When most students hear the word bottomless, their minds instantly go to cocktails, brunch and prosecco. Well, think again. The concept is simple: 2 hours, as many wings as you can handle. Brewdog take the definition of bottomless to a tee; if you ask for wings you shall receive. And that isn’t even the best bit… It was only £12.50!
Brewdog is a craft beer manufacturer that burst onto the scene in 2007, and has continued growing ever since. They now own over 100 bars across the country, with a wide selection of ales, porters, stouts and lagers on offer. So, choose your poison to wash down those wings! On top of this, student discount is applicable in any of their bars. A drink will set you back £4.50-6, which for a craft beer is not too bad. This is where you can spend a fair bit of money. On our student budget we stuck to one drink, followed by about 5 pints of tap water to help handle the heat.
Before starting I had to try Brewdog’s new stout, Black Heart. Brewdog make some bold claims, “What if it’s better?”. This is of course in reference to Guinness. In answer to the question, its not. It was nice, but not much more than that. I went in with an open mind, but given the choice, it would be Guinness any day of the week.
The interior of the bar was unique. It was not what I’d have expected from a pub on a backroad in Southampton. With two floors, fancy lighting and neon signs, it stands out from your average Southampton boozer. In addition, the place was full, on a Wednesday. This is pretty much unseen in most bars up and down the country. The vibe was buzzing. There’s nothing worse than being in an empty restaurant/bar in my opinion, so this was one of the best things about the experience.
Last week a few mates and I took on the challenge at Brewdog Southampton (located in town, Law Courts being the closest bus stop). Let’s say the only other time I’ve been as stuffed was Christmas day. At first I was sceptical of it being a gimmick, with the potential of slow service and below average wings. However I was gladly proven wrong. Within 10 minutes of sitting down, 70 buffalo wings (between 5 of us) were brought to our table, along with blue cheese dip. We were off the mark. It didn’t take long until we were left with a pile of bones. The wings came fresh out the frier. They were crispy, steaming hot and succulent. The buffalo sauce was, sorry for the cliché, finger licking good. The wings were huge too. I was half expecting them to not have much meat on them, thinking there must be a catch in all of this. These are spicy, and for most people, they are difficult to eat in huge volume. They were also quite vinegary, which would be my only criticism. The dip complemented them perfectly, and if your spice tolerance is good, you’ll love these.
We decided to crack on with round 2, this time ordering their alternative flavour of Korean BBQ flavoured wings. Again, service was impeccable with a fresh tray of wings landing before us within 5 minutes, it was impossible not to get our moneys worth. However, the Korean wings left much to be desired. They just lacked any… umph (the best technical term in the culinary world). Korean BBQ held so much promise but unfortunately didn’t quite live up to the Buffalo wings. Nonetheless, I still devoured a portion of them. If you can’t tell, I have quite the appetite. If your spice tolerance is more at Korma-Tikka Masala level on the scale, these are for you.
Three rounds later, I was defeated. However, with what I’d say was a valiant effort of 31 wings, and the last to tap out. Let that be a bench mark if you decide to take on the wings. If you’re not sat at a bus stop afterwards in a food coma to end all food comas, you’ve done it wrong. Overall, if you’re looking for something slightly different to the countless bottomless brunches in Southampton, this is it. Not only was it delicious, but it was super fun, and I will be returning to Brewdog Southampton (even for non-wing related antics).
Brewdog’s unlimited wing night is exclusive to Wednesdays, and must be booked at least 2 days in advance. There is no booking fee/deposit to pay.
