Anchor Bar

FANTASTIC place to stop! Like many others, we were traveling through on our way to Niagara, ON. We had stop for the nostalgia. I don’t know about all the other reviews but our experience was great! Keeping in mind it’s a bar, not a 5-​star white table clothe restaurant, it’s a no frills dive with great food and really friendly service.

Just because they are the original chicken wing place doesn’t mean they are the best. The fact that the wings are incredibly awesome definitely does! Seriously the best wings ever. The restaurant is really cool but the wings are phenomenal! Enough said!

Stick with the HOT buffalo wings. If you even like wings, why mess with the mild? If you want to enjoy eating your food, don’t get Suicidal. These wings were really good. They are the average size of most wing places, fried crispy, excellent sauce. We had fries on the side, and I tried a blonde cream ale which was mild tasting and refreshing. My party had the NY cheesecake and chocolate chip cannoli for dessert. We did not regret making an unplanned stop at this historic restaurant!

My suicidal wings were not tasty, we ate a couple. Asked for hot instead. But, we still got charged for a full plate of uneaten wings. You can get good wings in lots of places, why waste money here.
And this isn’t about it being «too spicy.» I’m Cajun — I LOVE very spicy. The suicidal are just not tasty in my opinion. And the «hot» are so mild. Buyer Beware here.

Well, after reading about the hype of this place and being someone who makes wings a lot, I was very disappointed. The wings were overcooked and dry and a few of them tasted like cardboard.
For the price, not worth it.
The saving grace of 3 stars was the sampler platter and the boneless, but some of the boneless was dry as well.
Was also not a fan of the $ 3+ coke with only one free refill.

Overrated. Wings are usually hit or miss, sometimes they’re pretty decent and other times they’re undercooked with next to no sauce. Their pizza isn’t bad though. Everything is overpriced. It’s not a bad place to visit once, just to say you’ve been there. If you really want good wings then there’s dozens of places in Buffalo that do them better, or at the very least as good as Anchor Bar.

Wings on point! Crispy and juicy. The mild is a little kick and the hot it hot. Wish they had this on the west coast

I’m just like most people want to check out the best wings and where it originally came from they were good but I believe they were a little small and the prices well you’re paying for the famous place I doubt if I’ll ever go back again but I’m glad I at least seen it once

I love Anchor bar sauce and grew up on the stuff but have been nothing but disappointed in the restaurant. The wings are small and over fried, covered in oily butter with hardly any sauce. I asked for a side of sauce and that still didn’t help. The ambiance leaves a lot to be desired and the building hasn’t been updated in a century. The service was horrible and the wait time long. Really nothing good to say about this place. I don’t know how they compete with Duffs. I literally live within walking distance of the main st location and would rather drive 40mins back and forth to Amherst for wings, so sad.

Where the Buffalo Wings were created!
Great place to eat after visiting Niagara Falls. About a 30 minute drive.
Big restaurant. Lot of seating. Loved the old school décor. Private parking lot.
Service was friendly and food came out quick. But it was empty when I came.
Buffalo Wings, single — $ 13 — You get 10 wings. Very tasty but pretty much like every other wing I have had. Suicide sauce was very good, out waitress gave me some on the side.
Buffalo Burger — $ 9.50 — Nicely grilled and melty cheese. Meat was lean but super juicy. Simple but done perfectly. Fries were fries.

So my aunt lived in buffalo long ago and while we were dining together last week in SFO, we were discussing wings, specifically the wings at anchor bar. I haven’t been there for quite some time but they were pretty wonderful.
My favorite tried to claim he has been to this place called duff’s which is the original buffalo wing. We were taking about it just the other day, as a matter of fact. Honey, I love you, but you are full of shit. The anchor bar is the original. We looked it up so I could prove that he can’t keep trying to tell people he had eaten the original. Anyone from upstate ny will know.
At any rate, anchor bar is good. Divey. Casual. Tasty. I’m sold. I doubt I’ll be in buffalo again anytime soon, but if I were I would go here again.

Very artistic, classically designed and undoubtedly attractive woody and brick-​wall style!
I love the plate numbers and the classic motorcycles hanged around every corner! Like I was being dragged back to 40’s or so?
Food was also amazing! Pizza (perfectly baked melted cheese and toppings), Spinach ravioli and meaty lasagna (my first time to eat but wasn’t alienated by the taste! So delicious and mouthwatering!), onion rings and fries (good combination!). The contentment was there!
Have a try of this, memorable for sure!

Anchor Bar is a Buffalo tradition and a hot spot for out-​of-​towners. This is probably due to the history of the «wing» and the multiple times it has been featured on national tv shows. The wings are just ok, and Buffalo has better to offer in my opinion. I do like the downtown location for lunch occasionally. Staff is always pleasant and wings are delightfully spicy. I can’t review the rest of the menu, as wings are the only thing I’ve ever had (well, why else would you come here???). If you’re visiting the area it’s worth looking into other places for your wings, as this place falls just short in my book.

