Hear more about the best wings in St. Louis on the Arch Eats podcast.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
The secret to Baumann’s legendary chicken wings is little more than a condiment you likely already have in your refrigerator: Wishbone Italian dressing. The iconic butcher shop marinates its wings in the zesty dressing before putting them in the smoker. It’s a simple touch, but it results in succulent, flavorful wings that are always a crowd-pleaser. 8829 Manchester.
Pitmaster David Sandusky is a master of his craft. His smoked and fried wings are the embodiment of his talent with smoked meats. You can get them dry-rubbed in a secret sweet, spicy dill seasoning or drenched in wonderfully buttery house Buffalo sauce. 20 South Belt West, Belleville, Illinois.
A Wildwood institution for nearly a century, Big Chief Roadhouse is known for its delicious smoked meats, including its plump, seasoned wings, which can come dressed in barbecue, teriyaki, or Buffalo sauces. You’ll also likely appreciate them sans adornment—the subtly sweet kiss of woodsmoke is the only condiment you need. 17352 Manchester, Wildwood.
Winner of multiple awards at the annual UCP Heartland Wing Ding competitions, these beauties are still triple dry-rubbed, cherry wood-smoked, and are so sublime, they require no further accoutrements. 550 Chesterfield Ctr., Chesterfield.
Chef/owner Rick Lewis is the King of Comfort Food, so it’s no surprise that he makes some of the most outstanding wings in town. Breaded and fried, these whole wings can be served with classic fried chicken seasoning, amped up to mouth-tingling hot, or, if you dare, searing extra hot. 4270 Manchester, The Grove.
Keeping with tradition, Gobble Stop’s chicken drummettes are dry-rubbed before being slow-smoked. Another not-to-miss item is the smoked turkey “ribs,” marinated, seasoned, smoked, and grilled, these juicy beauties are amazing on their own or glazed in the restaurant’s signature mustard barbecue sauce. 1227 Castillon Arcade Plaza, Creve Coeur.
If your past experience with jerk chicken involved just a sprinkle of spice blend on some wings, then Jerk Soul will knock your socks off. Marinated, dry-rubbed, smoked, and grilled, this Caribbean Jerk Soul’s wings will give you a true taste of the Caribbean. 3108 Cherokee, South City.
Go with the choice of dry rub for the poultry pinions, which are smoked and fried to an exquisitely crispy finish. Then try some white Alabama sauce, which puts these babies in the Wings Coop of Fame. And at sister restaurant Wheelhouse, brined wings come char-grilled or breaded and fried, with six different seasonings. 1000 Spruce.
This unassuming Overland spot has been serving some of the best wings in town for years. Known for a variety of styles, including a memorable Thai Chili Lime, the must-try is the Original, a wonderfully sticky Korean-inspired version that can be served with traditional wings or strips. 10094 Page, North County.
Besides serving a killer beef brisket, Salt+Smoke offers two versions of trashed wings—“sweet trashed” and “Buffalo trashed.” Executive chef/co-owner Haley Riley says, just like with many of its other menu items, he’d been cooking trashed wings as a secret menu snack before realizing, I bet other people would like to eat this, too, and added them to the menu a little over three years ago. Multiple locations.
Dry-rubbed wings are smoked or split, fried, then sparkled with a Hoisin sauce. Even in a restaurant that’s turbocharged with the flavors of Cajun cuisine, these wings stand out. 3550 S. Broadway.
Pitmaster Alex Cupp may be known for his extraordinary brisket, but his wings, too, are out of this world. The plump, smoked wings have such a subtle sweetness to them, the taste as if they were dipped in honey. The interior meat is juicy, the outside skin is akin to the crisped skin on Peking duck, and the mouthwatering spice rub adds just a suggestion of heat. It’s perfection of the smoked wing form. 5623 Leona.
Long known for its fresh, jumbo hormone/antibiotic-free chicken wings tossed in a sharp, mustard sauce, Syberg’s offers six additional sauces, a trashed iteration, and a dry rub made from Red Hot Riplets. Multiple locations.
The chicken’s fried with a generous amount of breading, giving them a distinct fried-chicken taste and texture. They’re among the largest in town—a meaty, well-seasoned snack. Enjoy them in more traditional bar and grill style with Buffalo or sweet Thai sauce, or get them Casa Tres Reyes style, a nod to Three Kings’ sister restaurant, that are smoked and tossed in either a sweet habanero glaze or tamarind, chipotle and cilantro. 11925 Manchester, Des Peres; 40 Ronnie’s Plaza.
Calabrian peppers flavor the buffalo sauce at this Westport game bar. It’s the source of that vinegary spike and pleasant palate tingle. Wings are smoked to a mahogany burnish, dark and luscious. 910 Westport Plaza.
