{"id":168177,"date":"2026-02-07T14:11:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/168177\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T14:11:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:11:35","slug":"where-to-order-sfs-best-chicken-wings-according-to-a-panel-of-pros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/168177\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to order SF\u2019s best chicken wings, according to a panel of pros"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recommendations are a dime a dozen, but in Pro Tips<\/a>, we go directly to the source, asking food and beverage experts for their professional opinions on the city\u2019s best burgers<\/a>, dive bars<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

For some, the best thing about Super Bowl Sunday isn\u2019t the football or the halftime show \u2014 it\u2019s the chicken wings. That\u2019s especially the case in San Francisco, where there are so many styles (baked, double-fried) and flavors (classic Buffalo, mala honey) to be explored.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We asked a handful of restaurant industry pros where they go to quell their chicken cravings. Their picks ranged from classic sports bars like The Kezar Pub to under-the-radar neighborhood gems like Nute\u2019s in Bernal Heights to upscale restaurants doing chef-inspired riffs on the greasy, messy bar snack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parker Brown, chef and owner, Side A\"ASource: Poppy Lynch for The Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Southern Pacific Brewing, 620 Treat Ave., Mission
Considering that some of Side A\u2019s most popular menu items are a \u201cgarbage salad\u201d and an enormous chicken cutlet, it\u2019s not surprising that Brown is a lifelong fan of fried chicken wings. \u201cClassic Buffalo wings were in my top-three food groups as a child,\u201d he says. When he gets a craving, he heads to Southern Pacific Brewing for an order with sides of both ranch and blue cheese. \u201cSPB\u2019s Buffalo wings have both the crispy and saucy thing going on. Celery and carrots are also a must.\u201d The brewery\u2019s lemon-pepper wings earn an honorable mention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fernay McPherson, chef-owner, Minnie Bell\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Lunette, 1 Ferry Building, Embarcadero\u00a0
When McPherson says she loves KFC, she\u2019s not talking fast-food; she means the Khmer fried chicken wings at Lunette, chef Nite Yun\u2019s Cambodian spot. The light, crispy coating and subtle heat from Kampot pepper are a comfort on cold days, and McPherson likes to finish them off with a blast of fresh lime. She has fond memories of trying the wings for the first time. Yun, a longtime friend,\u00a0\u201cwas always nervous to make me wings, since fried chicken is my specialty at Minnie Bell\u2019s,\u201d McPherson says. \u201cBut they\u2019re still one of my favorites.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Barzelay, chef-owner, Lazy Bear and True Laurel\"Golden-brownSource: Courtesy Little Original Joe’s<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Little Original Joe\u2019s, 393 W Portal Ave., West Portal
Little Original Joe\u2019s is probably best known for spicy rigatoni and butter cake. But if you ask Barzelay, LOJ\u2019s has also mastered the art of the classic Buffalo wing. He grew up playing sports in Tampa, Florida, and post-game wings were a staple. The version you\u2019ll find here hits all the marks. \u201cWhen we haven\u2019t had family-meal wings for a few months at Lazy Bear or True Laurel, I legitimately start craving them,\u201d Barzelay says. His advice? Order them half Buffalo, half naked. \u201cThe naked ones are so crispy, I either eat them straight or dip them in Buffalo sauce bite-by-bite.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daniel Ramirez, chef and owner, Smokin\u2019 D\u2019s BBQ<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: San Tung, 1031 Irving St., Sunset
Ramirez is unequivocal about his pick: \u201cSan Tung in the Inner Sunset is my go-to spot. Why? If you\u2019re asking this, you\u2019ve clearly never been.\u201d The restaurant\u2019s dry-fried chicken wings are legendary for being super crispy and flavorful, seasoned with ginger, red pepper, and garlic. \u201cMy now-wife brought me here for my first meal in San Francisco ever. I\u2019ve never looked at a chicken wing the same.\u201d <\/p>\n

Matt Ho, chef-owner, Bodega\u00a0<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Nutes, 903 Cortland Ave., Bernal Heights
Noodles and wings might not be a classic combo, but that\u2019s Ho\u2019s go-to order at Nute\u2019s, a cozy Japanese and Thai spot. The tebasaki wings are coated in soy sauce, garlic, ginger, black pepper, and sansho pepper, which gives them a \u201cnice kick.\u201d Though Ho is agnostic when it comes to the age-old wings-versus-flats debate, he is a stickler for texture. \u201cI don\u2019t like my wings fried too hard, because the meat can get dried out,\u201d he says. \u201cBut if the sauce sticks to the wings after they\u2019re fried, and they still keep their texture, that\u2019s a win in my book.\u201d Nute\u2019s gets busy, he warns, but even if you order the wings to go, they\u2019ll still be nice and crisp by the time you get home.<\/p>\n

