BIRD: shameless guilty pleasure
2015 will be known as the year that Islington went from “having a couple of neighbourhood restaurants” to “a neighbourhood entirely of new restaurants”. Although maybe a slight exaggeration, over the past year we have seen both Camden and Islington conquered by some of London’s leading restaurant brands. One such pioneer is BIRD. Originating in the food fad hotbed of Shoreditch, BIRD has been serving up American-style fried chicken wing and burgers alongside waffles, giant fresh donuts and more. With their advance to Islington they show they’re more than just riding the dirty food wave.
THE CUISINE
Boasting “free-range and fried” chicken, you can expect big chunks of poultry in crispy batter and drenched in a glaze of your choice. Many London places have done it before yet few have achieved this level; the pinnacle of juicy flesh, light-yet-crisp batter and a spicy glaze that gets the face glistening.
THE VIBE
Easy going, buzzy diner vibes with chirpy young staff. Lots of bright colours and high stools. Leave your gentlemanly ways at the door, tuck a tissue into your oxford button down and prepare for messy, shameless guilty pleasures.
THE FOOD
The Korean-style chicken wings are essential, drenched in the eye-watering sweet and sour heat of a gochujang glaze. Don’t forget a slathering of London street-food’s current favourite MSG laden dressing, Japanese kewpie mayo. The original waffle burger is what you came here for though (top photo), with towering fried thigh pieces, thick bacon, American cheese, hot sauce and maple syrup, between four doorstopper sized cheddar and onion waffles. It tastes surprisingly cleaner than the combination would suggest, but don’t make the mistake of starting this halfway through a meal. Shun sides and tackle head on if you are planning to finish the whole thing. My surprise hero of the table was the Jalapeno corn pudding; a creamy, crunchy and spicy respite from the glorious chicken overdose.
THE DRINKS
The cocktails were so-so, however there is a pleasingly broad range of popular craft beers for any self-identifying ale snob. You can’t go wrong with selections from London brewers like Five Points or Beavertown.
THE DAMAGE
Extremely affordable for the quality, even the waffle burger behemoth only peaks at £14.
CONCLUSION
BIRD has succeeded in elevating the humble fried chicken from the 3am regret to the slightly-more-classy-yet-still-fun evening meal. Make sure you prick your ears to the whisperings of a “Christmas Dinner in a Burger” on the cards, it sounds suitably festive – consisting of cranberry-glazed crispy-fried chicken, sage and onion stuffing and panko-crusted fried brie.
BEST FOR
Probably not first dates, unless she specifically said she loves fried chicken when you first met in the club. In which case, marry her. That’s great priorities.
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