Fado Irish Pub

Fado Irish Pub
1500 Locust St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 893-9700
http://www.fadoirishpub.com/philadelphia/

We here at Wing Quest heard of Fado the same way that we hear of many of our wing locations, by word of mouth. Having never heard of it before, we were set to file this one away into the “wait until we have nowhere else to go” file, but two simple words grabbed our attention and forced us to show Fado some love; “Pumpkin Wings”.  Sounds interesting, right?  Though it would be criminal of us to continue without making one thing brutally clear.  Pumpkin wings, seasonal items that they are, are no longer at Fado and will not be coming back until next Fall or Winter.  But don’t let that deter you from reading on, because Fado, located at 15^th and Locust offers some tasty wings that you can check out any month of the year.

Accompanying the usual players (Sean, Tom, and Vodka Ross), were two new friends of the Quest, Joe and Mike, who agreed to serve as guest judges.  Being that it was Friday night and packed, we couldn't find any seating when we walked in. We wound up placing our orders at the bar and feared that our wing experience would be marred by the simple fact that we couldn't even sit down to enjoy our food, not to mention that the only place we could stand put us directly in the way of all the other customers as well as the hardworking servers.  Needless to say, we were kind of uncomfortable, but all hope was not lost.  Just as we were starting to receive our wing orders, a table opened up and we basically ran to it and claimed it in the name of Wing Quest.  Finally seated, we were all ready to get down on some wings.

Fado offers two different kinds of wings on their every day menu, the stock Hot and the mouth watering Guinness BBQ.  Though most of us had ordered the Pumpkin Spice Wings, Vodka Ross decided to try out the Hot, and we got an order of the Guinness BBQ for the table.  First up were Vodka Ross’s Hot wings.  There were coated in a bright red sauce and topped with some chives with bleu cheese and celery on the side.  Fado’s Hot sauce is awesome in that, not only does it bring the heat, but has that great classic peppery flavor.  Another thing that we liked about the Hot wings was that the heat that they brought was more of a stinging sensation than just a flat out scorching of the mouth.  Next up, we had Fado’s Guinness BBQ wings.  These came coated in a thick, dark brown sauce that closely resembled the color of their namesake and were served with celery and bleu cheese.  Though Guinness itself has a fairly mild flavor, these wings did not.  The Guinness BBQ sauce was packed with exactly the kind of flavor you want in a BBQ wing, super smoky with just the right amount of sweet.  And though not everyone could taste it, there were a few of us who could distinctly make out the flavor of the Guinness in the sauce.

Hot Wings

Finally, we had the Pumpkin Spice wings.  The wings were coated in sticky golden glaze, topped with sesame seeds and chives, no bleu cheese or celery necessary.  The first thing you’re hit with when you bite into one is this wonderful, buttery, salty sweetness that is really reminiscent of how a corn dog tastes, though it’s not overly sweet.  All the notes of autumn are there, hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and of course, pumpkin.  Though, for being billed as Pumpkin Wings, the pumpkin taste is one of the lesser things your taste buds can sense, but you will know it’s there.  And amazingly enough, for all its sweetness and Fall flavors, these wings finish with a surprising sting of heat.  Nothing that will set your mouth on fire, but it really rounds out the wings as a whole.  Sean described them as “a nice change of pace from fire mouth and booty fire”.  Bottom line, eating Fado’s Pumpkin Spice wings is like being on the receiving end of a really sweet chest bump. 

Pumpkin Wings <3

Also, the one thing that really sealed the deal for Fado’s wings being so damn tasty was the quality of the wings.  Everyone agreed that, with all the sauces, the wing really shined through.  They were cooked to perfection. Perfection!  The meat just kind of slipped right off of the bone and the crispiness, oh the crispiness! All of it was just incredible and hands down the best cooked wings on the Quest so far.  Another thing to note about Fado’s wings is the price.  You get a dozen for $9.25, or a half dozen for $5.95.  Not a great price for ordinary wings, but definitely worth it for Fado’s, so don’t let the price scare you.

All in all, Fado is not really your typical Irish pub.  Sure, there’s the selection of primarily Irish beer and liquor, and sure, the name and decor are extremely reminiscent of a place you might stumble into, drunk off your ass, on St. Patty’s day.  But Fado just feels different. It feels a little more mature than its boisterous counterparts, and a little less “bro-y” too, although we were assured that the clientele generally does bro out later in the night.  So, even though we were greeted at the door by some drunk lady giving out high fives, we still kind of feel that Fado rises above, if only slightly, the sour reputation that comes along with what an Irish Pub is supposed to be in the city.  And besides, who doesn’t want a high five? Answer: communists.  So, while the Pumpkin Spice wings are gone for now, the flavors of the Hot and Guinness BBQ are still more than enough to get us to come back, and if you want to try some really awesome, quality wings, we suggest you stop by Fado Irish Pub.  And come next Fall, be sure to stop by and try out the Pumpkin Spice wings.  We’ll be camping out in a tent, waiting for their return.

Wing – 9.2

Sauce – 8.6

Price – 6.2

Overall – 8.0



Review by Tom Kaericher