I was invited to an exclusive first look at Wingstop UK’s new site, due to open on Monday 1st July at Westfield Stratford City, and I can tell it’s going to be a big hit. Their largest restaurant to date is over 5,000 square meters with over 160 seats and brings 140 jobs to the area.
I absolutely loved the restaurant’s dark green theme and futuristic style, which are exclusive to the industry. When we arrived the new staff had just finished their training and looked really excited to start on Monday.
Malachy O’Keefe, their Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Years of hard work have led to this moment, opening our largest branch in a well-known shopping center – which will also be our new flagship store. Our team and designers have worked tirelessly to to create incredible colors, brands and designs for this place.”
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To celebrate the opening, the first 100 customers in the store will receive free chicken wings. Wingstop also partners with brands that resonate with its core Gen Z customer base, such as JD Sports, Gymshark, Foot Asylum and TikTok.
The American brand started as a small buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant in Texas in 1994. It now has over 2,100 locations.
Lemon Pepper Holdings introduced Wingstop in the UK in 2018 and now has 48 branches. It was recently crowned the fastest growing restaurant group in the UK for the second year running by The Sunday Times 100. Fans include rappers Stormzy and Central Cee. And after trying their food, I am also a fan.
Wingstop offers wings, boneless bites and tenders in 10 different flavors. The tenders, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, were my favorite, especially with the Louisiana cashew and garlic blend.
The best flavor for me though was the spicy Korean Q, a perfect balance of sweet and smoky, and not too spicy. I tried that flavor with the boneless pieces, which were also incredibly tender.
Despite being a fast food restaurant, all the food at Wingstop is cooked to order, so the chicken isn’t sitting on hot plates waiting to be ordered. This ensures that the chicken is always fresh and full of flavor.
Their Big Flavor Burger with Hickory Smoked BBQ was also delicious. Along with the fried chicken, it includes slaw, pickles and their best selling ranch dressing.
But I preferred their honey mustard and blue cheese dip to the ranch, especially with the lemon pepper fries. The fries were so good I couldn’t stop eating them. For drinks, Wingstop offers a multi-flavor freestyle soda machine. I even found my rare favorite, the Fanta grape.
Wingstop UK continues to grow in popularity and often draws long queues for new openings. Even during my visit, eager customers were already knocking on the closed doors asking when the restaurant would open. So be sure to arrive early in Stratford on Monday to enjoy their amazing wings for free.
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