If you’re in Buffalo you have to try the original, right? While there’s not much near Anchor bar it is less than a mile and a half from the downtown area so it’s a quick cab ride, or decent walk, away. The wings are good but aren’t going to blow you away, so if you have time head to Anchor Bar. If you’re in a rush or not planning on being in the area it’s probably not worth going out of your way.
I came in on a Sunday night and easily found a seat at the bar. The joint was pretty empty (perhaps because it was snowing), but the barkeep changed the TV for me to MLB season opener and even asked if I wanted the sound up. That’s proper bar service right there.
I got a single order of hot wings, anchor chips (fried potato wedges), and a Labbat Blue. My order of wings came with a bonus 11^th wing (instead of just 10), and the wings themselves are super fried so the skin is very crispy. There’s not a ton of sauce on the wings, which is fine by me but if you like your wings drenched in sauce you may want to ask for that. The spice was just right (probably medium-​hot rather than hot at most places), and the wings came with a mild blue cheese rather than the insipid ranch dressing so many places use. The anchor chips were fine but nothing special.

Ok. I didn’t know what to expect. This is the home of the chicken wing!
Last time I tried to eat here it was a 45 min wait.
This time we waited 5 minutes, on a Friday night in April. There was a jazz band that was incredible! Really enjoyed the band.
Food wise you won’t be disappointed. Wo game were the best wings ever bit to mention the pizza. The pizza sauce was the nicest sauce I have ever had! The pizza dough out of this world.
Can’t wait to go back

As a Buffalonian I have an obligation to indulge in buffalo wings every now and again. Anchorbar is one of the places I would choose. The wings are perfectly crispy, the variety of sauces is great and the fries compliment them perfectly. Not to mention the atmosphere itself just screams «Buffalo» which I love.
I always take out-​of-​town friends here and can’t wait for the new location on the Maple to open up!

One of those dingy places you just have to go to while in buffalo. I’m glad we went and got the true experience of the buffalo wing.

Great place if you want to try real Buffalo wings! Anchor bar has a ton of character and the waitstaff are friendly. When I have people visiting me in Buffalo I always bring them to try ‘the original buffalo wing’!
I want to love this place, but as a borderline vegan there is almost nothing I can eat here. That being said, I realize I’m in the minority and if you’re visiting Buffalo you should definitely check them out.
Each location has a slightly different menu and I’m pretty sure I’ve had veggie burgers at the Anchor bar in the airport.

I have been to THE ANCHOR on many occasions because it is a must for visitors to Buffalo. There is a special feel when you pull up to «the original» Main Street location that says WINGS! Walk in the door and the world vanishes especially if the local crooner is there singing like Frank even on a cold winter’s night A SUMMER WIND warms the heart.
If you were to ask me which of «the two» WING options is the best I’d have say on most days ANCHOR is #2 meaning no disrespect however THE ANCHOR provides a full menu and let me tell you their pizza is really good.
Last night’s «medium» wings were wing perfection! Crisp and juicy with a little bit of heat (I would always go hot but sometimes you let friends choose.). Blended with the blue cheese dressing my friend from VT kept repeating himself saying «these are really good!» They really were!
Our waiter was spot on with service and the noisy atmosphere with crooning in the background was perfect for two friends who wanted to catch up.
We did the obligatory pic with the Wing Babe statue and I brought pizza home, which still tastes good almost 24 hours later.
Every first time Buffalo visitor MUST stop at THE ANCHOR & there are days when we locals need to stop in too!

For my 200^th Unilocal review I am going to review Buffalo’s most iconic and famous local restaurant. Being a WNY native I figured it was high time I reviewed this place. First let me say to all the locals and WNY natives who bad mouth and trash talk this place shame shame SHAME on you! Buffalo would not be what it is today without the Anchor Bar. Wings are a huge part of Buffalo’s identity and they surely wouldn’t be had they not been invented all those years ago right here at the Anchor Bar.
Anyways yes I admit that this place has become touristy but I mean come on you had to expect that to happen considering this place invented the greatest bar food ever. This place has been prominently featured on the food network and travel channel and was ranked number 18 on the list of the 101 best places to chowdown. I really like the atmosphere here. It still maintains that dive bar feel to it underneath all of the glitz and glamor it has garnered from its fame. The walls are adorned with pictures of the various famous people who have eaten here over the years in addition to newspaper clippings and other memorabilia including license plates from every state. There is even a giant chicken wing statue to complete the look. And they have their own parking lot which is always a major plus at any restaurant in the city.
I’ve been here several times now and every time I am seated right away regardless of how many people are in my party. Service is always fine definitely no complaints there. The food always comes out in a reasonable time. Prices are higher (over $ 1 per wing) but they know they can charge that and people will still come so its whatever. Duff’s is the same way.
As for the wings well it pains me to say that I was most recently here a couple months ago and it seemed like the wings served here have gotten smaller than they were a few years ago. I remember them being huge jumbo wings. Anyways they still have pretty decent wings but there other places that I like more in Buffalo. The wings are fairly juicy with a decent amount of crisp and loaded with sauce. My favorite thing about Anchor Bar is their spicy BBQ sauce. Its got such a unique taste with just the right balance of sweet, tangy, and spicy. On the other hand I found their medium flavor (the original Buffalo wing flavor for you tourists) to be weak. I like my medium wings to have just enough kick without scorching your mouth but the medium I most recently got were here barely had any zip at all. I’m getting hot next time for sure.