A delicious diner serving the finest wings in town. Their burgers also bang! Based in Kilburn in North West London and just a stone’s throw away from Kilburn underground station.
It was approaching the end of the day on a Monday. I was counting down the clock until I could escape the office and head home. My friend dropped me a message suggesting we get together and eat at a new place he’d discovered. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so to make up for lost time, we’d be having dinner at Wingmans.
My smart friend thought well to book in advance. In spite of it being a Monday night, the diner was packed with people waiting a while before they could be seated.
WINGS
We ordered the SIGNATURE wings including a portion (6 pieces) of each of the below:
BANG COQ: A Thai infusion of Sriracha, Honey and Lime topped with Kewpie (Japanese) mayo, toasted sesame, diced pickle, ginger and crispy onion.
This was an absolute joy for the palate, a right balance between chilli and sweetness, brought together wonderfully by the Japanese mayo. Sriracha is one of my favourite sauces, this in addition to the strong flavours from the pickle and ginger took me back to the delightful shores of Thailand with every bite.
SEOULJA BOI: A Korean Gochujang hot sauce topped with roasted sesame dressing, diced pineapple, pickled daikon (Japanese raddish), black sesame and lime.
The heat from this option was a lot less subtle. The Gochujang, or Korean hot sauce, certainly packed a punch. The occasional bite of juicy sweetness from the diced pineapple really complemented the spice. The daikon was also distinctive, cutting through everything.
MATSU CURRY: Japanese curry sauce topped with kewpie mayo, katsu, pickled ginger, mango, spring onion, crispy onion and coriander.
As you can see, we went big on the oriental flavours in our wings, it should be mentioned there are other option including a vegan cauliflower option! The Katsu was just gorgeous. This was such a clever way of fusing a Japanese favourite with an American staple. This was the least spicy of the three. The history of the Katsu has always been interesting for me – the curry was introduced to Japan by Britain in the Meiji era (1868 – 1912). The British at this point, had already exerted their own take on the curry. A curry sauce for the Brits at this point in time, meant frying together curry powder, flour and oil to formulate a roux, which would then be added to stewed meat and vegetables and then simmered until thickened.
The Japanese took it to the next level including their own spices to the mix, battering their chosen meat and frying before mixing to this roux. What a fascinating journey from the sub continent to Britain all the way to Japan! And now, here at Wingmans the dish evolved another step into the form of chicken wings. What a treat!
All of the wings were perfectly cooked, freshly dipped buttermilk wings deep fried and coated in phenomenal sauces. Every bite had the perfect balance of crunch and chewiness with an absolute explosion of flavours. I always think sesame seeds, coriander with some sauce can totally transform wings.
BURGERS
As mentioned earlier, this was the first time I was seeing my friend for a while, so we weren’t going to leave having just tried the wings. Burgers were next on the hit list.
THIGH GRADE: Panko fried chicken thigh, American cheese, pickles, pink onion, house ranch all sandwiches is a brioche bun.
SEOUL SISTA: Crispy fried thigh, Korean hot sauce, charred pineapple, ponzu cucumbers, roasted sesame dressing also trapped between a brioche bun.
Both of these burgers were astonishing. I have a tendency of ordering lamb or beef burgers as I find the chicken can often disappoint. Whilst chicken is one of the most commonly cooked things out there, I find people often making the mistake when it comes to a gourmet burger, of overcooking the chicken and drying it out. Not these guys though!
They did the smart thing of using chicken thigh to create their patty, immediately a softer and juicer part of the chicken than the breast. They then battered the thigh, one in Japanese panko (bread crumbs) and dipped the other (Seoul Sista) in Korean hot sauce.
Both burgers were succulent and moist, the slight sweetness of the brioche bun made the bite more enjoyable and I LOVED the pineapple and cucumbers in the Seoul Sista. Both burgers were amazing, if you’re after something a bit more different with an oriental twang, certainly go for the Seoul Sista, traditionalists should opt for the classic Thigh Grade with it’s traditional American cheese and house ranch albeit slightly Japanese breadcrumb coating.
SIDES
You can’t call it a full meal without sides right? There was no holding back. So for sides, we went for:
SWEET POTATO FRIES: with maple syrup and caramelised pecan salt
I absolutely love sweet potato fries. These were a fine display. Freshly fried, with a touch of maple syrup and pecan salt. It all worked wonderfully together. This feels like a natural side dish with the burgers or wings.
TRUFFLE MAC & CHEESE WITH BEEF SHORT RIB: topped with garlic breadcrumbs and chive
The mac & cheese was absolutely unreal! First and foremost, I loved the little pot it came in. It looked super chic, a really nice and neat presentation. Everyone loves mac & cheese right? It feels like a staple here in the U.K. However, as is often the case with staples, they can get boring and worn down. Wingmans knew it needed to make this iconic yet familiar dish into something special and they did just that. You stick your fork into a crispy layer of breadcrumb and chive before it reaches the spongey macaroni. Infused with the pasta are bits of truffle – perhaps the most expensive food in the world!
Farming these bad boys is very costly because they cannot be cultivated. They require very specific kinds of soils and trees to grow. This is a type of fungus, similar to mushroom and requires masterfully skilled dogs to sniff them out wherever they may be hiding before they’re plucked out by a truffle forager. The ingredient added a special nutty taste to the dish as well as releasing a subtle woody flavour and musky aroma. Waiting at the bottom of the pot was the rich pulled beef. What an absolute joy!
CRISPY NDUJA TATER TOTS: with chimichurri, roasted garlic mayo and Zaatar. We got this without the nudja (pork).
The tater tots were also presented well and drenched in garlic mayo and green sauce. Originating in Argentina, chimichurri is a much welcomed uncooked sauce used as a condiment. It’s made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil and oregano. The use of Zaatar was also really interesting, a middle-eastern seasoning consisting of sumac, sesame, salt and other spices. What was strange about this dish, is whilst it certainly contained all the recipes for something delicious, we didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as the other dishes.
PRICING
We ended up spending a staggering £85.50. This did feel like a lot of money for just two people it must be said! However, it does include a 12.5% service charge which is well deserved as the service was excellent. We also had three soft drinks between us and definitely ordered much more than was needed as we wanted to try as many things as possible. I think all things considered Wingmans is reasonably priced.
HALAL INDEX
Most things on the menu are halal. Everything is clearly labelled on the menu, including an index for anything that contains nuts, gluten, dairy, vegetarian, sesame. There is also a labelling system for anything that contains pork or alcohol. There is a bar and they do also serve alcohol.