All Roads Lead To… Wing It Diner

There is a new chicken spot in town, and no, it is not another Nandos or KFC chain, but Windhoek’s very own Wing It Diner. Nestled in the CBD on Fidel Castro (where the old Cordon Bleu used to be), the new diner promises to have “tasty wings that will have you coming back for more”.

When you first walk in, you wouldn’t expect that this stylish eatery serves chicken and chicken alone. With the trendy faux brick wall facade, little wooden huts/caves that make you feel like Frodo Baggins in his hobbit hole. Wing It Diner is definitely not your grandma’s diner. Very sleek and modern, this is a great place to come with friends before a night out on the town, or with family for a quick bite.

Naturally, they serve chicken and a lot of it. You can choose from four flavours for your wings – dunked buffalo wings, grilled buffalo wings, grilled BBQ and for the more tame, you can also choose grilled lemon and herb wings. Prices vary from as low as N$49,90 for six wings to N$289 for 24 if you are feeling extra peckish.

If wings aren’t your thing, you can try one of their sliders (for common folk like myself, a slider is just a fancy word for little sandwich/burger.) You can also have chicken and waffles for breakfast if that’s your thing. Mac and cheese, waffle fries and onion rings in fitting with the diner theme and for the more health conscious, you could opt for their reasonably-priced green salad that goes for N$25,90.

Our waiter Pandilinge was prompt in greeting us and seating us at a table. Once we were settled, he took down our orders and told us our food would take around eight minutes to be ready, and lo and behold, it came as quickly as he said it would, probably with a minute to spare. A definite win in a local food industry where seasons can pass between ordering drinks and your first course.

We ordered the buffalo wings which were great, but technically weren’t buffalo wings as they weren’t spicy enough, and the accompanying sauce was more tangy than the original cool ranch sauce. The onion rings were crunchy and delicious with a coating that crumbled beautifully and a well-cooked ring on the inside. The slider was quite filling despite its initial appearance and had a lot of fillings with it as well. If you like your sliders plain, be sure to ask the waiters what comes with it.

The chips were crisp and could easily rival those of KFC. Overall, I would say that Wing It Diner is good value for money, has friendly and efficient staff and serves good chicken.