Dew Drop Inn — Restaurant in Derby

Today I had the pleasure of having lunch with friends at Dew Drop Inn, a restaurant/bar located in Derby, Connecticut. I only recently found out about this place as it had been brought to my attention by a friend of mine, who had discovered it when looking for wings while their favorite wing place was closed on a holiday. After looking up the Dew Drop, and seeing their massive wing menu, and mentions of them being awarded for having the best wings in CT in 2016, we decided to make a day to verify that bold claim. Spoiler alert, they definitely earned it.

Dew Drop is a small establishment with limited parking, so we decided to try and go Sunday morning, and got there around 11:30, a half an hour after opening. Even then, only one parking spot was free, and the restaurant was mostly full, but lucked out and still got a table to fit four of us. One thing that caught us off-guard, we were carded just to enter the establishment. Their website does mention that, I just didn’t expect that to actually happen, but I like that they take things seriously regarding their liquor license despite our not planning on purchasing booze. We sat down and began reviewing the menu to make our selections.

The menu has a wide variety of what you typically would expect from this type of establishment. They had the usual staples including burgers, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, sandwiches, and of course wings. People clearly come here for wings, the menu for those are two whole pages, with 118 different flavors (I counted) listed. To be fair many of the flavors are a variation of another flavor, like “Spicy Ranch” and “Spicy Ranch Bacon”, but regardless how you count it, there is a ton of variety, and you will end up wanting to try multiple flavors. Some other places I frequent have a limited selection, typically mostly Buffalo style with different levels of heat.

One thing that worried me was that with this many available flavors, that they would be mediocre, I’ve had that happen before with other wing joints, they would have a ton of “meh” flavors instead of a handful of really good ones. I’m happy to report that was not the case here. At least of the four types I tried, (white BBQ, peanut butter smores, maple bourbon BBQ, and spicy ranch bacon) all had more than exceeded my expectations. So much so, I think this may now be my new favorite wing spot. Ignoring the overwhelmingly massive selection, the wings themselves are great. They were perfectly cooked, with the right amount of crispiness, and they were also a good size, not super large like some other places I go to, but thankfully not the “micro-wings” some other places use to try and save a buck either.

In addition to the good size and preparation, they were all properly sauced, Dew Drop is generous with bathing the wings, so you will have extra for dipping your fries and such into. Man, the flavors I chose were knockouts too. Most of my wings came with blue cheese to dip, and honestly, I really didn’t even need it, most of the wings were better as is, the blue cheese took away from the excellent sauces the wings were coated in.

First up I had the White BBQ wings. This was something I did not expect to see on the menu, I often love the white sauce from various BBQ joints down south like Phil’s BBQ pit in North Carolina, white sauce is basically a mayo-based sauce with various other spices mixed in, and it is a winner on these wings as much as it is on a southern brisket sandwich.

Spicy Ranch Bacon was not exactly spicy (I honestly forgot it had spicy in the name until writing this), it was just enough to make my nose run a bit, but it was nothing uncomfortable, and was not as much kick as a typical chipotle mayo, but that didn’t matter to me. The wings being drenched in bacon bits was nice and added an excellent crunch, I made sure none of the bits that fell off went to waste!

Maple Burbon BBQ was my “safe” choice, I figured with the others being more creative and exotic I’d also get something more...

Through he grapevine I heard Dew Drop Inn had the BEST wings in Connecticut, so I made my way here to try them out myself!

Atmosphere/Appearance: Let me tell you. It's a windy road to get here. Lol. But set right at a very non-traditional intersection of North Avenue & Roosevelt Drive is this gem. The outside doesn't look like much at all and there's maybe 6 parking spots to the left of the restaurant then there's another business across the street that MAY allow you to park there. At your own risk of course. Once on the inside the spot looks super modern and energetic. The back wall is all brick, the walls are painted with solid colors and there's a lil' easter egg to the right of the front entrance of The Incredible Hulk busting through the wall holding a plate of wings. Lol.

Service: We sat right at the bar and the owner Jason was there so he was serving us directly. He was funny, accommodating and just was a genuine good time. Hiba, Meghan and Rachel were also very accommodating.

Food: So while here I tried 7 different flavors of the 126 that are offered. I'll break them down one by one...

Pink Peppercorn Lemon Thyme: They came out of the kitchen SO HOT. Lol, so be careful not to burn your mouth. They were AMAZING. Deliciously salty from the Himalayan sea salt, lemony and rounded out with some good Earthy flavors.

