Acapulco Wings

Santa Ana’s Jugos Acapulco started as a healthy juice shop in the mid-1980s, expanding over time to four locations offering an expansive list of juices, aguas frescas, and smoothies, alongside Mexican comfort foods and desserts. In 2020, the chain debuted a decidedly unhealthy extension of the brand immediately next to the first Santa Ana store: Jugos Acapulco with Wings, serving Mexican-influenced chicken wings, a handful of burgers, and beers in a separate but easily accessible second space. This concept unexpectedly closed in 2023, then was reborn in May 2026 under a new name: Acapulco Wings.

As lifelong fans of chicken wings – Buffalo wings, American fried chicken, Korean-style, or otherwise – we were genuinely excited by Jugos Acapulco with Wings because of its unique collection of wild flavors and great burgers. Twenty different sauces ranged from Mexican (chocolatey mole, tamarindo, chipotle, and multiple hot sauces) to Asian (Asian persuasion, teriyaki, curry, sweet sriracha) and American (traditional Buffalo, cajun, BBQ, spicy BBQ), and the burgers were big and delicious. Though lightly spicy Tapatio and Valentino sauces were available, we were particularly impressed by “Taca” wings made with one of the spiciest hot sauces we’ve ever tasted, based on Taca-Bron – an obscure but potent Fontana, California-based Mexican “XXX hot” sauce guaranteed to light up even the most heat-resistant mouth. After one order of these wings, we were convinced that there must be an interesting story behind how the restaurant wound up choosing this sauce, because it’s truly crazy hot; these wings could be worthy of an endurance eating competition if properly marketed.

On our visit to the original concept, we also absolutely loved Jugos Acapulco’s chocolatey mole, tamarind, and pineapple habanero, which tasted exactly as one would expect from their names, bringing new flavors to the chicken wing world and rewarding adventurous wing fans. So when the restaurant reopened as Acapulco Wings, we returned as quickly as possible, only to discover an initially cut-down menu of nine total flavors: Buffalo, piña habanero, mango habanero, lemon pepper, BBQ, spicy BBQ, sweet sriracha, tamarindo, and garlic parmesan. When asked, the restaurant said Taca-Bron can be ordered from a “secret menu,” and additional sauce options are planned for the near future; it’s unclear whether they’ll be all-new or taken from the prior list.