Wing Review: Natty Oaks Pub & Eatery

The Basics:

Name: Natty Oaks Pub & Eatery

Where: 11505 W National Ave, West Allis, WI

MKE Wings Crew Present: Frank, Jeremy, Ross, Molly

Review Date: May 11, 2023

Wing Special (as of review date):

The Review:

Yet again, it seems all roads for wings lead to West Allis, WI. We're back in West Allis for another wing review, this time at Natty Oaks Pub & Eatery. I used to work right down the street and drove by this place often, yet never stopped. Over the years I've heard people mention their wings, so it seemed as good of time as any to give them a shot! The crew and I stopped in on very nice Thursday evening to partake in their nice outdoor patio and even better, their Thursday night wing special! The dine-in only special on Thursdays is $1/wing, minimum of 6 wings per sauce. On a normal night an order of 6 wings will run you $9 and a dozen are $16.50. Fairly pricy, but not really out of line with the current price of wings. *As always, prices/availability of menu items/prices and/or specials are subject to change at the sole discretion of the bar without the knowledge of Milwaukeewings.com and may not be updated accordingly.*

Just about everyone should find a flavor to suit them as they offer 12 sauces and 4 dry rubs. Sauces: BBQ, Bourbon Glaze, Buffalo, Buffalo Ranch, Carolina Gold, Damn Hot, Garlic Parmesan, Horseradish Peppercorn, Jerk, Mango Habanero, Teriyaki, & Thai Chili. Dry Rubs: Jamaican Jerk, Mesquite, Natalie's Secret Rub, & Southwest. Side note, while they have lots of wing flavors, they oddly didn't have many beer flavors, I tried to order a Spotted Cow and was informed they don't have that. Like, I thought that was a legal requirement in Wisconsin, all bars must have Spotted Cow on tap, no? Anyway, I digress.

We placed our orders and they all arrived quite quickly, impressive given it was pretty busy and I saw lots of people ordering wings. The wings were huge, really good deal for $1. I ordered 12, but only managed to eat 10, so these were some pretty big wings. The wings themselves were cooked nicely for the most part, I did wish a few of mine were a bit crispier, and that a few were a bit saucier, but overall good. Wings were served with carrots and celery and ranch and/or bleu cheese dressings for $0.50 each, both the ranch and bleu were very good. With the size of the crew, we were able to get most of the flavors that night, thoughts on the ones we tried below!

Bourbon Glaze: sweet, really sweet, probably bordering on a bit too sweet for my tastes. If a sweet, sticky wing sauce is your thing, give it a try, but probably not my personal favorite.

Buffalo Ranch: a crowd favorite of the night for sure. Tangy and spicy from the Buffalo, balanced with the herby creaminess of the ranch. Super tasty, I'd certainly get this one again. Really reminded me of Arizona Ranch from Quaker Steak and Lube, back when they were around in the area.

Carolina Gold: I didn't get to actually try this on a wing, but did manage to taste the sauce itself, so I have to use a bit of imagination here. However, this was a super flavorful Carolina BBQ sauce. Mustardy, tangy, smoky, a touch of heat, this hit all of the marks of a good Carolina BBQ sauce, I wish I had ordered this one for myself!

Damn Hot: I'm trying to bring back the old Milwaukeewings tradition of getting the hottest sauce on the menu to share among the group, so here we were with Damn Hot. True to it's word, this was damn hot! Certainly not the hottest wing ever, but it packs a punch with a wallop of pepper flavor right up front but a slow build that got even hotter. This was not a hot Buffalo flavor, I'd say it was more akin to Tabasco in terms of flavor. If your a heat seeker looking for a unique flavor, give it a shot.

Garlic Parmesan: super creamy and garlicy, not my favorite garlic parm, but a good option for those looking for a milder, savory wing.

Horseradish Peppercorn: In all my years of wings, not sure I've ever seen a sauce featuring horseradish before, so I had to get this one. This one polarized the group, Ross hated it, but then again, he hates horseradish, so that's not too surprising. Me on the other hand, I loved this flavor. Super unique with that unique flavor of horseradish, I'd never had anything quite like it before. Creamy, tons of black pepper along with the taste of horseradish but without all of the sinus clearing heat that horseradish can pack. I'd order this again.

Jerk: Very flavorful jerk sauce. A bit of citrus brightness balances out the warm spicy notes of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg that are stables of a jerk seasoning. Super savory and super flavorful.

Mango Habanero: Sadly I did not care for this one which was disappointing as a good mango habanero is one of my favorite flavor combos. This sauce had a lot of habanero pepper taste (almost a bit bitter too), but really not much of any mango flavor, so it was a bit lopsided.

Thai Chili: I always like Thai Chili sauces, but they are all very similar, I've yet to find a standout sauce. This one is more or less what you'd expect, sweet yet a bit savory with a tinge of heat, this one maybe just seemed a bit less sweet than other Thai Chili wings I've had elsewhere.

Natalie's Secret Rub: If it's a secret, we have to get it, right? I personally didn't sample this one, but Ross and Jeremy had this dry rub and weren't too impressed, not the most flavorful in their eyes.

The MKE Wings Crew's Favorites:

Frank: Buffalo Ranch & Peppercorn Horseradish

Jeremy: Jerk, with honorable mention to Carolina Gold & Buffalo Ranch

Molly: Carolina Gold

Ross: Buffalo Ranch

Conclusion:

Natty Oaks sure does serve up some solid wings! While a few of the flavors were duds for us, there were plenty that we really liked that made up for those. The giant, super filling wings also made sure we left happy. I can say that Natty Oaks is a Milwaukeewings.com certified wing joint! They are certainly worthy of a stop in for some tasty wings, give 'em a shot when you' re nearby!

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