Great views of Oneida Lake is just part of the appeal of this Brewerton restaurant
By Julie McMahon
Wild Horse Bar & Grill
720 County Route 37, Central Square, NY 13039
315-403-8665
www.wildhorsebarcny.com
Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. (kitchen closes at 9 p.m.)
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.)
Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.)
Sunday, Noon – 10 p.m. (kitchen closes at 8 p.m.)
You can pull up your boat to dine and drink at the Wild Horse Bar and Grill in Brewerton — but even if you don’t have a watercraft, it’s sure to be a good time at this joint on the Oneida River.
It was a hopping place at 6:30 p.m. on a beautiful summer Wednesday, and we had to join a waiting list especially for the coveted outdoor patio. We waited at the bar with a Corona with lime ($4.75) and a Beer Tree Any Day’s Haze ($6.50). The drinks were ice cold and refreshing as we waited for our table.
Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and other classics blared from the sound system in the large bar while live music was out on the patio. Wild Horse is a big place with a large U-shaped bar with 15 or so seats, another 15 or so tables inside the dining room, and at least another two dozen tables outside. Inside, there is a barroom feel, with wooden décor, lots of signage advertising specials of the week, and at least eight TVs for watching sports and other entertainment.
The servers, all in matching Wild Horse shirts, choreographed the operation. We were seated within 20 minutes.
We ordered clams (on special for Wednesday night) to start and those were out within five minutes.
The steamers ($7) were hot and tasted fresh and flavorful. There was no grittiness or sand in the clamshells, we got a full dozen, and they were served with an ample amount of butter for dunking. A good start to the meal — steamers and a cold beer on a hot summer day on the patio — you can’t ask for much more than that!
Wild Horse couldn’t have a better location dockside on the river. It’s a great spot for grabbing drinks and as we were soon to learn, grabbing some pub grub, too.
Our server was a little busy and distracted but checked on us frequently and apologized for any lapses. We waited a little while to get our wings ($15.99) and entrees but nothing unreasonable given how busy they were.
We opted for the spicy peach among a dozen or so wing sauces offered.
The sauce smelled and tasted good and sweet — not overly sweet but definitely peachy, exactly the flavor you’d expect from spicy peach wings. The wings had a good amount of heat but were not overly spicy. The sauce was good, but where the wings stood out was in texture. They were very crispy without being overcooked or dried out, nice and juicy; the meat slid off the bone. Both the drumsticks and flats were meaty, and there was a good mix of both in the batch.
Our server brought us Wet Naps as we finished up our appetizers, a crucial move at any place serving Buffalo wings. She and Wild Horse got bonus points for that.
Though we were pretty stuffed, we also ordered sandwiches for our meals. We got the Hawaiian chicken sandwich and the Colt Bang Bang shrimp wrap.
The Hawaiian chicken sandwich ($16.99), advertised as new to the menu, featured a massive chicken breast topped with bacon, grilled pineapple, and teriyaki sauce, all melted together with American cheese.
This made for quite a mouthful — flavors popped, the sweetness of the charred pineapple and tanginess of teriyaki blended nicely. The sandwich was pretty sweet overall, but the textures and flavors were varied. The bacon was cooked perfectly, the chicken was juicy and tender and the pineapple was extra flavorful — my only complaint was that the chicken breast was just so big it was hard to actually eat this sandwich. We chose curly fries ($2 upcharge) as a side and didn’t regret that. They took us back to childhood — and were delicious and crispy.
Wild Horse’s bang bang shrimp wrap ($15.99) was a lot like a buffalo shrimp wrap, not as sweet as typical bang bang sauces, but a little spicier. This was good tasting. The shrimp were tender and succulent. The sauce blended well with the diced tomato and chopped lettuce in the wrap. The white wrap had a little bit of chewiness to stand up to the rest of the softer, moist ingredients inside. And the wrap was well folded, and all held together nicely. This was kind of reminiscent of a classic buffalo wrap but with a little more tang. This came served with fries that were good, salty and crispy, but we’d pick the curly fries over the regular fries any day.
We took our time, taking in the sunshine and breeze off the water.
The $75 bill including tax was well worth it to enjoy the patio at Wild Horse, and we got to experience a solid meal on top of it.
We’ll definitely be back for those reasons.