Pink Peppercorn Lemon Curd: This is basically everything I described above, but with a delicious sauce on top. The sauce was a little honey-strawberry-lemon sweetness that complemented the wing excellently.

Cilantro Lime Tahini: The cilantro flavor was an excellent base, but this may sound strange... but it almost tasted like refried beans. There was also a good cheesy flavor involved as well. It was so different and executed very well. Not a spicy wing for those that can't handle it.

Cajun Garlic Butter Bacon: These were easily the tastiest "looking" wings due to all of the bacon pieces on top and they smelled simply incredible. Again, temperature hot, but these tasted like they were cooked IN a garlic oil. My goodness. The bacon added a meaty, hearty, salty, bacon-y flavor that just went well with the garlic and Cajun seasoning.

Truffalo: This one is easy. Truffle and Buffalo mixed together. Excellent. I'm truffle-biased so of course I'd love these, but I could've used more truffle if I'm being honest.

Strawberry Habanero: These were refreshing.. The strawberry flavor was very prevalent and it reminded me of a sweet & sour from a Chinese restaurant, buy elevated. I didn't get a lot of heat from these despite the name, but I loved it.

Ghostly Habanero: While I didn't find the heat in the last flavor, it was all here. This was the hottest flavor on the menu at the time and rightfully so. These wings were gritty, sweet from the peppers and the heat was INSTANT. The habanero gave that initial jumpstart of heat, but the ghost pepper is the one that ramps up over time. It took about 3 minutes for the heat to FULLY kick in, but it definitely did. I teared up, I was sweating and this is not a wing I could eat a whole bunch of. Delicious though!

Peanut Butter & Jelly: These were the hottest temperature wings we've had. Lol. Peanut butter is so incredibly dense so it just held all of that heat in. These were served with fluff as a dipping sauce. They were savory and sweet. Done very well.

Value: Chicken wings are already expensive on their own, so adding this level of skillset to cook them, the materials and all brings an order of 6 to $10.99 for "Basic Flavors". "Not So Basic" is 6 for $11.75 and "Basically Ridiculous" as well as "Dessert" wings are 6 for $11.99. You can of course order them in bigger denominations, but there are 100% worth it.

In conclusion, sadly, I haven't been back here since June of 2022, but I want to come back SO BAD. It's just literally an hour away from where I live. Lol. I will be back Jason! Thank you...

I was born in Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut. Derby is the smallest city in the State of Connecticut. I have loyalty to Derby and I have found two hidden gems in the small city. One is Roseland Apizza and the other is the Dew Drop Inn.

My first visit was Saturday April 19, 2014. I was researching different burgers in the New Haven Connecticut area and Dew Drop Inn was listed as ones to check out. The first burger I tried was the Rodeo Burger which is described as "Cheddar Cheese, Onion Rings, Bacon and BBQ Sauce. On my second visit I had the Blue Goat which is described as “Goat Cheese, Cucumbers, Mixed Greens and creamy blueberry dressing”. On both visits my hamburgers were cooked exactly as I specified them to be, well done. I want them as hockey pucks and Dew Drop Inn delivered. Prime 16 in New Haven is still my favorite burger place but Dew Drop Inn deserves an honorable mention in the category.

On one of my visits I brought my girlfriend from Ireland with me. We both shared the Fried Mozzarella Sticks and Jalapeno Poppers. Both were good and we both enjoyed them.

I told different people about my three visits to the Dew Drop Inn. The one comment I constantly heard from different people was “you haven’t tried their wings yet”.

On my fourth visit I ordered the Cajun BBQ Wings. I haven’t had wings in years. I love the taste but they are messy. You do have to use your hands and sometimes lick your fingers. My mom would be horrified. The staff reassured me it was okay to be messy.

Since then I have had the JD BBQ, Jim Beam Bourbon BBQ and General Tsao’s wings. The Cajun BBQ Wings are my absolute favorite followed by the JD BBQ. Jim Beam Bourbon and General Tsao’s tie for third. All these wings I have tried are phenomenal. This is most definitely a wing place.

I overheard the owner talking about different craft beers they have. Craft beers are growing on me however I still prefer a Guinness with a shot of Jägermeister the best.

The staff at Dew Drop Inn are excellent. I like the customers. Some of the customers can be load when they come in but will also say excuse me if they accidently bump into me on the way to the bathroom. One time there was this nice couple who brought in bread and was insistent that I had a piece.

I am giving this place 4.2 stars. The only two drawbacks. One is the place is small and gets crowded very quick. The second is parking which seems to be limited which. These are the reasons why I try to arrive about 11:15 on a Saturday for lunch. As I first stated, this...