I had a feeling I was going to like BIRD, a restaurant specialising in ‘free range and fried’ chicken on the Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, as soon I heard they do a fried chicken waffle burger.
It’s a vibrant and colourful space and one which feels like it’s totally ready to be rolled out; a more stylish Nando’s you could say just without the faff of having to order at the counter.
We ordered a whole load of stuff which all arrived at the same time. The wings (six for £5) had a really crispy coating which gave way to tender strips of chicken. The glazes; honey ginger, gochujang and buffalo all tasted nothing like the factory made versions you often find clinging on to wings for dear life.
My beloved chicken and waffle burger (£12) would have only been bettered if the two cheddar and onion waffles (of gargantuan proportion) were just a bit thinner. Even so, the filling of fried thigh pieces, thick cut bacon, American cheese, crispy shallots, hot sauce and Canadian maple syrup was a brilliant blend of flavours. It managed to avoid being sickly sweet and instead it was the sort of thing you couldn’t stop eating.
For me, the fried chicken pieces (a mix of thigh and leg for £7) were the real highlight. I’ve never had a coating on chicken quite so crunchy yet totally grease-free; it was seriously impressive. With good quality chicken it almost felt healthy – well sort of.
The jalapeño corn pudding (£3.50) was a hearty bowl of creamy sweetcorn topped with breadcrumbs – I really hate sweetcorn but my gentleman companion wolfed the lot however. I’d hate to be the poor chef who has to cut the fresh cut fries (£3.50) as I bet it takes him hours; it’s worth it though as they were hot, thin and salty little beggars.
For dessert we decided to share the ice cream donut sandwich (£4). A donut topped with a blueberry glaze and filled with ice cream and fresh cream – it was right up my street!
What I really like about BIRD is that it’s so affordable – there’s often a tendency these days to make burgers and fried things epicly expensive. Here it’s good quality stuff with really charming service that doesn’t cost the earth. It’s the best fried chicken I’ve come across…
9/10
I dined as a guest of the restaurant
