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    Absurd Bird

    3.6 (21 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 11:00 PM

    Absurd Bird Photos

    ABSURD BIRD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Hipster
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Absurd Bird

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    Shyara G.

    Very delicious, first time trying it & we both LOVED the PBJ Chicken & Waffles. They have some amazing bacon jam

    This is an 8 piece... Truly colossal
    Penny C.

    After a healthy walking tour of the nearby Spitifields Market, I decided to pop in this place that's been on my radar for quite some time. Once I arrived I decided to dine indoors (outdoor available) due too moderate foot traffic. My timing was great, as I had arrived during happy hour (5-7pm). I ordered a cocktail from the choices on the menu.. I must say, not strong at all, must have ordered a kiddie cocktail. Anyway, I digress to the motive here.. The FOOD! I settled on the fried chicken sliders and chips. My order arrived in about 10 min with the restaurant halfway full. When my plate arrived, I was introduced to three perfectly constructed mini sandwiches complete with all the fixings. The first bite was not life but a pretty decent rendition on the fried bird that my people (and others lol) know and love. Overall: decent location, great restaurant setup and quality service and sustenance. I will return to try more of the menu.

    Absurdly hot fried chicken
    Jing Shyang Y.

    American fried buttermilk chicken. That's what I came for and I left distinctly unimpressed. Technically everything is done right. Service was excellent, portions were humongous, chicken was good quality. However there was something about the breadcrumb that was missing something. Absurd Bird is a new chicken place. Yes there are a million chicken restaurants all over London now. You've got the ones specialising in rotisserie chicken, buttermilk fried chicken, wings in a million different crumb and sauces. We get it. So what does Absurd Bird bring to the table? Big ass chicken and wings. Seriously the portion of 4 wings sounds small until it arrives at your table. I had the absurd spicy chicken. it wasn't spicy in the slightest and was actually lacking in salt and any real taste. That's the thing, whilst eating here I was actually getting a craving for the saltiness of KFC. My head knew I was eating something better. My tastebuds were expected more of a flavour punch. My favourite dish had to be the corn bread. It was nice and kept warm throughout the meal by the wonderful copper saucepans. The coleslaw was really bad. The driest slaw I've ever encountered. Again it was bland taste wise, which head said was healthy. Tastebuds again were clearly not impressed. The wings were very good and packed more of the flavour explosion I was looking for when paired with some Peri-sauce. Pricing and service are very decent. However the food, in particular the chicken just needs a bit more of a wow factor. If you call something spicy, I expect it to be more than just a fried chicken swimming in a bit of red oil with no spice whatsoever. Staff were excellent. Very attentive and friendly. I wouldn't hesitate to stop by again if in the area. I just hope the menu changes a little in the meanwhile.

    BBQ chicken wings
    Wendy L.

