Pings Pizza & Wings is a brand new restaurant based in Kilmarnock, located on Bonnyton Road, the newly refurbished eatery is in what many locals will remember as the former pub, Memory Lane. It is a joint venture between Jordan Yates, the owner and proprietor of American Munchies, based on Bank Street, and Mario Martinelli, a veteran of the hospitality industry who will be taking up the helm as head chef.
This review is from a meal we had at Pings on their opening weekend, on Sunday 9th October 2022. Enjoy!
Starter –
9 Wings (with three sauces; Buffalo Hot, Sweet BBQ and Nippy Beastie)
Thomas: So to properly review these chicken wings I ordered them with the sauce on the side so I could talk about the quality and taste of the chicken wings on their own, as well as review them with a few of the impressive range of sauces.
Wings on their own – The chicken is well cooked, but still moist enough to make for good eating. I liked the crispy coating as well. I love wings, it’s one of the reasons why I was so glad Pings was opening, but I do have to admit there’s always a kind of win/loss ratio with chicken wings, on one hand they are tasty as heck but on the other you’re having to work around the bone to get at the meat and it just makes for more work. Overall though, I would rate the wings on their own very highly.
With Sauce – So first off, the Buffalo Hot Sauce was amazing, it straddles the line between heat and genuine spice really well, but softens and deepens the flavour with some creaminess that’s good. It works particularly well with the savoury richness of the chicken. Since I gave Tori the Sweet BBQ sauce for their chicken strips, I’ll move right on to the main event. I was warned before trying it that the Nippy Beastie was brutal on the ol’ Scoville Rating, but that frankly just made me want it more. It was good. I can’t say I finished every drop but for all of the intense heat I personally felt it was quite tasty. I found the Nippy Beastie was very potent, it hit up front with all of that intense heat, but after it settled on the palate there was an almost acidic quality to it that I found to be quite pleasing. I would not recommend this specific sauce to everyone but it was well worth trying in my opinion.
Chicken strips (With Buffalo Hot Sauce)
Tori: So much like Thomas was talking about with the chicken wings, the chicken itself is super tasty, not too dry, cooked to perfection. I found them to be very tasty. I think the coating had an almost pakora like quality which was a real bonus for me. I think they had a decent natural flavour, and they sauced up really well. I really enjoyed the buffalo hot sauce, but the real star was Thomas’s Sweet BBQ sauce which I stole, which was just perfect.
Main –
Pepperoni Pizza
Tori: I figured since we were reviewing we’d go with a classic to really see how the pizzas were in terms of quality. First off, the base is really nice, soft and unintrusive, it’s not overly sturdy but I like that in a pizza. The charring on the crust is beautiful, but it might be too much for some people. The sauce is mild, a nice, solid tomato base that’s not overly sharp or acidic. It pairs really well with the cheeses, speaking of which, there was plenty of it on the pizza, they did not skimp one bit, and it was a really good quality, good tasting cheese as well. Very creamy and mild, while still being flavourful. The Pepperoni was also really delicious, nice and thickly cut, and incredibly flavourful. It really brings the whole dish together. It also has a subtle spice to it, which I really enjoyed, it’s more flavour forward than heat forward which really works for me.
Thomas: Tori let me have a slice and I agree with Tori, it’s an awesome mix of sauce and cheese, and while it’s packed full of flavour there’s never a point where it’s too rich, or overwhelming on the taste buds.
Pizza Tacos
Thomas: I am always a fan of fried things, so I personally really enjoyed the dough on its own, it’s that perfect blend of soft and crispy. The filling was amazing though, it was an ideal blend of fresh and tangy tomatoes and lovely, creamy cheese. They also go down really well. It would be super easy to finish them in five minutes, but they are also surprisingly filling, as well as being super delicious.
Tori: Thomas let me try one of his Pizza Tacos and although I’ve never been a huge fan of fried dough, I think these tasted so good. The filling was incredible, my only note was that I’d have liked more cheese, but overall it’s so tasty.
Dessert –
Tiramisu
Thomas: I thoroughly enjoyed my entire meal at Pings, as you can probably tell by this point but I have to say that this was my favourite part of it. The tiramisu was creamy, thick and moreish. The cream itself was just so good. I think I could have just eaten that on its own, but the whole thing was just so well put together, and it was probably the best one I’ve ever had. Plus you eat it out of a wee cup which is pretty neat.
Milk ‘n’ Cookies
Tori: So I was full up from dinner so I wanted something small, the cookies were lovely but the milkshake was the real deal, not too thick, just rich and sweet and tasty.
Final Notes –
First up, the complimentary popcorn was not only a really nice touch, but it tasted amazing, and it was all made fresh as well which was cool. The decor was lovely, and the music selection was on point. Plus in a post COVID-19 society, the tables were nicely spaced so that you had a modicum of privacy while dining out, which is good for someone who has social anxiety and doesn’t like seeing people watch them eat. Lastly, I want to personally shout out Sophie, our waitress who was incredibly attentive and helpful, and Scott who not only was a super cool dude, but he made me the best Old Fashioned I’ve ever had.
You can find Pings Pizza & Wings on Facebook and Instagram so make sure and give them a follow. You can also check out their website via this link. This review was written by Tom Neil and Tori Anderson so click on one of those links to check out more from those authors.
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
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