The 5 Absolute Best Chain Restaurant Buffalo Wings (And 1 To Avoid)

Fried chicken wings have been a Southern food staple for eons, but the saucy, spicy rendition was born out of a mom's desire to dazzle (or maybe just feed) her kid. Buffalo, New York, bar owner and mother, Teressa Bellissimo, was asked to whip up a snack for her son and his friends when late-night hunger pangs struck. Thankfully, the Anchor Bar had chicken wings on reserve (typically meant for soup), so Mom grabbed the wings, deep-fried them, and then smothered them in hot sauce. Talk about a creative way to utilize pantry staples. Everyone raved, and the peppery appetizer quickly became a hit with the locals. In one imaginative, back-of-house moment, America's favorite game day snack was born.

Bellissimo's 1964 nighttime ingenuity has since become a nationwide restaurant staple. From sports bars to steakhouses, Buffalo-style chicken wings have evolved into a beloved menu item. And let's not forget the chain restaurants dedicated exclusively to wings. To determine which eatery makes the best version of Buffalo chicken wings (without actually traveling to Buffalo), I went to six popular chains and put the birds to the test. I ordered classic Buffalo wings at each haunt and evaluated them based on the flavor and consistency of the sauce, as well as the taste and texture of the chicken meat and skin. With a flushed face and blazing palate, I unearthed definitive winners in the category, and one I won't order again.

I'll start with the wings I won't be purchasing again — Chili's bone-in wings. I had the option to choose two different sauce flavors, but I stuck with one — medium Buffalo sauce — so these wings would be comparable to the rest. Sadly, they weren't analogous. The sauce was incredibly greasy and didn't seem to resemble authentic Buffalo sauce at all. I realize the wings were fried, so grease was to be expected, but the sauce was excessively oily. Especially when compared to all the other fried wings in this lineup. And there was something unpleasant about the flavor. I couldn't identify the ingredients, but it had a lemony, almost perfume-like scent. Greasy perfume was not on my wing sauce bucket list. In addition, the sauce was much thinner than the others I sampled; it was more akin to oil than actual sauce. Sadly, the concoction was nothing like delicious homemade Buffalo wing sauce. 

The restaurant hails its wings as crispy, and I'll admit, the skin was indeed crispy. But the meat itself was tough and chewy. I paid $14.49 for eight wings, and four of them were drummettes (the meaty upper portion of the "arm" of the chicken wing, and also my favorite part). When compared to the other wings in this collection, Chili's wings fell short, and I won't be purchasing them again. That said, I'm a huge fan of Chili's fajitas, so I'll stick to that next time.

With a name like Buffalo Wild Wings, one can assume the chain knows a thing or two about Buffalo-style wings. I ordered the restaurant's 10-piece bone-in wings with original Buffalo sauce (there were countless tempting sauce flavors to choose from, but I stayed with Buffalo for this comparison). I'm incredibly glad I did because I adored the wing sauce — it was tangy, spicy, and delectably thick. It was almost like freshly pureed chili peppers and vinegar. And, this may sound odd, but I believe I detected notes of mayonnaise, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The creamy, tangy mayo helped balance the heat from the hot peppers while encouraging the fire to linger on my palate. I could have easily ordered an extra side of Buffalo sauce and finished it off.

The wing pieces were some of the meatiest in this review. Each piece was plump and brimming with moist chicken meat. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed by the skin — it was soggy and wimpy. I was hoping for crispy skin to contrast the tenderness of the meat. I paid $10.99 for six chicken wings, and two of the pieces were drummettes. I'll head back to BWW for more wings, but I'll request an extra-crispy batch.

Longhorn Steakhouse offers seasoned steakhouse wings, and they were the most unique of the bunch. According to the menu, the wings are baked before frying, and then finished with the chain's smoky char seasoning. That char seasoning rocked my world — it was smoky, peppery, and complex. The Buffalo sauce was served on the side, so, for consistency, I tossed the wings in the sauce to review. Once combined, the char seasoning and Buffalo sauce were a match made in heaven. The sauce was mildly fiery and had definitive notes of tangy vinegar. Plus, it picked up the grill flavor and black pepper from the seasoning. In addition, there was something about the sauce that was a tad creamy, which balanced the acidity of the vinegar. In terms of spiciness, the sauce was mild to medium in heat level, so if you prefer spicy wings, you'll want to try a different option. And, personally, I would have preferred more sauce, so next time I'll order an extra cup.

The meat was plump, juicy, and flavorful, and I liked the contrast of crispy skin and moist interior (since the sauce was served on the side, the skin on the wings stayed extra crunchy). I paid $13.79 for eight wings, and half were drummettes. I thoroughly enjoyed these wings because they had a steakhouse flair to them. I will be ordering them again. 