    I did like the relaxing vibe at the new Absurb Bird. Open booth seating for the couples and larger tables for the groups and couples. There's plug sockets for laptop users too. Sadly as much as the atmosphere has got to offer, food was a real let down and management wasn't great at addressing the issue either after we told them, email them and FB them. The front of house staff were friendly though, a bit nervous looking but delivered our orders well. Cornbread pudding This was very moisture sucking and needed more water in the mix. As much as I loved the high ratio of corn, the fibrous skin really added to the dry and rough texture. They needed to be blended more for a smoother and fluffier texture. Creamed corn This was more pleasing. It was seasoned well with a lovely sweet and savoury balance. The texture was creamy and soft, a good consistency with little bits of corn to give it a satisfying bite. Spinach and artichoke dip. The highlight dish of the night if you minus the tortilla chips. The dip itself was incredibly creamy and thick. Lovely silky strands of wilted spinach helping to cling on to your tortilla chip in a fragrant velvety blended artichoke mixture. No need for much seasoning as the flavours together were complex enough in its most simplistic form. Shane about the tortilla chips that were rock hard, almost brittle when biting into it creating sore vibrations on the teeth. Buttermilk chicken wings. This arrived dark brown in colour with the batter dense and hard. It's all signs that this was fried in really old oil. It taste of it too, just stale in flavour with desperate need of seasoning. It was dry and almost inedble. It was a real shame as the chicken inside was well seasoned, fresh, plump and juicy. Smoked garlic and parmesan and lemon wings. I'm guessing these not being deep fried had no chance of being affected by the stale oil which made these pretty good.Quite nice with its garlicky notes and small patches of Parmesan which gave it that depth and creaminess it needed against the crispy chewy skin. The chicken inside was lovely, fleshy and full of flavour. BBQ chicken wings These were nice and tangy. The sharp notes on the sauce actually made the deep fried chicken somewhat lighter and masked some of the staleness. Having sauce also helps add some lost moisture in the batter making it easier to eat before breaking through to the juicier chicken inside. Pasha heads East Chicken wings This was also a good choice. Lovely sweetness from sugar to balance the sourness from the lemon notes. The sweet and sour flavours were influenced from the Far East hence how it got its name. I love how it seasoned with fish sauce and not just salt, giving some complexity in its taste as well as umami. Sadly the flavours did not reach the chicken itself. Chicken and waffles. The chicken came out almost black as they manage to burnt the stale dark batter. It was so overcooked and dense that it was like biting into sandstone that only our knife manage to cut bits off. What was suppose to be crispy was more like dead hard crunchy with some bits like chewing hard rubber. It was a shame because the chicken inside was fine. They did take it back to remake the dish but came back just as burnt as the first. We decided to not eat it in the end. Macaroni cheese (plain). This was okay. I enjoyed the top layer skin containing all the rich condensed flavour of the cheese with a little smokiness from it from being charred. The pasta was satisfying too, a dente and sticky from the cheese. But the inside was lacking depth, could have done with another type of cheese and tiny bit more seasoning. Not bad as I've had worse. Sweet potato bake. The staff did warn us that this was a sweet dish. I think what she meant that is could probably be for a dessert as it was THAT sweet. Lovely though if can handle really really sweet stuff. I had to have it together with the cornbread just to spread some of the melted marshmallows on top to something not as sweet. The dish was incredibly soft and sticky though. It's usually a texture I adore but sadly I couldn't handle the intense sugar rush without a coffee or something I wasn't very impressed with Absurd Bird at all. They failed to address the massive issue they have with using old oil and selling burnt chicken even though I contacted them so many . They do seems they do care about the welfare of chicken to be using only the highest grade of free range chickens in their restaurant but kind of forgot about the health of the customers?! Underlying all the horrible dark batter of the deep fried chickens lies a lovely juicy chicken itself so if you are going to visit it's probably safest to order the smoke varieties and they did not disappoint. Starters were a mix and match too, A lot of their dishes do seem to be overcooked and moisture sucking so until they get things right with their oil and cooking time, I wouldn't recommend this place at all.

    AB menu
    Amy M.

    This was my first visit to AB - has a really cosy basement floor, which is where we were sat. There was a group of 8 of us accommodated across a few corner tables, as it is such a small venue it did feel a bit crowded but not an issue (until I needed to squeeze out to use the bathroom!) The staff were really attentive and served drinks immediately. Food was delicious - I tried the smoked garlic and Parmesan chicken wings to start which were delicious. I would also highly recommend the tortilla chips with artichoke and jalapeño dip. The mains offer a selection including sliders, dirty burgers, chips and sweet potato fries and most importantly... Chicken and waffles with a maple syrup gravy. I'm not a particularly adventurous cookie when it comes to weird and wonderful food so I was dreading the chicken and waffles but I took the plunge and died and went to heaven! All food was cooked to perfection, the chicken was deliciously moist and tender. Although I didn't try any, the cocktails looked delicious and many were made up of moonshine which is interesting! I'm not usually a fan of chicken restaurants but I cannot wait to visit again!

    Bao buns, macs and cheese, I'm in heaven!

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Cool decor and great food. Such an awesome restaurant experience. Thanks for the hospitality.

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    Review Highlights - Absurd Bird

    Heaps of Southern American options, some of which we'd never heard of or are quite rare in London.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Red Rooster Shoreditch - Red Rooster Shoreditch

    Red Rooster Shoreditch

    3.8(21 reviews)
    0.5 miLiverpool Street / Broadgate
    £££

    My visit at Red Rooster was an amazing experience from beginning to end. To put it simply, we…read moredevoured our meal in 15 minutes it was so good! Upon entering the premises we were greeted with warmth and smiles. We ordered 3 dishes all of which names escape me. I do remember the menu reading "coconut jerk chicken" catching my attention which inspired our curiosity to give this a try. The coconut rice was a delicious compliment to the jerk. While the chicken and waffle topped with pickled beets was an amazing union with the side of mac n' cheese! This venue has an amazing vibe & creative ambiance which makes it a perfect place to catch up with friends or for date and meaningful conversation. For my fellow music lovers, they do also play music (unsure of which nights. I'd inquire if interested) Looking forward to my next visit! If you're in the area I definitely recommend giving this spot a try!

