Birds Fried Chicken, Glasgow

It’s Sunday in Shawlands, and spring is in the air. With the national football team’s latest calamity occurring just down the road, it’s fairly quiet in Phillies, the jumbo-sized bar and venue on the corner of Pollokshaws and Kilmarnock Roads. When we say jumbo, we mean it; this place is huge, with velour booths, a nicely zoned layout, lots of deep red paintwork, a comically long bar and some frankly enormous windows to take in the early evening sunshine. It’s a bit like the brighter cousin of the Roadhouse from Twin Peaks, with space for a house band up on an elevated stage. For this evening, we’re treated to a projector screen of an extremely vibey jazz band playing at the top of a mountain (it’s amazing what you can find on YouTube these days).

We’re here for Birds Fried Chicken, the brand new popup from Nick Watkins and the folk behind the excellent burger joint El Perro Negro. Those burgers are at the more refined end of the scale, while also being extremely unctuous and decadent (their Top Dog is a ball of blue cheese, dry-aged beef and bone marrow that is both delicious and faintly horrifying). It’s the ideal pedigree for this kind of comfort food; preexisting proof that you know what you’re doing is always welcome, particularly on a short menu that centres fried chicken and not a whole lot else.

But before we can get to the chicken, we need to get some attention, as for the second month in a row we find ourselves basically being forgotten about for a while. We arrive in the early evening, it is *not* busy, it’s broad daylight outside, and we’re sat next to the bar; you couldn’t miss us. I get it, days are long in hospitality, it’s easy to lose track of stuff, there are so many things happening on shift that the public don’t know about – but come on, I’m right here. I can see that you’ve forgotten my pint, and I can tell you have because it’s somehow still settling when it comes over about ten minutes after I ordered it.

Anyway, on to the food. For reasons that will become apparent shortly, we’ll start with the sides, and some Old Bay waffle fries (£6). The menu says ‘criss cut fries’ but friends, these are waffle fries; the classic UFO-with-holes-in-it shape, the endless crunchy edges, you’ve had them once, you’ve had them a dozen times. What does perk them up is a liberal dusting of the classic American mix of paprika and celery salt. They’re waffle fries. They’re tasty. Let’s move on to a slaw (£3.60) that is extremely, almost comically creamy. It doesn’t have a huge amount going on, but it is rocking a classic Willy Wonka shade of purple.

So after all that, hopes really are resting on the eponymous chicken, and thankfully, it’s a big hit. The Nashville Hot tenders (£11.50) are tinged with a bright red rub that’s heavy on the cayenne and paprika. It’s earthy, it’s punchy, with a level of spice that’s extremely moreish while lingering for long enough to slow you down. In terms of crunch, we’re in the sweet spot between crispy crumbiness and full-on ‘carapace that protects the beast within’. That’s in part down to the extreme juiciness of the chicken, but when you do get a particularly crunchy piece or a really craggly corner, it’s delightful.

It’s really good stuff, and in the context those sides now make a bit more sense – the creamy slaw’s a nice counterpoint to the hot chicken, the waffle fries give you more textural variety than you’d get from a classic, matchstick-thin chip. The ranch dip is impressively herby and nicely balances out the heat from the chicken, the portions are actually enormous, and the virtual house band have morphed into Khruangbin (it’s amazing how many people NPR can fit behind that Tiny Desk).

The short version of this review, then, is ‘imagine El Perro Negro, but it’s chicken instead of beef’. It’s a tasty, straightforward, and high-quality riff on a long-established classic – big flavours, expertly-balanced – in a venue with plenty of room for you and all your pals. Even though there were some bumps in the road, spring is here, and it’s brought some very good chicken.

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Birds Fried Chicken at Phillies of Shawlands, 1179 Pollokshaws Rd, Glasgow, G41 3YH
Kitchen open Wed-Fri, 5-9pm, Sat-Sun, noon-9pm; bar open Mon-Thu 4-12pm, Fri-Sat 1pm-1am, Sun 1-12pm

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