Review: Best Chain Restaurant Buffalo Chicken Wings, Ranked

I ordered an eight-count of bone-in traditional Buffalo wings at the restaurant I visited in Massachusetts.

They cost $12.19, excluding taxes and fees, and came with celery sticks and sides of ranch and blue cheese.

Unlike some of the other chains I tried, TGI Fridays also doesn’t appear to make its own Buffalo sauce.

On the menu, it’s advertised as simply Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo. While I do like that brand of sauce, I could easily make the same wings at home, which made it feel less unique.

I also thought they were slightly smaller than some of the other wings I tried.

Though I liked the crispy skin and texture of these chicken wings, as well as the tender meat inside, I thought they were lacking in sauce and flavor.

Overall, I probably wouldn’t order these again.

At my local Applebee’s in Brooklyn, an order of nine classic bone-in wings costs $14.29, excluding tax and fees. They came with celery sticks and sides of ranch and blue cheese.

The wings were a rich red-brown color and fried to a crisp.

The Buffalo sauce had a nice balance between the heat and the more savory, buttery flavor, resulting in a well-rounded bite. I thought the meat inside was pretty juicy, and I loved the sheer size of these wings.

However, I thought the wings could have been a touch spicier.

At my local Chili’s in New York, an eight-count of bone-in Buffalo wings cost $15.49, excluding tax and fees. They came with two dipping sauces: ranch and blue cheese.

I’ve tried these wings before and commented that they could have been slightly saucier and crispier. However, when I tried them this time, I didn’t feel the same — they were perfectly crispy and almost dripping in sauce.

The Buffalo sauce had a strong buttery flavor with just the right amount of heat. The chain is also known for its ranch dipping sauce, which I thought paired very nicely with the wings.

Though the wings were smaller, I thought they packed more flavor than the ones from Applebee’s and TGI Fridays.

The chain’s Buffalo bone-in wings are arguably Buffalo Wild Wings’ most famous menu item, so I was eager to see how they would compare to other chain restaurants’ wings. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

A six-count of traditional Buffalo wings cost $15.99, excluding tax and fees, and a side of ranch.

The wings were crispy and had a light coating of Buffalo sauce that covered every part of the wings.

There was a selection of both drumsticks and flats, but I noticed that the drums were particularly meaty.

The chicken meat inside the wing was moist and tender, and the crispy skin and slightly sweet, just-spicy-enough sauce added a lot of flavor. Overall, these were really solid Buffalo wings.

I also thought these wings were good value for the cost and would definitely order them again.

I ordered 10 classic bone-in wings for $21.19, excluding tax and fees.

Wingstop doesn’t offer Buffalo sauce on its menu, but it does have its Original Hot sauce, which is the chain’s version of Buffalo. I ordered them with a side of ranch.

While Wingstop also sells boneless wings, tenders, and chicken sandwiches, its senior director of culinary, Larry Bellah, told Business Insider that bone-in traditional wings remain the chain’s most popular item.

He added that the Original Hot flavor ranks among its top five sauces.

The sticky sauce clung to my fingers as I ate these wings, which were the perfect size: not too big, not too small, and just the right amount of tender chicken meat.

The sauce had a lot of levels, balancing between a strong vinegar flavor, to buttery, and topped off with a layer of spice that was slightly smoky yet not overpowering.

The Wingstop wings stood out as the spiciest among all the chains I tried. However, the heat didn’t overpower the flavor — instead, it enhanced it.

Each element, from the crispy seasoned skin to the tangy undertones of the sauce, came through distinctly. These wings balanced bold, spicy flavor with a depth of taste, making them the best chain-restaurant Buffalo wings I tried.

The chain also delivered on value. Even though the wings were the most expensive I tried, the 10-count made each wing come out to around $2.12 per wing, which was slightly cheaper than the cost per wing at Buffalo Wild Wings.