Chicken Wings at Chick Chick Upper West Side: 10 for $26

Chick Chick sells ten Korean-style fried wings for $26 in a choice of Soy Garlic, Korean Sweet Gochujang, Hot Honey, Nashville Hot or Sweet Black Pepper Soy, and the Upper West Side restaurant opens at 4:30 PM Monday through Thursday. Chick Chick, at 618 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024, is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant from Chef Jun Park, who counts fried chicken and ramen as his two favorite foods. The room is narrow and deep, with wood-covered walls, pendant lights and tables that look onto an open kitchen.

The restaurant's own story is a short one. Owner and Chef Jun Park says his two favorite foods are fried chicken and ramen, and that he built the Upper West Side restaurant to share them with the neighborhood. Construction began just before the COVID-19 pandemic, financing was pulled in the middle of the build, and the team chose to carry on anyway because they believed in New York.

Today the website says Chick Chick has been honored in the Michelin Bib Gourmand guide from 2022 through 2024, and published descriptions of the dining room call it narrow and deep with an open kitchen. A second Chick Chick operates at Shaver Hall in Midtown, so the Amsterdam Avenue room is the original Upper West Side location.

The fried chicken menu is a short, clear list. Wings come in an order of ten for $26, super tenders in an order of three for $18, a half chicken is $19 and a whole chicken is $37. The menu notes that the chickens are all vegetarian fed and raised with no antibiotics ever.

Flavors are Original with no sauce, Soy Garlic, Korean Sweet Gochujang, which the menu abbreviates to KSG, Hot Honey, Nashville Hot and Sweet Black Pepper Soy, which is offered on wings and tenders only. Extra sauce costs $2. If you want one flavor to compare against the rest, start with Original, which lets the batter and the chicken speak for themselves.

The group sets are priced for tables. Game Night is forty wings in up to two flavors with two sides for $110, Playdate is twenty chicken tenders in up to two sauces with two sides for $110, With Friends is fifty wings in up to two flavors with three sides for $135, and With Family is a whole fried chicken with ten tenders and three sides for $95.

There is also a bite-size option. Heavenly Crispy Chicken Bites come in Honey Soy Garlic with sesame seed, scallion and fried rice cakes for $26, or Sweet & Spicy with hot pepper, sesame seed, pumpkin seed and fried rice cake, also $26.

If wings are only part of your plan, the sandwich list is long. The Chickwich is crispy chicken with pickles, lettuce, Monterey Jack and Chick Chick sauce for $17, and the Nashville Hot Chickwich, KSG-Wich, Umami Jalapeño Chickwich and Thai Sweet Chili Chickwich are each $17 too. Chicken & French Toast, with brioche French toast, chicken tenders, apple chips and maple bourbon, is $23.

The waffle sandwiches are $20: Original with tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, pickled cucumber, cheddar and Chick Chick sauce; Upper West with bacon, KSG, Thousand Island slaw, pickled cucumber and mozzarella; and Sweet & Spicy with Nashville spicy chicken, maple, bacon, cheddar, coleslaw and egg.

Sides start with honey butter bread at $12 and Mexican street corn at $12, plus mac and cheese at $13 and kimchi mac and cheese at $15. Fries and sweet potato fries are $11 each, truffle parmesan fries are $14, creamy potato salad is $12, and white kimchi slaw is $7. The Tori Paitan chicken ramen is $22, and the fried rice options are $19.

The Upper West Side hours are Mon–Thu 4:30 PM–10:00 PM, Fri–Sat 11:30 AM–3:00 PM and 4:30 PM–10:00 PM, and Sun 11:30 AM–3:00 PM and 4:30 PM–9:00 PM. Friday through Sunday, the restaurant runs two separate seatings, lunch and dinner. The phone number is (212) 799-1026, and the website offers pickup and delivery.

The menu adds that a 20 percent service charge is added to parties of six or more, which matters when you order a Game Night set for a group. Friday through Sunday also offers a lunch seating from 11:30 AM, which gives you a second window into the room.

An honest tip: skip the heaviest sauce on the first round. The Korean Sweet Gochujang and Nashville Hot carry flame icons on the menu, so if the table is mixed, order half Soy Garlic and half KSG and let people trade. And if you want a break from chicken, the ramen at $22 is a real alternative, not a token one.

Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side runs past brownstones, small shops and sidewalk cafes, and the restaurant sits in a stretch that works for an evening walk. Head east and you reach Central Park in a few blocks, where the paths are open to walkers all year. Head north or south along Amsterdam and the avenue's mix of bakeries and bookshops keeps the stroll interesting.

If the weather is good, a walk through the park after a heavy plate of fried chicken is the classic move, and a slower route through the side streets is the alternative when it rains. The American Museum of Natural History is a longer walk south for a daytime visit.

Address: 618 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024. Phone: (212) 799-1026. Hours: Mon–Thu 4:30 PM–10:00 PM, Fri–Sat 11:30 AM–3:00 PM and 4:30 PM–10:00 PM, Sun 11:30 AM–3:00 PM and 4:30 PM–9:00 PM. Wings, 10 pieces: $26. Super tenders, 3 pieces: $18. Extra sauce: $2. Service charge of 20 percent for parties of six or more.

Who is it for? Anyone who wants Korean fried chicken with a Michelin Bib Gourmand pedigree, couples who want a narrow, warm room, and groups who want a Game Night or With Friends tray to split. Order ten wings in two flavors, add the honey butter bread, and download the Karpo APP to save Upper West Side dinner spots and hours for your next night out.