Portland’s Top Spots for Chicken Wings
Chimcking’s soy-garlic and “hot king” wings.
Consider the chicken wing.
It is a blank canvas, a cultural Rorschach test. Nearly every culture in the world sees itself reflected in the possibilities; no matter who you are or where you come from, there is a style and preparation of chicken wings that feels like home. Here in Portland, entrepreneurs from across the United States and around the world are expressing distinct cuisines and culinary traditions through the lens of the humble wing.
From umami-packed Vietnamese fish sauce wings to achingly authentic Buffalo barroom style to the wings you’d find in all-night pubs of Seoul, Portland is home to a panoply of chicken wing variations, a veritable winged migration of flavors and textures. So vast is the tableau that it’s spawned a rolling tribute: @pdxwingguys, a dedicated Instagram account run by wing-obsessed Western New York expats whose endless love for the perfect flat has no limit. “This is an amazing place for wings,” they say. “You just gotta know where to look.”
And you need not look much further than the nine spots below. Unless you’re looking for fried chicken beyond the wings, in which case, we have you covered there, too.
When dining at 1st Street Pocha, a 50/50 wing plate is the best way to go.
1st Street Pocha
beaverton
The city of Seoul is home to its own distinct chicken wing style: centered around wings fried in a starch (often potato, tapioca, rice, or a combination), then tossed in either a sweet-sticky soy glaze or tangy red sauce made with gochujang chili paste and served alongside crisp pickled radish. The Portland area boasts several restaurants specializing in this style of wing, none better than 1st Street Pocha, a late-night Korean pub in downtown Beaverton. Order both styles of wings—they bounce off each other remarkably well, each bite of the sweet soy leading back to the spicy gochujang—and drink some imported Korean beer or makgeolli alongside the chicken. Everything here is electric, made all the better by the glowing evening city vibes of thriving downtown Beaverton. I am already plotting my next visit. —Jordan Michelman
Though the corner store Alberta Market is understated, its wings are anything but.
Alberta Street Market
king
It couldn’t stay a secret forever. For years, the seemingly unremarkable corner store on NE Ninth and Alberta was a favorite for those in the know, regulars visiting daily and leaving the shop with nothing more than white paper baggies dotted with fryer grease. Now, various influencers and media outlets (whoops) have spilled that Alberta Market hawks some of the best fried chicken wings in Portland. Full wings, lightly coated with a spiced breading and no sauce, share a counter container with bronze-colored, fluffy jojos. Don’t worry, nothing’s been sitting here long: These plump, juicy treats practically fly out the door, despite no longer being attached to birds. Get there early, before they sell out, and fill your own baggie with wings, jojos, and complimentary packets of ranch dressing. Five wings and a comparable portion of jojos will set you back just $10, an increasingly rare deal in the city. —Alex Frane
Chimcking
beaverton, hollywood
As Korean fried chicken keeps a gochujang-battered grip on the city, Chimcking is the reigning chain. Straight from Daegu, South Korea’s third largest city, Chimcking’s Beaverton and Hollywood locations are super casual, brightly lit counter service spots slinging platters of wings and frosted mugs of beer. The wings here are served as split bone-in flats and drumettes or as boneless morsels, and come in the customer’s choice of undressed or in a salty-sweet soy garlic or a sweet and spicy gochujang sauce (for heat fiends, there’s also an extra spicy version). Like 1st Street Pocha, the expert move is a 50/50 order of the soy and the spicy, but no matter the order, the wings boast a crackling exterior and steaming, juicy interior. They’re best enjoyed with a local lager and a side of Chimcking’s serviceably crisp french fries. —AF
Fire on the Mountain
multiple locations
A Portland chicken wing institution, one might argue it would be impossible to write a Portland wing guide without including Fire on the Mountain, the city’s foremost local wing chainlet. But here’s the truth: I mention them not out of any sense of duty or obligation, but because the wings here are dependably good, predictably tasty, and speak to the working-class, functional roots of the foodstuff itself. Not every wing joint needs to be flashy, or a discovery, or a revelation; sometimes you just want some wings, you know? What FOTM nails are the sauces—in particular the rotating monthly sauce special—and in the consistency of the product and experience at the company’s three locations. A predictable wing order is nothing to scoff at; in this topsy-turvy world, I’d argue wings you can set your watch to double as a form of municipal therapy. The inclusive vegan wing option here—soy chicken around a sugarcane bone—is especially good, as are the sweet potato fries. —JM
Jerry’s wings are a three-napkin experience.
