Cycho’s Buffalo Wings

I have a secret messy delight. It’s a passion that I harbour with love, indulged in only now and again. But I love it.

Wings. Buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce, to be exact.

So, when I hear that Cycho’s has opened a permanent restaurant, I’m delighted, as well as intrigued. We love Cycho’s wings, but how will he make up his menu, and what new items can we try?

The Gold Coast dining public is already familiar with Cycho’s. Owner Cyrus Platon wowed us with his buffalo wings when he founded the brand at Miami Marketta in 2015, adding a food truck a year later to feed the masses at truck meets, events and concerts.

Cycho’s first shop was in Australia Fair Metro in Southport. The store was bright and sassy, decked out in orange booths and black railway tiles. The wall of history in photographs documented Cycho’s beginnings and, together with the huge luminous mural of Cyrus and his food truck on the Goldie, added a talking point to the décor.

More recently, Cycho’s has moved to The Smith Collective in Nexus Way, Southport.

Cyrus and his wife Hanzel may have flown around the world as flight attendants for Qatar, but they’ve brought their rich international hospitality background back to the coast to enrich our food scene.

World influences can be seen in their new menu which features the flavours of ten different countries. Of course, wings are the main destination of our flight path as we indulge in a gastronomic journey around our favourite holiday destinations – Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, Cyrus’ birthplace.

Cycho’s menu is both tasty and affordable. The mainstay of the menu, wings are served in a bunch of combos, but they’re well backed up by burgers, bao, salads, nachos, hotdogs and loaded fries, as well as a number of special deals and combos.

Mouths and fingers dripping we debate our favourite flavours, deciding that the new Vietnamese and Fili Adobo wings (Cyrus’s Filipino-inspired flavour) are up there with the previous star, traditional New York Buffalo style.

Okonomiyaki or Gangham-style loaded fries promise a treat for cold winter days, and there are vegetarian and gluten-free options as well as a kids’ menu. A licensed venue, there are three beers on tap, wine by the glass or bottle at reasonable prices, and shakes.

Cycho’s is a drawcard for locals to come in and indulge their wing passion. Together with other operators, the area will hopefully become an attractive food destination, allowing local Smith Collective residents to walk to a dining venue, while also being handy for hospital visitors and staff.

NOTE: There is 2-hours free parking behind the shopping centre.