Anchor Bar

Seriously guys

Waiter to table full of tourists: “I’m not going to give you ranch because you are adults, but here is some blue cheese.”

I’m from NYC, and I just came back from visiting Buffalo for a couple of days. One of my missions here was to try the staple Buffalo Wings. So on my first night, I chose Bar-Bill after researching and reading several reddit posts that had a crazy amounts of votes for Bar-Bill.

Bar-Bill location: Bar-Bill North on Clarence. Anchor Bar location: Williamsville. I know this two are off the grid from the city but close enough. The Williamsville is NOT the original Anchor Bar but they close at 10pm and 11pm on weekends, while downtown location closes at 9pm, and I would have arrived there too close to closing for me to enjoy my food. I figured the one on Williamsville shouldn’t be much different since it’s the same menu.

My experience? Weak menu. Very little items. I thought that the way the wings are cooked were phenomenal. The wings were thick, crispy and very good, but I found them A LITTLE, just a little dry especially towards the end(my last 2-3 wings). I think it’s expected as they get colder. Nonetheless, was really impressed. Another issue I had, the honey butter bbq sauce was very tasty but was drizzled on rather stingy. In the end, it left me somewhat underwhelmed. I also thought their buffalo sauce was a little vingery and watery. Buffalo pizza was digusting. Edible, sure, but a watery buffalo mess. The pizza dough itself is very good, cheese is good, and the chicken is good, but the buffalo sauce killed it. Bad execution.

Here’s the crazy plot twist. The next day I went to Anchor Bar, who was shitted on by a lot of people on reddit. To my surprise, I had an awesome dinner. Much more food options. This time I ordered the beef on weck combo with wings. And paid for an additional 5 wings. Basically, 5 loganberry wings and 5 medium(original sauce). Off the bat I could tell the wings weren’t like Bar-Bills. They didn’t have as much crispiness to it. But you know what? It wasn’t bad at all! Wings were very good still, juicy and flavorful. No complains.

It seems in general, Buffalo has got their wings down packed. I’m convinced I can go to the worst wing spot in Buffalo and will still have better wings than anywhere in NYC.

The loganberry wings at Anchor are really good. Sweet but delicious flavor. The medium aka the original sauce, wasn’t any different than most buffalo sauces I’ve had all my life. If anyone is thinking about how the Buffalo sauce taste like in BUFFALO, trust me, you’ve already had it. After all, isn’t buffalo sauce just butter and hot sauce? Idk. Anyway, Anchor’s original/medium tasted more familiar. It had that buttery taste.

My wife had their avocado chicken sandwich. I had a few bites. It was amazing, and according to her the best chicken sandwich she ever had. And so did I. Chicken was juicy, flavorful and cooked perfectly.

Now the beef on weck blew me away. When I looked at this sandwich in google I thought this was the most boring, driest looking thing I can get my hands on. I thought, how can this be a Buffalo staple? Well boy was I wrong. That beef on weck was so good, I almost cried I didn’t have it the day before. I almost cried when I left Buffalo the next day without eating another one. 400 miles away I’m still thinking about it.

Now, I’m sure Bar-Bill or other places might have even better beef on weck. I wouldn’t know. But Anchor Bar giving me an amazing first impression of the beef on weck, should count for something, right? If this is the standard, than the bar is set high for me for other places.

Heck maybe to a Buffalo-born-and-raise the place is shit, but as a visitor, I would recommend this place. I had such a good dinner that I was happier eating at Anchor Bar than at Bar-Bill, and I would recommend going to the place where the Buffalo Wings were created. Even if it isn’t the best. You still feel the history. (Even if it isn’t the original location)

Perhaps Bar-Bill put my expectations so high that when I had it it didn’t really blow me away.

So in conclusion: Are Bar-Bills wings better? Marginally. There were some small flaws in them with lack of sauce. And some dryness can occur in order to achieve that crispy-ness. It may be it’s own downfall. But I would recommend none the less.

Can you have a good experience at Anchor Bar? 100%. Wings are still better than anything you’ll get away from buffalo, and they’re not stingy with their sauce. Also, seems like they still have a better medium heat sauce recipe, imo. Beef on weck? Changed my life.

What do you think are the best wings in Buffalo? Would love to come back and try Duff’s.

I loved Buffalo. What a great city. It has character.

Also, I got the cutest Buffalo plushy at Anchor bar for the memories.

Man I just came here for the first time and this place is great. The pizza is fn amazing!

i always thought the original of something iconic would always be best but apparently they are not. can someone ELI5 how that is the case, even before their franchise expansion?

This post might be at times triggering, at times convoluted, often contradictory- but it's my unscientific account based on the three days I just spent in your city having wings at some of your most famous spots each day. Back to the gym tomorrow...

