Pittsburgh's Best Chicken Wings: Where To Find Them

PITTSBURGH, PA - If you’re a connoisseur of chicken wings, the news is bad indeed: the price restaurants pay for their wings is at historically high levels and some have been forced to pass on the added cost to their patrons.

With demand outstripping supply, and the start of football season sure to inspire even more demand, we here at Patch wondered what places around Pittsburgh offered the best wings for your bucks. For the answer, we turned to Yelp users, who seldom are shy about sharing their opinions.

The following top 10 list is certain to spark discord, disagreement and debate as fiery as ghost pepper wing sauce. Was your favorite place left off the list? Is one of more of the places rated too highly? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

1. Chick’n Bubbly, 117 Oakland Ave., Oakland
Situated on the University of Pittsburgh campus, Chick’n Bubbly offers “ridiculously delicious sriracha-infused Korean chicken wings,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “This was the first place I ever tried KFC (Korean fried chicken) and if this is anything to go by, I'm going to love it long long time.” Offered another: “A great Korean style fried chicken. Super crispy on the outside and moist inside.”

2. Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings, multiple locations
Opined one Big Shot Bob’s fan: “Their wings (always) are absolutely delicious and this time was no exception. They are always on the larger side for wings and are juicy and fried perfectly.” Stated another: “These are simply the best wings I've ever had outside of Buffalo (the home of wings). In fact, were they in Buffalo, they'd be one of the best wing spots there too.”

3. Quaker Steak & Lube, multiple locations
“Nice selection of flavors, kinda greasy but good,” one wing lover wrote. Another added: “The deep fried skin was somewhat crispy. The chicken meat was moist. The sauce had some heat to it, but it was not overwhelmingly spicy.”

4. Wiggy’s, 2350 Noblestown Road, West End
One reviewer who sampled the Jamaican jerk and sweet chili sauces wrote, “the Jamaican jerk was a dry rub which I liked and the sweet chili tasted like duck sauce with flakes of chili peppers.” Yum. Pondered another reviewer: “Why would be anyone ever go to the winged bison place when an awesome hole in the wall like Wiggy's is available?”

5. Wings over Pittsburgh, 2525 East Carson St., South Side
“Overall, I’d say the best wings in Pittsburgh,” one Yelpster wrote. “My go-to flavors are definitely honey BBQ and the Jamaican jerk.” Another regular stated, “This place is always so good. Huge portions with a lot of really good sauces and dry rubs. I've been here many times.”

6. 51 Wings and Things, 4022 Saw Mill Run Blvd., Brentwood
This place’s honey jalapeno sauce gets rave reviews from numerous patrons. Wrote one: “The honey jalapeño sauce was the bomb. It's exactly what you'd expect, honey with minced jalapeño.” And if you like variety, this place is for you. “They have a wide variety (51, in fact) of wing flavors,” one reviewer noted. We kind of gathered that from the name.

7. Bigham Tavern, 321 Bigham St., Mt. Washington
One fan wrote: “Bigham's wings are seriously to die for...a few standout flavors include: Gnarly, Honey Garlic Habanero, Hyena, Hot Garlic, and Memphis Sweet. The wing list is so big, there is a flavor for everyone.” Another raved: “Best wings I've had in Pittsburgh, yet. I had the house tavern wings, they were perfectly done, not too crunchy not too gooey.”

8. Liam’s Fish, Wings & Things, 501 Penn Avenue, Wilkinsburg
You can also get shrimp and frog legs at this place, but this post isn’t about Pittsburgh’s best frog legs. Regarding the wings, a Yelpster wrote, “I'm very picky with chicken wings and the way they make it is perfect: well-seasoned and crispy, but also with a good amount of meat.”

9. The Dream BBQ, 7600 North Braddock, Homewood
We’re a bit mystified as to how this place made the list. We found plenty of raves about the barbecue and the ribs, but nothing about wings. Puzzling.

10. Archie’s, 2328 East Carson St., Pittsburgh
Archie’s wings “are consistently a good size, crispy, well sauced, and cheap,” one Yelpster wrote. “We like the Thai, garlic parm, and honey barbecue.” Opined another: “The wings were juicy and meaty with just the right amount of flavors. My favorite flavor so far is Cajun rub.”

Photos via Yelp.