Melissa Perfit, chef, Equal Parts\"BuffaloSource: Courtesy Hi Tops<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Hi Tops, 2247 Market St., Castro, and Hot Sauce and Panko, 1468 Hyde St., Polk Gulch
Perfit, who grew up in Gainesville, home of the University of Florida Gators, has been to more than her fair share of football tailgates. Wings were on the menu at every one. She\u2019s a lifelong fan of \u201coriginal hot wings made with Frank\u2019s hot sauce and a side of blue cheese and celery.\u201d To satisfy the craving locally, she heads to Hi Tops. \u201cThey keep it straightforward, and the wings are always cooked really well,\u201d she says. \u201cPlus, it doesn\u2019t hurt that they have good cocktails and TVs everywhere, so you can watch any game you are looking for.\u201d Perfit also gives a shout-out to her neighborhood spot, Hot Sauce and Panko, in Polk Gulch. Of the more than a dozen flavors on the menu, she recommends the fire wings with nori furikake, Korean wings with gochujang, or lime wings with fish sauce.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Danielle Grivet, owner and operator, Bette\u2019s<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Crazy Pepper, 2257 San Jose Ave., Excelsior
Do not, under any circumstances, try to give Grivet a dry-rubbed chicken wing. \u201cMy biggest fear in life is a lack of sauce,\u201d she says. Like Perfit, she raves about the wings at Hi Tops, but her all-time favorites can be found at Crazy Pepper, a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant she\u2019s been visiting for more than 16 years. Grivet became a fan of the double-fried Korean chicken wings swimming in sweet chile sauce when she was a \u201cbroke culinary student.\u201d Back then, the wings and a Diet Coke were her go-to hangover meal. \u201cHonestly, they still are,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacob Morris, bar manager, Mezcalito<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Underdogs Too, 3600 Taraval St., Parkside
\u201cWith so many great spots in the city, it\u2019s hard to choose a favorite,\u201d Morris says. \u201cBut there can only be one Lord of the Wings.\u201d For Morris, Underdogs Too has that one wing to rule them all \u2014 specifically, the classic Buffalo with a generous serving of blue cheese dressing. (Fly Bar and its crispy wings get an honorable mention.) He\u2019s been going to the popular sports bar for 14 years \u2014 including at its original location in the Outer Sunset \u2014 where he and a buddy love to wash down a plate of wings with a cold lager. \u201cTen out of 10,\u201d he says \u2014 no notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supasit Puttikaew, chef, Funky Elephant\u00a0<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: Piglet & Co, 2170 Mission St., Mission
When he\u2019s at home in the East Bay, Puttikaew and his wife love to grab wings at bb.q Chicken, the Korean chain with locations in Oakland and downtown San Francisco. But when he wants a quick, delicious, protein-forward meal while he\u2019s at his Thai restaurant, he heads to Asian comfort-food spot Piglet & Co. The Szechuan honey wings are triple-fried and coated in white-pepper mala honey and served with a side of yuzu buttermilk ranch. \u201cI first enjoyed them with my wife. We were hangry, and it saved our day,\u201d Puttikaew says.<\/p>\n

David Murphy, chef-owner, Shuggie\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n

Favorite wings: The Kezar Pub, 770 Stanyan St., Haight-Ashbury
A huge Liverpool FC fan, Murphy often makes his way to The Kezar Pub to gather with fellow football enthusiasts and enjoy a basket of wings while watching a match. The venerable sports bar across the street from Golden Gate Park is known for having some of the city\u2019s best wings, and Murphy recommends the traditional hot or Korean varieties. \u201cThey\u2019re classic pub food, and once you\u2019re five drinks deep, they\u2019re the best thing to share with friends,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like celebrating a Liverpool win with wings and pints with the crew at Kezar.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recommendations are a dime a dozen, but in Pro Tips, we go directly to the source, asking food…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[414,35067,2499,101,103,102,104,106,105,127,11730],"class_list":["post-168177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-chefs","tag-eat-here","tag-pro-tips","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sports","tag-super-bowl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}