Who has the best wings in Columbus? Try these 7 eateries
That a wide variety of eateries currently offer what used to be regarded as a cheap bar snack — crispy, fatty, often spicy chicken wings — says something about our culture. Rather than speculate away on this, I’ll just say that wings can function as a blank canvas for kitchen creativity — maybe not an inherently beautiful canvas, but one with built-in mass appeal.
Relatedly, wings have long been popular in beer-happy pubs, but lately, you’ll find them also offered in elite and very expensive fine-dining restaurants; untold pizzerias; newer Korean and Chinese restaurants; and even vegan eateries where non-meat versions deliver the entertaining crunch and chile tingle that wing-lovers seek.
Here comes another roundup — my last for a while — where I’ll highlight interesting wings served by every kind of establishment just mentioned. The following places and kitchen preparations might differ greatly, but there's a comforting sameness about all wings: They’re virtually impossible to eat without making a mess of yourself and having a great time in the process.
Veritas
11 W. Gay St., 614-745-3864, veritasrestaurant.com
Veritas is an exceptional Downtown restaurant whose frequently changing, seasonal and globe-spanning tasting menu meals costs $95 per person. But if you have 17 bucks and sit at the leather-topped bar rather than in the adjoining dining room — both spaces are sleek and modern, lounge-like places where herbs and dried fruit hang from the ceiling like upside-down bouquets — you can experience a bit of what high-falutin Veritas offers through its skillfully cooked, Middle Eastern-leaning, bar menu-only confit wings.
They’re great — fantastically crinkly skins with their fat rendered off are coated in a spicy harissa paste that leads to falling-off-the-bone meat. On the side: Multicolored carrot shavings, crisp and juicy as pristine apples, are presented with incredibly smooth and thick ranch dressing “cheffed-up” with tangy labneh (strained yogurt) and, for another dimension of crunchiness, topped by the enticingly brittle, fried chickpea-flour balls called boondi in India.
Chapman's Eat Market
739 S. 3rd St., 614-444-0917, eatchapmans.com
Stylish yet casual, Chapman’s Eat Market rocks an inviting, vintage-meets-contemporary decor largely expressed in tones of moss green and dusky rose. Like Veritas, Chapman’s is universally praised as one of the very best restaurants in Columbus, and chicken wings are on the menu.
Getting that menu isn’t always easy. Chapman’s became the hardest reservation in town after the New York Times put it on the map of “the 50 places in America we’re most excited about” last year. But I’ve had great success securing spots on the small, cute patio and the friendly, hip bar — both offer first-come, first-served seating — by showing up early. Wherever you perch, you’ll be at the original Max & Erma’s address in German Village, and you’ll be eating impressive dishes with multinational influences.
The well-named sweet tea wings ($18) fly in with glossy mahogany skins. Beneath these crackly and eye-popping, dark brown sleeves is the juiciest wing meat I’ve ever eaten. If thin and tricky to apply, Chapman’s lacto-fermented jalapeño side sauce tastes like a particularly vibrant version of green Tabasco sauce.
Barley's Brewing Company
467 N. High St., Downtown; 614-228-2537, barleysbrewing.com
Barley’s Brewing Company began producing great local craft beer over 30 years ago, which is before the local craft beer movement really existed. Back then, Barley’s set up shop around the Arena District before there was an actual arena.
Through the decades, Barley’s has managed to stay contemporary without changing what people love about the brewpub. So, while its beer and food menu are often updated, Barley’s still features a large, convivial bar and the same wood-and-padded-booth look it’s had since 1992. And it still makes world-class beers and its duly beloved “unconventional wings” ($18 for 10).
Earning that “unconventional“ label honestly, they’re chargrilled until alluringly crispy and decidedly ungreasy. Their notably smoky charms can be enhanced by multiple rubs and sauces like the tangy and stinging chipotle sauce. When I’m feeling especially frisky, I opt for the vinegary and aptly named “gates of hell” sauce.
Natalie’s Grandview - Music Hall & Kitchen
945 King Ave., 614-436-2625, nataliesgrandview.com
I don't know when it became almost mandatory for local pizza places to offer chicken wings, but I see this as a positive evolutionary development. That said, while Natalie’s features some of the finest Neapolitan-style pies in town, categorizing it as a pizzeria would sell it short. Because this handsome Grandview spot is also a great music venue with two stages, and it offers upscale Italian- and-Mexican-influenced dishes, too.
And killer, grill-marked wings ($15). My favorite coating for these smoke-scented treats is the piquant “roasted poblano "Buffalo” sauce, which offers flavor nuances that go where few other Buffalo sauces roam.
CM Chicken
Multiple locations, cmchickenohio.com
Specializing in addictive Korean fried chicken with craggy, crunchy and heavy but grease-restrained breading, CM Chicken was an out-of-the-gate sensation when it opened its first area location on the Northwest Side in 2021. The fast-casual chain related to a South Korea-based family of eateries now operates three Greater Columbus spots.
All offer game-changing, two-stage-cooked, “tikkudak” chicken that’s fried and then baked and smoked over charcoal. Frankly, CM’s smoky and crunchy, tikkudak wings ($16.99) are unlike any other wings I think you’ll find in central Ohio. These delights can be amped-up by several sticky glazes like CM’s chile-kissed curry, jalapeño jelly-like “hot” sauce or “red hot” sauce — a fire-in-the-hole condiment deliciously ignited by gochujang.
YF Chinese Cuisine
5225 Godown Road, 614-706-4870
Launched in March, YF Chinese Cuisine is among the top Sichuan specialists in town. In addition to cooking real-deal Sichuan meals, YF offers uncommonly fast and efficient, QR code-based service in a roomy and pleasant, Northwest Side space on Godown Road. No wonder the place is frequently packed.
And no wonder you’ll see YF’s “chicken wings with homemade sauce” ($19.45) on many tables: They’re unlike any other wings in town — unless you know of someplace else that offers fried flappers sprinkled with Fruity Pebbles.
That pop art-like cereal garnish adds a provocative sweetness and extra crunch to thickly breaded, craggy and audibly crispy bits of roughly hacked, skillfully fried chicken wings scented with cumin, but not really sauced (“homemade sauce” likely refers to their tasty marinade).
Greenhouse Canteen + Bar
1011 W. 5th Ave., 614-525-0202, greenhousecanteen.com
Sometimes I wonder why I don’t hear people talk about Greenhouse Canteen more often. Then again, whenever I visit this friendly, modern and roomy upscale-casual restaurant whose adventurous fare is entirely vegan and gluten-free, it seems to be doing good business.
If you’ve never been to this Grandview restaurant (related to an Australian chain of plant-based eateries) — or even if you have — order the cauliflower wings with Buffalo-ranch sauce ($12). You’ll get an enormous pile of tangy-spicy, deep-fried cauliflower florets encased in crunchy chickpea-based batter partnered with a side of good vegan ranch, plus a sizable salad dressed in a perky vinaigrette.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 7 Columbus restaurants serving excellent chicken wings