Jerry’s Tavern
northwest District
What began as a pop-up specializing in Jerry Benedetto’s Chicago tavern-style pizza is now an affable, working-class watering hole on the outskirts of Slabtown. Rather than the thin-crust, square-cut pizza most were expecting, Jerry’s is built on cheese curds and buffalo wings. But, like tavern pizza, Benedetto takes wings very, very seriously: The ones here are not too big, nor too small, dry-fried for a deep crunch, and drenched in a combination of Frank’s RedHot and no small amount of butter. A pitcher of Hamm’s will calm the heat of the buffalo version, as will a bite of the mellower BBQ option. Both are served with celery sticks and a choice of thick blue cheese or ranch. Jerry’s sturdy napkins are up to the job, but don’t expect much help from the wet-nap hiding in the bottom of a paper tray, sopping with sauce before you’ve taken your first bite. —AF & Margaret Seiler
LoRell’s brings Chicago-style wings to the Lloyd Center food court, of all places.
LoRell’s Chicken Shack
Lloyd
You can’t help but root for LoRell’s Chicken Shack, a deeply felt love letter to the chicken wing traditions of Chicago. Windy City transplant Darrell Preston—an affable and friendly face at the counter—has essentially opened up a culinary wormhole between the Lloyd Center food court and Chicago’s Southside. Here at LoRell’s, the wings are breaded and fried, then drizzled (not tossed) with a sweet-hot sauce similar to hot honey and powdered with a golden, tangy “wing dust.” They should be consumed immediately at one of the court tables to maximize the marvelous dichotomy between the crispy-crunchy fry, flavorful breading, zippy zingy hot-sweet sauce, and golden flavor powder. I’m not a french fry person, but the fries served along each wing basket here are also excellent, hand-cut and irregular in the best way, ideal for soaking up a bit of that sauce. If you love breaded, fried wings, these are the city’s best, full stop. —JM
Lúa
Boise
The bánh hỏi may be the star of the show at this bright and breezy Vietnamese café on North Williams, but the wings are a sleeper hit. At Lúa, they’re dredged in a mix of potato and tapioca starch (plus a bit of corn starch), giving each flat and drumette that recognizably paper-thin, crackly, bubbly texture. But what really sets them apart are the sauces: Portlanders still lamenting the demise of Pok Pok should reach straight for the fish sauce wings, abundant with funky, garlicky umami and a hint of sweetness. Other standouts include a sticky-sweet tamarind glaze and the honey lemon pepper wings, the latter mixing Vietnamese and Southern influences into one cohesive, citrusy bundle. —AF
Sandy Hot Wings Café is well worth the drive.
Sandy Hot Wings Café
argay terrace
Inside an unassuming, family-owned teriyaki deli on this side of the Gresham-Portland border lies a little miracle taking place each day (except Sunday) between the hours of 10am and 8pm: perfectly crispy, dry-fried, unbreaded wings tossed in sauces from mild to hot, teriyaki, lemon pepper, and parmesan. They aren’t reinventing the wheel at Sandy Hot Wings Café, but the execution on these wings is flawless, served with homemade chunky blue cheese and carrot sticks for dipping. There is a moment that happens at the bottom of a mixed 10 piece—half teriyaki, half spicy buffalo—where the teriyaki sauce blends with the Frank’s RedHot, comingling in a single bite of cross-cultural wing exchange, recalling my childhood spent haunting Korean-owned delis and Vietnamese bakeries across the Pacific Northwest. —JM
Tinker Tavern knows nothing goes better with the Buffalo Bills than hot wings.
Tinker Tavern
montavilla
Quietly opening in the depths of the pandemic, Tinker Tavern landed in Montavilla with a clear sense of identity: a Buffalo Bills–focused sports bar with a Star Trek obsession and palpable neighborly vibes. It quickly earned attention for its chicken wings, hitting second place in the obsessive PDX Wing Guys’ city-wide ranking. The Tink’s secret? The wings are all prepared confit, slowly cooked in oil to tender, salty-savory oblivion before they’re flash fried for a crispy exterior. The buffalo style hews close to its origins, a mix of Franks RedHot, butter, and other ingredients the staff keeps close to the chest. The heat and acid of the sauce hits your nose the second the basket lands on the table, but it’s mellowed by the accompanying side of blue cheese dressing, thick with chunks of cheese. During NFL games the bar goes through dozens, sometimes hundreds, of baskets; those averse to sporting events can enjoy their wings while watching episodes of TOS and TNG instead. —AF
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