Here are the 16 best chicken wing restaurants in the Triangle
READ MORE
The Triangle’s Best Restaurants
From pizza and doughnuts to wings and ice cream, these are the restaurants that readers of The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun voted as the best at what they offer.
Expand All
The search for the Triangle’s best chicken wings made us sweat, which is not surprising since the winner of our reader poll — Heavenly Buffaloes of Durham — offers a wing called “Burnie’s Zass-Off.”
Heavenly Buffaloes was opened in 2015 by Dain Phelan and business partner Mark Dundas, built in a tiny shack on Markham Avenue, a half block from Duke University’s East Campus. The wing shop expanded for the first time in 2018, opening a Chapel Hill location on Franklin Street with a dining room and more in-person seating. A location in Greensboro and another in Durham followed.
All of the sauces at Heavenly Buffaloes were created by Phelan’s wife, Jennifer, built from scratch and embodying a level of heat or flavor, from the five-alarm Burnies to the milder garlic Parmesan.
“What is there not to love about wings?” Phelan said. “It’s just forever been that thing, you get a pitcher of beer and a bunch of wings and friends and dig in.”
Where to find Heavenly Buffaloes: 1807 W. Markham Ave., Durham. 919-237-2358 or heavenlybuffaloes.com
Coming in hot at No. 2 is My Way Tavern
My Way Tavern, with locations in Holly Springs and Raleigh, came in second in reader votes.
The neighborhood tavern is owned by Andrew and Nikki Stafford, and the wings — which come in 11 different sauces and rubs — are an important part of the menu.
Stafford grows the Carolina Reaper peppers himself that go into the sweet and spicy “pineapple reaper” sauce. The “El Hefe,” My Way’s hottest Buffalo sauce, is named as a memorial to a former cook who died and passed down the recipe, using ghost and habanero peppers for the heat.
Where to find My Way Tavern: 301 W. Center St., Holly Springs. 919-285-2412; 522 St. Mary’s St., Raleigh. 919-900-8273. mywaytavern.com
The 16 best chicken wings in the Triangle
APEX WINGS 518 E. Williams St., Apex. 919-387-0082 or apexwings.com
This Apex spot has 20 wing sauces and four dry rubs and wing counts ranging from six for to 100.
AVIATOR SMOKEHOUSE 525 E. Broad St., Fuquay Varina. 919-557-7675 or aviatorbrew.com/smokehouse
Aviator has built an empire of beer, barbecue and pizza in Fuquay-Varina. The wings are smoked and then fried, coming in orders of 6, 12 and 18 and four different sauces and one dry rub.
BACKYARD BISTRO 1235 Hurricane Alley Way, Raleigh. 919-851-6203 or backyardbistro.com
The closest bar to PNC Arena sells wings by the half dozen, with 11 different sauces and one dry rub as seasoning.
BORICUA SOUL 705 Willard St., Durham. 919-902-0520 or boricuasoul.com
Wings at this American Tobacco Campus restaurant come in options like Jerk, Guava Lava and Hot and in orders of five and 10 pieces.
BUFFALO BROTHERS Five locations in Wake County. buffalobrothers.com
This Wake County wing shop has roots in Buffalo, the birthplace of the classic chicken wing. There are 21 wing sauces, with orders coming in 10, 20 and 40 pieces.
HEAVENLY BUFFALOES 1807 W. Markham Ave., Durham. 919-237-2358; 2816 Erwin Road, Suite 205, Durham. 919-797-2456; 407 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. 919-914-6717. heavenlybuffaloes.com
A wing brand with one takeout shop and two restaurants, Heavenly Buffaloes sells wings in quantities ranging from seven to 251. There are seven different dry rubs, three “fancy” sauces and 16 different sauces.
M KOKKO 311 Holland St., Ste. B, Durham. 919-908-9332 or m-restaurants.com/m-kokko
On the menu as “KFC” for Korean Fried Chicken, these wings come sauced in garlic soy or spicy flavors.
MY WAY TAVERN 522 St. Mary’s St., Raleigh. 919-900-8273; 301 W. Center St., Holly Springs. 919-285-2412. mywaytavern.com
These wings are sold by the pound and come in 11 different sauce and dry rub options.
OVER THE FALLS 419 Brooks St., Wake Forest. 919-849-8947 or otfalls.com
The wings here come in orders of six, 10 or 20, with 11 different varieties of sauces and three dry rubs. Over the Falls will also honor requests for “all flats” and “all drumettes” for an upcharge.
SHARKY’S PLACE 5800 Duraleigh Road, Suite 100, Raleigh. 919-783-5448 or sharkysnc.com
There are 10 sauces and six dry rub options at this North Raleigh sports bar where the wings come smoked and then grilled or flash-fried.
SOO CAFE 2815 Brentwood Road, Raleigh. 919-876-1969
This Korean restaurant gets its wings extra crispy with two dips in the fryer. Sauces include soy and ginger and “Old Fashioned,” which is what most Korean fried chicken fans will recognize for its blend of heat and sweet.
VICEROY 335 W. Main St., Durham. 919-797-0413 or viceroydurham.com
The Jeera wings at this downtown Durham Indian restaurant are rubbed with cumin and roasted until crispy. When they say “hot” they mean it.
WINGS OVER 2900 Hillsborough St., Raleigh. 919-546-9111; 313 E. Main St., Carrboro. 919-537-8271. wingsover.com
The Triangle has a pair of the southern-most locations of this Northeast chain, where the wings are takeout only, with 24 sauce options and order counts from six to 100.
WOODEN NICKEL PUB 113 N. Churton St., Hillsborough. 919-932-0134 or thewnp.com
A wing spot in downtown Hillsborough, the Wooden Nickel serves wings in six, 12 and 24 counts and 10 different sauces, one of which is always made with beer.
WOODY’S SPORTS TAVERN & GRILL 205 Wolfe St., Raleigh. 919-833-3000; 8322 Chapel Hill Road, Cary. 919-380-7737. woodysportstavern.com
Wings at Woody’s come fried and tossed in 14 different sauce choices, served in counts from five to 50.
ZWELI’S 4600 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Suite 26, Durham. 984-219-7555 or zwelis.com
Here there’s only one option, the Piri Piri wings, which are flame-grilled and served in orders of eight.
This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here are the 16 best chicken wing restaurants in the Triangle."
