The 10 best wings in Charlotte

Wings are game day food in a football town, and Charlotte takes them seriously enough that the argument over the best has run for decades. This list mixes the classic wing shacks with the places that changed what a Charlotte wing can be, Korean double fried, soul food whole wing, cocktail bar hearth wing. Every one is locally owned. Hours are current as of this writing.

1. D.D. Peckers Wing Shack

The wing spot Charlotte names first, on Park Road near Pineville since 2002 and run by Justin Holland since 2004 with a staff that has barely changed in a decade. A dark bar room, more than 25 house made sauces tossed in big steel bowls in view of the door, and wings that are never skimpy. Hot and honey hot are the flavors; the poppers and mushrooms are the sides. A national travel site put it among the 50 best wing spots in the country.

Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 10403 Park Rd, Charlotte, NC 28210

Why it made the list

• The city’s most popular wing spot for a reason.
• 25 plus sauces made in house.
• Nationally ranked.
• Open seven days.

Directory listing: D.D. Peckers Wing Shack

2. Moosehead Grill

A neighborhood bar in a former Pizza Hut on Montford Drive with heavy drinks and excellent bar food. Thirteen wing flavors, and the smart order is Uncle Donnie’s Famous Blackened Wings and the Bee Stings, with the Killer Bees if you need more heat. The PB&J wings and the Hemo-Goblin with ghost pepper are there for the brave. Onion rings, cold beer, a walk in fridge level of air conditioning and a late close every night.

Hours: Monday and Wednesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Tuesday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Address: 1807 Montford Dr, Charlotte, NC 28209

Why it made the list

• Blackened wings, a Charlotte original.
• Thirteen flavors and a real bar.
• The Montford strip’s anchor.
• Open until 1 a.m. every night.

Directory listing: Moosehead Grill

3. Seoul Food Meat Company

Korean inspired Southern barbecue in South End and the Mill District, and the one place on this list where the wings are double fried to a delicate, crackly crust and smothered in sauce. Spicy and soy garlic are the two flavors that matter. Pork belly bao, kimbap, Philly cheese egg rolls and a bulgogi burger keep the table busy, the back patio is the seat, and the kitchen runs past midnight.

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Address: 1400 S. Church St, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• Double fried Korean wings.
• Soy garlic, the order.
• Two locations and late hours.
• A menu worth exploring past the wings.

Directory listing: Seoul Food Meat Company

4. Mr. Charles Chicken & Fish

Father and son Mike and Michael Rhynes’ soul food counter, original on Statesville Avenue with dine in locations on Cambridge Commons Drive and Dalton Avenue. The wings come out whole, lightly breaded with the house seasoning and crisp, and the four wing dinner with two sides and a roll, hot sauce on the side, is the way. Whiting, flounder, gizzards and pound cake. The original is takeout only and weekdays only.

Hours: Monday to Friday 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; closed Saturday and Sunday

Address: 3100 Statesville Ave, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• Whole fried wings, soul food style.
• Some of the best fried chicken in Charlotte, period.
• The four wing dinner.
• Three locations across the city.

Directory listing: Mr. Charles Chicken & Fish

5. Wing King Cafe

A sports bar with an old school tavern feel on Carowinds Boulevard in Steele Creek, with a second location in Fort Mill, and more than 30 wing flavors, eight of them garlic. The King sampler, 25 wings in five flavors, is how you find your favorite; hot honey and Cajun garlic win most often. Huge portions, half off deals, cheese curds and Monday karaoke.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.

Address: 13209 Carowinds Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28273

Why it made the list

• 30 plus flavors.
• The King sampler.
• Big portions and half off deals.
• Steele Creek and Fort Mill locations.

Directory listing: Wing King Cafe

6. Bisonte Pizza Co.

Two brothers from Buffalo, family recipes, and the most authentic Buffalo wing in Charlotte: mild, medium, hot or inferno, with homemade blue cheese. The sauce list runs to bourbon barbecue, peach honey and Carolina gold, and the chicken finger sub tossed in buffalo sauce is a Buffalo specialty almost nobody else here serves. Uptown on West Trade Street, plus Matthews and Ballantyne.

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 710 W. Trade St, Suite F, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• The real Buffalo wing.
• Homemade blue cheese.
• The chicken finger sub.
• Pizza from the same family recipes.

Directory listing: Bisonte Pizza Co.

7. Painted Rooster

The Plaza Midwood chicken restaurant on Central Avenue with wings, tenders, nuggets, sandwiches and a cauliflower wing, all under a mix and match system of dry rubs, sauces and dips. Texas mesquite is the rub, hot honey barbecue, garlic parm and Cheerwine barbecue are the sauces, and Too Hot for the Menu carries a no refunds warning. Waffle fries, a bacon chicken ranch mac and a covered patio.

Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Address: 1601 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Cheerwine barbecue sauce.
• Mix and match rubs and sauces.
• A vegetarian wing option.
• Open until 11 p.m. every night.

Directory listing: Painted Rooster

8. Bobbee O’s BBQ

Bob Roberts’ barbecue and wing restaurant on Statesville Road in northwest Charlotte, opened after a career managing chain restaurants and a tour in Vietnam. Four wing flavors, house barbecue, spicy barbecue, hot and mild, with the house barbecue the one to get. Brisket done right, thick mac and cheese, cornbread muffins and a room where the staff tells you to stay a while.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Address: 9401 Statesville Rd, Charlotte, NC 28269

Why it made the list

• Wings in real barbecue sauce.
• A veteran owned family business.
• Brisket and sides as good as the wings.
• A north Charlotte stop worth the drive.

Directory listing: Bobbee O’s BBQ

9. Ten58 Sports Bar & Lounge

Former Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis’ sports bar and lounge on West 4th Street in Uptown, a few blocks from the stadium. Eight wing flavors with mambo at the top, then buffalo, garlic parm, Carolina gold, Georgia hot and the lemon peppers. Nachos, crawfish dip and hookah, open until midnight or later every night, and the natural pregame and postgame stop on a Panthers Sunday.

Hours: Monday to Thursday noon to midnight; Friday noon to 1 a.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m. to midnight

Address: 430 W. 4th St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• Mambo wings.
• A Panthers legend’s bar by the stadium.
• Late hours seven nights.
• The game day wing.

Directory listing: Ten58 Sports Bar & Lounge

10. Flip-a-Lo’s

South Charlotte’s neighborhood wing shop in Carmel Commons on Pineville-Matthews Road, formerly Flip’n Chicken, focused on wings, strips and sticks. Buffalo is the most popular, lemon pepper and garlic parmesan follow, and the chicken wrap in Flip’n Hot sauce is the sleeper. Warm breadsticks while you wait, a pile of fries and a counter that hands out samples.

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 7629 Pineville-Matthews Rd, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28226

Why it made the list

• A locally owned counter shop.
• Buffalo, lemon pepper and garlic parm.
• The chicken wrap.
• Family friendly and quick.

Directory listing: Flip-a-Lo’s

Also worth knowing

Two of the best wings in the city are at places already in the directory for other reasons: the hearth charred wings with house hot sauce and buttermilk blue cheese at The Crunkleton in Elizabeth, and the three pepper hot sauce wings at Growlers Pourhouse in NoDa. If we missed yours, tell us.