I'll be honest, this was my first experience with Wingstop. I'm familiar with Wingstop's rivalry with Buffalo Wild Wings, so I was excited to try the chain's 10-piece classic (bone-in) wings. I had the option to order two different sauces, so I chose original hot and atomic (I couldn't exactly say no to a thermonuclear-sounding sauce). Aptly named, the atomic sauce is liquid fire. One small sample and I immediately started sweating and panting — which isn't a bad thing. In fact, if you like mind-blowing heat, you'll like the atomic. But I preferred Wingstop's original hot sauce. While the atomic sauce was mostly heat, the original hot sauce tasted homemade because it delivered heat plus flavor. I detected smoky nuances in a base of spicy vinegar. The original hot sauce was also richer, with a thickness more akin to barbecue sauce (which I found agreeable), so it reminded me of saucy wings from the oven. 

I paid $13.99 for 10 wings, and six of the pieces were drummettes. As mentioned, I prefer the drummettes, so I was pleased by the ratio of upper arm to wing. My only disappointment was the size of the wings — they were noticeably smaller than all other wings in this grouping. Smaller wings mean less meat, and I would have preferred more meat to accompany the fiery skin. That said, if you're looking for a quick wing stop, Wingstop is a great choice.

TGI Fridays might be renowned for its loaded potato skins, but I can assure you, the chain's traditional wings are exceptionally tasty. In fact, of all the wings I sampled, this was my favorite sauce. There were a few sauce options on the menu, but I chose the one with Frank's RedHot because the brand was used that fateful night in Buffalo — it's clearly the most authentic option. What I loved most about this sauce was that it was smoky, peppery, and vinegary (like many others), but there was an added boost of flavor from the fried chicken. All the wings in this review were fried, but somehow the chicken permeated this sauce more, which gave it depth and complexity. Note: Even though I detected fried chicken flavor, the sauce wasn't oily or greasy. My only regret is that I didn't order extra sauce on the side. 

I paid $11.89 for eight wings, and half of them were drummettes. The skin was perfectly crispy, the meat was exceptionally moist, and each bite delivered a nice ratio of meat to skin. Again, I would have preferred more sauce, but that's an easy fix for next time. If you happen to be at TGI Fridays and haven't yet tried the chain's wings, I highly encourage you to do so. 

Applebee's classic bone-in wings were the sauciest of all, and I enjoyed every minute of my lip-smacking taste test. The sauce was darker than all the others, and it was wonderfully rich and full-bodied. The savory sauce was also fairly thick, much thicker than most of the others in this grouping. For me, that's a plus; I prefer Buffalo sauce that's thick enough to cling to the wings, not one that's watery or oily and drips right off. In terms of heat level, I found the wings mildly spicy, but not overwhelmingly peppery. Applebee's also offers an extra-hot Buffalo sauce, so if you prefer molten lava wings, you should probably order that. My guess is that Applebee's extra-hot Buffalo sauce will deliver all the nuances of the regular version, but with more heat. 

I paid $17.49 for nine wings, and there were five drummettes in the collection (since I prefer drummettes, I was excited to have one extra piece). There was plenty of juicy meat clinging to each bone. In fact, these were some of the meatiest wings of all. I also preferred the skin over all the other wings — it was similar to homemade baked chicken wings, because it was dark, crisp, and particularly flavorful. If I had to pick a winner in this review, it would be Applebee's — the chain delivered the best-tasting, sauciest wings that checked all the boxes in terms of taste and texture, quantity of meat, and volume of sauce.

For this review, I visited six restaurants and purchased each chain's version of Buffalo wings. Most restaurants offered wings in Buffalo sauce, which I stuck with for consistency. I sampled each wing and drummette and evaluated the dish based on the taste and consistency of the sauce, flavor and texture of the meat and skin, and overall experience. In most cases, the wings were delicious. In one instance, I couldn't get past the first bite. It's almost impossible to go wrong with chicken wings, but somehow that restaurant managed to fail (in my opinion). 

Even though all wings came with a Buffalo-style sauce, the sauces varied widely — some were considerably more full-flavored and layered. I appreciated when the sauce boasted nuances of pepper, vinegar, and chiles, and when I detected an underlying complementary flavor (i.e., mayonnaise), I took note. 

Although this isn't a ranking, I numbered these chicken wings in order of my preference — with the first option (Chili's) being one I would not order again. From there, I ranked them as my "top five," with number one being the darling of the bunch. I also included the price I paid, the number of wings in the order, and the ratio of drummettes to wings. Since I'm a drummette fan (and I'm certain I'm not alone), it seemed wise to add that information here.