Bird, Hoxton

Unless you've been living under a rock these last couple of years, pimped-up fast food has become all the rage in the restaurant scene.  London no longer has any shortage of seriously beefy burgers or proper pizza, and now Bird has launched to give fried chicken a kick of quality.

Owners Paul Hemings and Cara Ceppetelli started off with their American upbringing as inspiration for their interpretation of the ultimate fried chicken experience.  They have also looked to the growing popularity of fast food in Asia for further influences, particularly with Korea and Japan providing their own hugely popular versions of this traditional soul food. Located on the cusp of the street-food haven of Shoreditch and Hoxton, Bird certainly has plenty of fast-food fanatics to appeal to. The venue is simply designed with exposed brickwork, big booths and colourful décor. Drinks include a good selection of American and local craft beers and some easy going cocktails to sip away on. So what of the chicken? Bird takes pride in ensuring that all of their chickens are free-range and British.  Offering a choice of white meat or infinitely more tasty dark meat, the chicken itself is certainly succulent whilst the coating is crisp, light and grease-free.  However, it all lacks seasoning or character to give it the moreish factor that you would expect. Fortunately, there are a wide array of dips and flavoured coatings that provide plenty of zing to the poultry.  You can have everything from Korean gochujang and soy-garlic to blue cheese and buffalo.  There are also plenty of delicious sides to keep the taste buds entertained, including wonderfully sweet and tart Deep fried pickles, super-savoury Cheddar & onion waffles and a hearty Jalepeno corn pudding.  The sweet toothed will also relish in their glazed doughnuts, rolled and handmade everyday and also available to passers by through their now renowned Doughnut Hatch. Cuisine: Fried Chicken Meal for two (excluding drinks): £30 Beer: £4 Cocktails: £7.50 Food: 3/5 Venue: 3/5 Value: 3/5 42/44 Kingsland Road, E2 8DA Tel: 0207 613 5168 http://birdrestaurants.com