Anchor Bar — Restaurant in Buffalo

The Wyck Recommendation: Anchor Bar (Main St) Rating: 3.4/5 A Salty Shrine So Intense Even My Whitest Friend Julia Said Nope

Intro Scene A few Toronto suits wrap up business in Buffalo and think mild wings are spicy. The block is dead, the neon is half lit, and you hear yourself say Let’s find the Original Buffalo Wing. Ten minutes later you are wedged under a Harley hanging from the ceiling while your shoes stick to something older than your parents’ marriage. It is the kind of dumb adventure you half regret half treasure and fully brag about later.

What Was Ordered One beef wreck sandwich that showed up like a sodium fever dream. Salt on the bun salt in the beef salt flakes so big they would make Lake Erie jealous. Even my whitest whitest friend Julia did not approve. If a white person says there is too much salt you know it is a crime scene. And I have an ex who used to wake up in the middle of the night just to eat salt so trust me I know a salt bomb when I see one. Wings of course but they skimped on the sacred blue cheese which is basically criminal. Beer crisp and cold enough to forgive half your mistakes. Maybe even theirs.

Service Commentary Bartender was saltier than the wings and twice as good. Friendly fast no judgment about your Toronto wing quest. You would come back for him alone.

Vibe Check It is like a garage got eaten by a Harley museum and spit out as a sticky dive bar then blessed with a Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame. License plates overhead scream YO BABY and CHICK3N. Biker photos local band headshots neon signs buzzing over tourists clutching plates of history. The locals run this place. The rest of you just visit.

The Space Itself Vintage bikes glare down at you like greasy gargoyles. There is a working payphone taped shut. Apparently it works but you cannot use it. The walls drip with 1964 wing legend lore police patches and framed autographs from jazz ghosts. Bathroom floor stickier than your ex’s excuses.

About the Neighborhood Main Street is basically a ghost strip after dark but the Anchor lot stays full. Locals keep this shrine alive even when the beef wreck tries to kill them. It is the only place on the block with a heartbeat.

Hits & Misses

✓ Bartender hilarious old school worth the trip ✓ Beer cold crisp budget friendly ✓ Vibe biker dive museum you cannot fake ✓ Nostalgia a rite of passage bad wings or not

✗ Beef wreck salt lick on a salt bun ✗ Blue cheese do not short me again ✗ Wings ghost of former glory on an off day ✗ Bathrooms you are bringing those floor germs home

Final Verdict Anchor Bar is the church of Buffalo wings. Maybe the organ is out of tune but you still show up on Sundays. One salty beef wreck does not mean the next basket will not slap. I used to love their blue cheese dip so much I would daydream about it and maybe I still do. Even Julia could come back if they remember how to drown a wing the right way. The locals will keep packing it. You will too. It is still the only spot on Main Street worth parking for.

Perfect For Toronto suits proving they can handle real Buffalo salt Laughing at your life choices over a cheap perfect pint

The Wyck Recommendation: Anchor Bar (Main...

The home of the original buffalo wing? No questions asked; visiting the Anchor Bar in Buffalo made it on my bucket list immediately. The more difficult challenge — when would I ever be (372 miles away from home) in Buffalo?

While planning a road trip to Toronto, it became clear that passing through Buffalo was inevitable. Bingo. My chance had finally arrived. There was no chance I was going to blow this opportunity. It’s happening.

Pulling up to the Anchor Bar on Main Street does not disappoint — the free-standing building is decked out with designs of hot wings, celery, and Buffalo sports team logos. Plus, there’s a parking lot. First impressions seem promising.

The inside continues to deliver with all sorts of interesting decor from ceiling-mounted motorcycles, license plates, figurines, awards, a pay phone and plenty of TVs. In addition to a small gift shop, I’m surprised to discover all sorts of hidden rooms, nooks and crannies. In the best way possible, the place is no-frills while also having lots of details and character.

Grabbing a menu and bar stool, it’s time to get to business. While there are 12 different flavors of wings, ordering 10 original (medium) felt like the no-brainer.

They arrive quickly and, by all metrics, including size, flavor, quality, and preparation, these wings do not disappoint — in fact, they’re great.

It’s not 100% necessary to ask this question, but are Anchor Bar’s the best wings in the world, as the menu suggests? There certainly is some stiff competition out there. Places like J Timothys Taverne or my hometown favorite Tavern on the Hill in Philadelphia come to mind as distinct competitors. I’m not sure these Anchor Bar wings would be my personal #1, but they should definitely be in the discussion as a top wing.

Bonus: Now, if you told me I would also discover and order something called the “Original Anchor Bar Spicy Hot Chicken Wing Soup”, which was a recommended menu item, I’m not sure I would have believed you! But I was not going to waste my chance.

While this soup was intriguing and fun to try, it did not bring much flavor to the table. It was almost like a chicken pot pie soup but with only chicken. I’m glad I tried it, but I’d explore other menu items next time…

And hopefully there is a next time!

I’d love to spend many nights here, enjoy the surely rowdy sports crowds, and take in the unique vibes (and delicious wings) at this Buffalo institution. We thank you for your service to this nation and all of mankind, Anchor Bar....

I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, but disliked the customer service.

We ordered a bucket of wings (50 pcs), but we received 3 wings short. They eventually issued us 3 more wings later after I brought it up to their attention at the end of our meal.

Another thing is that I didn't like the tone of how our server was replying to us. When we were ordering, we asked what their best seller was. We got a very condescending reply of something like "Ugh, buffalo wings." I know it was a valid enough question. I wanted to know a variety of things with that inquiry. It can be from what flavour of wings was commonly picked by customers or what other dish orders are common selections. I would not know if their burger was also a popular menu item if I did not ask. There are many pleasant ways our server could have better addressed that question.

Lastly, there is this minor gripe of mine about not being any wifi available in the diner. It would have been nice to have guest wifi present, which in turn can lead to some welcome promotion for the place due to instant posts or stories about check-ins. I know the restaurant also has guests coming from outside the US like from Canada and they would not always have mobile data available to them.

Good thing that Anchor Bar really has a good product that makes it easier to overlook the quality of service we had. We tried both honey garlic and original medium flavours for the wings's 2 sauces, and both were fantastic. The honey garlic was deliciously sweet, and the original flavour was just the right amount of hot to still be tasty to eat. We were also able to sample a couple of appetizers like the coconut shrimp and cheese sticks. Both of which are great choices.

The bucket of 50 wings was presented very appetizingly in a silver pedestal, which would ever so often come out perfectly in pictures. A small part of me kind of hoped they serve it in a literal bucket, which I believe can be set up to still give off the same grand presentation they...