBQ, Hot Buffalo, Mango Habanero and Sweet & Spicy Soy Ginger.
Again, going against our own soft rule regarding the inclusion of fast-food or takeout wing spots on our Wing Trails, Brooklyn Wing House makes our trail by virtue of their outstanding flavor selection and superior wing game. With locations in Queens and Long Island as well, the OG spot is calling your name with 16 great flavors including a Dusse (cognac) infused wing. Don’t expect a cold beer or a place to sit and watch sports while you eat. Expect excellent wings to go. They oil fry from fresh and their Jerk wings are roasted and finished off on the grill. You may even want to save room for an empanada for dessert. Wink.
This Bay Ridge wing destination is awesome in every single way. You get that epic dive bar motif, friendly service and Brooklyn’s best wing menu which includes 40 flavors of “Famous Wings." Owner Anthony LoPorto (once honored as NY’s Best Bartender) took over the bar in 2002 and has established one of NY’s finest, with 70-plus beers to choose from as well. You can tell when a restaurant pays special attention to the wing game. Here they absolutely do.
Opened by former NYC firefighter Tommy Casatelli in 2004, and since adding a sister location on Staten Island, The Kettle Black’s actual logo is a buffalo with wings. If that’s not enough to make any reputable wing goer's list, add in the dozen creative flavors including their own “Buffalo City” which their own house version of the original hot sauce-and-butter recipe. Food and Wine Magazine called this spot “One of the top 5 wing joints in America” for goodness sake. We don’t know how many places they ate at before making that claim, but the claim itself should be good enough to draw you in for a visit. You won’t be disappointed as it’s absolutely one of the best wing spots in BK.
Another to-go wing spot to sneak past the gate keeper, Twisted Wings captured our souls with 25 “Twisted Sauces” on their menu. They serve fresh Halal wings and give you the choice to get them with our without breading. Don’t get it twisted and plan on a sit down dining experience. Don’t plan on an adult beverage. Plan on an extensive list of tasty wings to go.
Growing up in Brooklyn, watching their father run a successful neighborhood deli, you could say that brothers Taha and Talal Alassari were born with the “food service gene.” In 2021 they opened up a deli-style takeout “comfort food” restaurant with a focus on chicken wings. They also have burgers, sandwiches and side dishes on the board but they have “Wings” in the name and offer a selection of more than a dozen great flavors. With the success of the Coney Island location, the boys recently opened up a second venue in their hometown of Bay Ridge, six miles to the north west. Wings up!
With so many solid wing spots to choose from, some just didn't make it on our master list. However we would like to pay honorable mention to:
All have great wings, but just not enough focus to be considered a "wing joint."
We know you’re going to love this awesome Wingaddicts Brooklyn, NY Wing Trail! Did we miss your favorite spot? We’re experts on wings, to be sure, but we don’t do ratings because we know that favorites are subjective. As we always say, “The only opinion that matters is yours!"
Enjoy our other Wing Trails as well at www.wingaddicts.com.
Contact Tommy directly at tommy@wingaddicts.com. I promise to answer your email message personally!
Tommy Wyatt is co-founder of Wingaddicts and author of this “Under the Wingfluence" blog. He can be reached directly by email at tommy@wingaddicts.com
Join Facebook’s largest private group of wing enthusiasts "Wingaddicts Community" , check out over 300 YouTube videos and follow them on all social media platforms @wingaddicts. Also, don't forget to download the most-inclusive chicken wing app in the world, for FREE in your app store or by clicking this link!
/wingaddicts/images/wingaddicts_finalTM_Logo-q080b.png "wingaddicts Logo TM"){kind=logo}
/wingaddicts/Wingaddicts_cartoons-z18e6.png "Wingaddicts cartoons")
/wingaddicts/WingaddictsAppPic_1.png "wingaddicts App")
/wingaddicts/images/BlogLogo-2.png)