Bar & Grill Wings
- B. Hall’s Family Grill
- Brewskeez
- Clancy’s
- The Corner Pub & Grill
- Dulany’s Grille & Pub
- Fallon’s Irish Bar & Grill
- Fenton Bar & Grill
- Frailey’s Southtown
- Garvey’s Grill
- Helen Fitzgerald’s
- Hotshots Sports Bar & Grill
- Joey B’s
- Lester’s
- Maggie O’Brien’s
- Mattingly’s
- Mulligan’s Grill
- Michael’s Bar & Grill
- Nick’s Pub
- O’B Clark’s
- PJ’s Tavern
- Poor Richard’s
- Satchmo’s Bar & Grill
- Seamus McDaniel’s
- Schottzie’s Bar & Grill
- Schlafly
- Sportsman’s Park
- T.J. Wings
- Timber Creek Grill
- Trainwreck Saloon
- The Village Bar
Wood-Fired Wings
Smoked Wings
- A Touch of Texas
- BC’s Kitchen
- Bootleggin’ BBQ
- C&K Barbecue
- Duke’s BBQ Shack
- Edley’s BBQ–O’Fallon, Illinois
- Gobble Stop Smokehouse
- Heavy Smoke BBQ
- Highway 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen
- Hogtown Smokehouse
- Mann Meats
- O’B Que’s
- Old Town Smokehouse
- The Shaved Duck
- Smoke N Bones BBQ
- Super Smokers
Hot Chicken
Specialty/Multiple Varieties
- Amigo Joe’s
- Big A’s on the Riverfront
- Broadway Oyster Bar
- Golden Hoosier
- Liliana’s Italian Kitchen
- Mi Hungry BBQ & Jamaican Cuisine
- Milo’s Tavern
- Pepper’s Grill & Bar
- Pizzeoli
- SOHA Bar & Grill
- Square One Brewery
- St. Louis Pizza & Wings
- The Brass Rail
- The Vine Mediterranean Café
Butcher Shop Wings
- Baumann’s Fine Meats
- Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions (smoked wings on occasion)
- Freddie’s Market
- Kenrick’s Meats & Catering
- Mannino’s Market
- Fischer’s Butchering & Deli (Breese, Il)
- Paul’s Market
- Smokehouse Market
- Truffles Butchery Market
And Don’t Forget
- Annie Gunn’s
- Cafe Nova
- Cleveland-Heath
- DD Mau
- Ethyl’s Smokehouse and Saloon
- Felix’s Pizza Pub
- Frisco Barroom
- Kimchi Guys
- The Piccadilly at Manhattan
- Rock & Brews
- Smokestaq Lightning
- Stacked
- Vails Brothers Shrimp, Chicken & Fish
- Walnut Grill
Trashed Wings
A “trashed wing” is fried once, tossed in a sauce (Buffalo or otherwise), and then fried again to fully cook the wing and caramelize the sauce. The result: a chicken wing that’s darker in color and far crispier than its traditionally fried and sauce-tossed cousin. Based on previous research, we believe that trashed wings were most likely invented in St. Louis.
At Billy G’s in Kirkwood, owner Billy Gianino, Jr. says, “My father starting doing trashed wings 30 years ago at one of his restaurants, Frankie G‘s Grill and Bar in Oakville. He named them trashed wings because of the extra ‘trashing’ the fryer oil took in their preparation. They’re still the No. 1 seller there and have been adopted by all of the Gianino family restaurants since.”
Then came a semi-definitive statement: “Nobody was calling them trashed wings—at least in this town—before Frankie G’s in Oakville did.”
One Billy G’s patron reports that the regular hot wings were too spicy for some folks, so either a cook or a bartender suggested that they be dropped back into the oil and refried to cut the heat, which worked, but the process did indeed “trash” the oil.
Chuck Nash, general manager of Fenton Bar & Grill, an establishment that’s more than three decades old and calls itself “Home of the Best Trashed Wing,” semi-corroborated Gianino’s story by saying trashed wings “started out as dirty wings, which transformed into ‘trashed’ due to the addition of a dark-colored signature sauce and frying again.” Nash added that “they’re our No. 1 seller, and certainly our bar was right on the forefront of that invention. The first time people order them, they think, OMG, these guys are serving burnt wings—until they taste them. The secret is using a clean, hot oil and a jumbo-size wing.”
A few more spots with trashed wings worth considering: Garvey’s Grill, The Off Track Saloon, The Original Crusoe’s, The Village Bar, and Felix’s Pizza Pub. Chef Andy Roesch says, “We par fry ours, drench them in Frank’s Red Hot sauce, let them cool, fry them again, hit them with more sauce, and top with a jalapeño ranch drizzle. Done right, the sugar in the sauce crystalizes the second time in the fryer, leaving a juicy wing with a crisp savory taste.”