Been visiting Buffalo for various reasons since age 13 (now 32), and seldom was a trip made without a pitstop at Anchor. I actually had no intention of stopping in on this trip, as my intention was to hit what many seem to consider the holy trinity (in no particular order): 911 Tavern, Gabriel's Gate, Bar Bill. I don't know that that's universally considered the holy trinity (Anchor may well be on some peoples list when talking trinity), but those are the spots that all my precursory Reddit searches and chatting with locals (including border agents) lead me to arrive at. Anyways, we came in late Thurs night and Anchor was just convenient for us, location-wise. This legend/institution of a spot seems to get such a bad rap these days, and frankly, for many years now... almost as if though it's the cool thing to do amid the wing cognoscenti. I admittedly (stupidly) went in with this bias thinking they were shit, even though I have loved them on each and every of my previous dozens of visits over the past almost two decades... funny how the internet can impact your psyche like that... but I also don't detract from nostalgia being a powerful flavour (maybe). Anyways... I'll just cut this short-ish and say the wings were fucking great- I have no idea what those of you who hate on the spot are talking about. I think a lot of hyperbole is at play when people say they're terrible... while taste is entirely subjective, there's nothing remotely terrible about the wings I had- they were actually great, and leaps and bounds beyond the "best" wings I've had here, in Toronto. Which I ask for you to now allow me a moment to go on two side-tangents... 1) I appreciate that consistency is something all restaurants strive for, but even the best of them can fall short of achieving at times... it's just the nature of the business, and so it's entirely possible I hit up some of these spots on a good night or bad night (all were fantastic, so no bad nights). And 2) This should be its own post altogether, and I will likely make it into one... it blows my mind how something so seemingly, maybe deceptively, simple as a chicken wing can be made markedly better in one place than in another... I attach zero hype or sentiment to this statement, because I hate when places that are the "home" of something push the narrative that they're the best... but you guys truly, wholeheartedly, unequivocally, are the very best at wings. No question. I do find your city pretty sorely lacking in culinary diversity (flame on... just true, ime), but what you do, you do very well. Anyways, back to wings... so yeah, Anchor was great on this visit. Hadn't had it in about 3-4 years, but prior to that had it dozens of times and was never let down- it always set the bar for me, insofar as wings go, and nothing here in Toronto (or any other city I've eaten wings in, internationally) has ever come remotely close. And even this past Thursday night, going into it wanting to hate them because of all the hype surrounding the other places I was planning to visit, all the hate Anchor got online and amid locals, they were fantastic. It left me genuinely curious as to how any wing could possibly top them- they were that good.

Then the next night we hit up Gabriel's Gate after not wanting to wait 40+ min @ Bar Bill North. Yes, it was a drive, but it's okay- we were staying close to GG. GG also had a wait, albeit a much a shorter one, and I was planning on hitting it up anyways. Firstly, I absolutely love the vibe of this spot- even more than that of Anchor, which I've always enjoyed the atmosphere/aesthetic of. But GG is, to my tastes, just so much cooler inside- deeply authentic and unpretentious. Did a double of medium and cajun (medium was a go-to at each spot I hit, and should be the de facto flavour when judging wings- I believe that's already established though). On first bite I thought... wow, they did it... they out-did Anchor. The crisp and flavour were a couple notches about Anchor, to be sure- but here's the thing, it wasn't night-and-day superior. Anchor was very, very, good the night I went- and GG was GREAT. My one criticism was that I almost found their sauce a touch too salty, but I'm not complaining by any means. Reiterating what I said somewhere in the big blob of text above- I think there's a slew of hyperbole tossed about when talking how bad Anchor is... almost as if it's the cool thing for locals to do. But I also reiterate that I recognize good nights and bad nights exist for both the best and worst restaurants. Anyways, Gabe's Gate was the better wing, 100%- but I would (and will) go back to Anchor without any hesitations in the future.

Finally, today for lunch, we made the drive back to Bar Bell North, where in addition to a double (medium + cajun honey butter), we did their beef on weck (Swiston's does it better, imo), and a couple other sides. Okay, so as incredibly good as Anchor was on the night we went, and as GREAT as Gabe's Gate was, Bar Bell took the cake for me- so far the best wing I've had. And before I continue, I just want to say, that while this was my fav wing, even this was not NIGHT AND DAY to Anchor, which I will just keep as a reference point. Even if Anchor is now at the bottom of my list (of an admittedly miniscule sample pool, having now only had wings @ four spots in your city (Swistons included, who actually surprised me by how great their wings were a couple years ago), they still do a great wing that's far beyond anything I get here or, frankly, any place outside Buffalo. I think you guys ought to try more wings in Toronto or anywhere in Canada if you wanna' call Anchor bad, haha. Just made me realize that if Anchor is terrible by your standards, that you've really got it good. Anyways, Bar Bill was the most perfectly cooked, with a dream crunch/crust, with the deepest flavour, and while their medium was great, that cajun honey butter was simply divine. I usually find flavours other than medium/hot to kind of be novelties, as the standards are what I could eat at any time, while some of the others you gotta' be in the mood for... but that cajun honey butter was wow, special. The service was best at BBN for sure. But the atmosphere, while still great, least cool/authentic, which makes sense because I believe it- especially the North location- is the newest on the list of entrants.

Anyways, sorry for the walls of text and crappy formatting... Just wanted to jot down my scrambled thoughts after coming in the door first thing. On the list for my next trip in a few weeks are: 911 Tavern, Kelly's Korner, Wing Nutz, and Imperial- not sure I'll allow myself to hit them all on a trip of the same duration (3 days) as I somewhat value my health and have been actively working on getting in better shape... but I do it all in the name of science, ahead of which I put my own life. If you have any suggestions on other spots to check out, please don't hesitate to chime in. The thing I'd really like to do is start hitting up more niche IYKYK spots unique to neighbourhoods... spots the locals of a specific hood might only know, not just the big names as mentioned in this thread. I've read that most pizzerias do great wings, so I might have to hit up a couple as well (intend to try some of your pizza as well on future trips).