San Jose offers many delicious dining options. You’ll find choices from gourmet salads to pizzas worth partying over. Wings are only one of the more tasty specialties you can find in the city. From fiery hot wings to exotic spiced options, this town has a wing flavor for everyone. Here are our top picks.
Smokeeaters
At Smokeeaters, the wings are hot, and the beer is cold, the only way you want it. This sports bar features plenty of HDTVs so you can catch all the latest games while you enjoy your meal. Order five wings with your choice of a single sauce, or get two sauce options with an order of 10 or 15 wings. You have over a dozen flavors to select from, including lemon pepper, mild, garlic parmesan, honey BBQ, Thai zing, traditional, honey sriracha, atomic, nuclear, fiery garlic, mango habanero, traditional death, the 4 alarm, and inferno.
You can also get your winger sauce of choice with an order of chicken tenders, on a buffalo tender salad, or in a chicken tender wrap. If you’re dining with a group, order the family meal, enough to feed four to six people. It comes with 15 wings, six tenders, and your choice of two-finger foods. You’ll also get extra options such as egg rolls, curly fries, tater tots, mozzarella sticks, and beer-battered onion rings. You’ll find plenty of satisfying finger foods to fill out your feast.
Locations: 29 S. Third St. and 5018 Almaden Expressway, in San Jose
Hours: From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday
Rookies Sports Lodge
Rookies Sports Lodge in San Jose shows every NFL game along with a range of other sports on their massive TVs. The wings are just a small part of the menu, so you can get your fix while the rest of your party enjoys other eats. The wings come in your choice of flavors, including Thai ginger citrus, sweet BBQ, lemon pepper dry rub, traditional buffalo, and habanero black diamond.
If you want a feast of appetizers, you can pair your wings with options like street tacos, nachos, and quesadillas. Other choices on the menu include burgers, ribs, stone oven pizzas, and entree salads, so there’s something for everyone. Rookies Sports Lodge features a full bar as well.
Location: 99 S. First St., in San Jose
Hours: From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday
Jackie’s Place
Jackie’s Place is a bold women-led soul food joint that delivers tremendous flavor. You can order your wings dry or pick from five delightful sauces, including peach habanero glaze, lemon pepper, bourbon BBQ, Cajun hot, and buffalo. Pair your wings with one of their hearty sides like baked mac and cheese, collard greens, candied yams, beef chili beans, or black-eyed peas.
Jackie’s serves several other phenomenal dishes, including BBQ ribs, smoked brisket, chicken and waffles, and seafood gumbo. Whatever you order, you’re sure to leave satisfied.
Location: 840 N. First St., in San Jose
Hours: From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
Wicked Chicken
Wicked Chicken serves specialty wings, chicken bites, and tenders slathered in their Wicked Signature Sauces. You can choose from half a dozen mellow flavors, including mild, BBQ, honey BBQ, red chili, Korean, and teriyaki wings. The buffalo and atomic sauces offer a little kick if you like it hot. The nuclear sauce takes things up a notch, and your wings get instantly fiery with Wicked sauces like mango, death, thermo, and global. You can also opt for the garlic parmesan or lemon pepper dry rubs.
A wing meal rounds out your order with fries and a drink. Other sides include mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and Hawaiian rolls. Wicked Chicken also serves salads, sandwiches, Chicago dogs, and appetizers, so there are plenty of options to fill you up.
Location: 2565 The Alameda, in Santa Clara
Hours: From 11 a.m. to midnight daily
Starbird Chicken
Starbird Chicken serves only antibiotic-free, all-natural chicken to deliver the best flavor possible. The twice-cooked wings are delightfully crispy. Choose from dry rub BBQ, lemon pepper, sweet Thai chili, classic buffalo, Nashville hot, garlic parmesan, and Korean glazed. Starbird Chicken also offers several delightful pairings like the Nashville Hot with pickle ranch, BBQ dry rub with house-made star sauce, lemon pepper wings with spicy herb aioli, or garlic parmesan wings with sweet and spicy Seoul sauce.
You can choose from bone-in or boneless wings. Sides include fries, super slaw, and Nashville hot fries. If you need a sweet finish, order a house-baked chocolate chip cookie or churros to complete your meal.
Location: 1088 E. Brokaw Road #10, in San Jose
Hours: From 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
Paper Planes
Though Paper Planes serves just one option for wings, their delivery is so sensational that they deserve a place on our list of the best restaurants to get wings in San Jose. The chefs at Paper Plane make crispy koji wings from free-range Petaluma chicken fried in a koji and sweet potato shochu batter and flavored with five pepper spice, salt, lime, and cilantro. This dish delivers a distinctive flavor you can’t find anywhere else.
The menu includes a selection of other gourmet bites, including lamb shank shepherd’s pie, mushroom and leek pasties, and a scotch quail egg. The bar has an extensive bottle collection and serves a variety of distinctive cocktails to complement your wings.
Location: 72 S. First St., in San Jose
Hours: From 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday to Saturday
Do you know of a delicious wing joint that we missed? Contact our team at Lexus of Stevens Creek and let us know! We love having the best recommendations in town for our customers as they’re driving off the lot.
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