Wings, Ribs And So Much More Tree’s Wings & Ribs Brings The Fun With Iconic Food And New Favorites
Story and Photos by Callie Sharkey
Home of some of the best wings around, Tree’s Wings & Ribs is a family establishment at heart, filled with locals in the seats and friendly service since 1995. This downhome hotspot is also on the national radar for serving up its iconic chicken wings, which is impressive for a restaurant that avoids the chain and franchise tags.
“We are super excited about the National Buffalo Wing Festival coming up. It’s invitation only, and they found us,” General Manager Erin Townsend said. “We had to pass all kinds of credentialing to get in back in 2019, and we took third place for our hot sauce last time. This year, we are going up swinging.”
The restaurant caught the attention of Drew Cerza, known as “the Wing King,” after winning best wings locally for 18 years straight. Now, the team is heading back to Buffalo, New York, showcasing four different sauces, including the fan favorite bourbon barbecue, a spicy kick with the “Genghis Khan,” a sweet surprise in the “Elvis” and, of course, the prize-winning hot sauce.
“The Genghis Khan is like a hot, spicy mustard-teriyaki almost. I don’t even know quite how to describe it, but it’s delicious. The Elvis is a peanut butter-sauced wing with a banana drizzle and a touch of marshmallow,” Townsend said. “You won’t find anything like it out there!”
Yet even if wings are not your thing, Tree’s has got you covered with amazing dishes. Try one of the made-from-scratch-daily soups designed by Chef Kauwela Perreira, who originally hails from Hawaii.
“Other than cooking the wings every day and cooking the ribs, I love my soups. We change our soups daily, and we make all the soups from scratch. I love making soups,” Perreira said. “It’s my favorite thing to do. We have Wisconsin beer cheese soup, split pea with black forest ham, conch chowder, crawfish gumbo and French onion soup. We’ve come a long way over the years.”
After three years at Tree’s Wings, Perreira is more than just talent in the kitchen.
“We are super happy to have him,” Townsend said. “He is absolutely an incredible kitchen manager, and he’s a good man on top of being a good chef. He’s a lead-by-example rather than lead-by-yelling kind of guy.”
Tree’s Wings is also a great place to have a little extra fun, with karaoke every Friday from 8 to 11 p.m., trivia every Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m., and half off happy hour every single day of the week from 3 to 6 p.m.
Don’t want to leave your furry buddy behind? The team welcomes dogs to visit the covered outdoor seating area.
“We love when people bring their puppies. We will bring out doggie bowls of water, cook them up hamburger patties — whatever those puppies want,” Townsend said. “We are very dog friendly.”
If you aren’t comfortable coming in to sit down, that’s OK too. Tree’s Wings has the largest delivery area in the western communities, delivering wings to all of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, most of Loxahatchee and The Acreage, and much of suburban West Palm Beach.
“We are working on everybody else’s comfort level. We are just trying to be accommodating to everyone’s needs,” Townsend said.
So, if the hand-cut curly fries aren’t enough to get the kids through the door, and noise level is a concern, Tree’s has a unique layout with one portion of the restaurant set aside for a quieter experience. The lounge is family friendly and away from the special evening events, but still has a full bar available to customers.
After setting foot inside, don’t forget to sign up for the free VIP program. All dine-in and takeout orders over $10 earns a chance to spin the wheel for great prizes. It is also the best way to keep up with special events and promotions.
“You can win things from free appetizers to free drinks to 15 percent off. We have Tree’s dollars, they look like dollar bills with our logo on them, and you can accumulate those and spend them all at once or spend them on your next visit,” Townsend said. “You can also win promotional items and Tree’s gear. It’s just a lot of fun. We don’t abuse the e-mail and only send them out once or twice a month.”
Townsend said that Tree’s Wings enjoys its reputation catering to the local community.
“We are all local, no frills but super yummy food,” she said. “There is no dress code, but I’ve seen full wedding parties, all dressed up, come in for the wings! Honestly, we have lunch specials every day, so you should really come here twice a day.”
What does Townsend like on the impressive menu? “The Cajun Wings, drenched in house dressing,” she said. “That is my kryptonite.”
The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m., although during some events, such as karaoke night, the bar remains open later.
Delivery and takeout orders, including curbside and contactless delivery, can be placed by telephone or on the web site. Tree’s Wings & Ribs is also available through Grubhub and DoorDash.
Tree’s Wings & Ribs is located at 603 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., just off Southern Blvd. in the Royal Plaza. For more information, or to place an order, call (561) 791-1535 or visit www.treeswingsandribs.com.
