Bird, 13th September

What first attracted me to Bird was not its chicken but its Doughnut Hatch. However, from following them on Twitter and seeing more reviews about them, I started to think I needed to check out their chicken operations.

We went for an early dinner, and I was starving. I’d seen good things about their chicken and waffles, a dish I’ve never had before, but when I actually looked at the menu, the waffle burger stood out as something I needed to try. Thinking it would be a pretty standard burger size (which Stephen and I planned to share), we also ordered eight wings, some fries and at the last minute I ordered a side salad too, thinking I’d need something fresh and light to cut through the heaviness we’d ordered.

We got a couple of drinks and waited for our food to arrive, which didn’t take too long.

Their description of the waffle burger reads “boneless thighs and thick cut bacon, cheddar and onion waffles, hot sauce and syrup".

That 's' on the end of 'thighs' is telling. You get two large chicken thighs inside four waffles. It is like ordering two whole, towering burgers. I was almost cross at how big it was - there should be a warning! If I had ordered that just for myself there is no way in hell I could have finished it. As it was, I was in shock and awe, but managed to finish my half no problem. The problem came when I tried to eat anything else as I was completely full. I valiantly managed to stuff in two of the eight wings but didn’t even eat my full half of the fries. And I am not one to turn down food easily. Thank god for that salad to keep my tastebuds on their toes and allow me to keep going through the messy, chickeny, stodgy amazingness that was my half of the waffle burger.

This thing is a beast and I thought it was excellent. The waffle is savoury and chewy, the chicken is moist and juicy. The bacon adds some salty heft. The only thing I would say is that it claims to have hot sauce, and we had to add some to taste any heat. The chicken wings are a really decent size, and the chicken seems of good quality with nicely crisped skins, fried with a light touch. I am sad I could only manage two, but pleased Stephen stepped up to the plate and ate the rest. Fries weren’t particularly memorable but they were tasty enough. The ranch sauce we ordered alongside the wings was a little insipid and thin – I wouldn’t go for that again.

The sad thing is, after all that, I was way too full for dessert so couldn’t try the doughnuts which had brought Bird to my attention in the first place!

As a fried chicken restaurant though, I think this place is tops and really well priced. That chicken waffle burger is £13 and easily feeds two. Our whole bill came to only £20 each. 

Find the menu and more information on Zomato.