    Delayed review from Feb 2020: The food was delicious. The…read moresquid held a lot of flavour and was perfectly cooked, not chewy at all. For the mains I had a fish dish which again did not disappoint. The flakes of fish were so tender yet juicy and was accompanied by vegetables which complimented the dish well. The drinks were strong. The atmosphere is fun and we managed to catch a jazz performance from our table. The interior is dark but cosy, nice for a date.

    Photos
    Red Rooster Shoreditch - Red Rooster Shoreditch

    Red Rooster Shoreditch

    Red Rooster Shoreditch - Red Rooster Shoreditch - Lobster Chitarra

    Red Rooster Shoreditch - Lobster Chitarra

    Red Rooster Shoreditch - Red Rooster Shoreditch - Brixton Jerk Chicken

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    Red Rooster Shoreditch - Brixton Jerk Chicken

    The Fat Bear - Seafood Gumbo 2

    The Fat Bear

    4.5(126 reviews)
    1.2 miBlackfriars
    ££

    WOW, this place is delicious!…read more Our family stopped in London for the last part of our cruise. After touring St. Paul's Cathedral, we were pretty hungry. We found The Fat Bear via Yelp!, and decided to give it a try. There were so many things on the menu that looked really good, but I had been craving chicken and waffles. The waffles were crisp on the outside, and fluffy on the inside -- the chicken, cooked perfectly, too. The syrup they serve it with is incredible. I definitely recommend checking this place out if you are in London! Carson C. Visalia, California

    I felt a bit like a genius because I was choosing a place for several friends to meet up and we all…read morewanted different things. I wanted something with at least one good veggie option, they wanted something with meat, and it had to be somewhere in-between Camden and Canary Wharf, not too pricey, and ideally close to the city because otherwise our Italian friend probably wouldn't make it. And lo and behold.... THE FAT BEAR!!! It was all we wanted and more! This place is sort of tucked away and up some stairs above a pub. It's really just a room and a half, which makes it super cozy and they have a pretty awesome looking bar. It's got warm lighting which makes the atmosphere really nice. Their cocktails were delightful and the service was excellent. I will make a very strange observation that someone working there had a very drunk friend who just sort of made herself at home. Then more joined and it turned into me watching this table of really really drunk people trying to order food. Two of them ended up just falling asleep. It was super strange. Anyway, me being distracted aside, I really loved the cocktail I ordered- Sloe Boat To China, and everyone else seemed happy with theirs. I was dying to try the pimiento cheese starter and the fried pickles. The cheese was particularly sharp and delicious. The pickles were good, but quite skinny (I mean come on, you're in an American restaurant I was expecting some serious pickles). The vegan gumbo was super spicy and delicious. I was impressed and enjoyed it. My husband dropped the ball and ordered the regular jambalaya (with sausage) rather than the seafood one which broke my heart a little bit, because I really wanted to try it. You know, I guess that means we'll just have to come back. Oh also another bonus, this place has brisket which is really hard to find. I can't say how it tastes but my friend said he defo approves (am I becoming more British with these words, or just more annoying?) Anyway, to finish it off I had the oreo cheesecake which the bomb. I love oreos. And it tasted like oreo. So all was right with the world. A wonderful place to come if you have people who want to try American food, or if you have out of town Americans who are too scared to try other food, or if you have hungry friends that want to try cajun food, or if you just want to try some really yummy food.

    Photos
    The Fat Bear - Bar Close-up

    Bar Close-up

    The Fat Bear - Buffalo Style Fried Chicken Sandwich

    Buffalo Style Fried Chicken Sandwich

    The Fat Bear - Crawfish Boil - Special Event 1

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    Crawfish Boil - Special Event 1

    Burger & Lobster - Burger with 1.25lb lobster. Fries were pretty decent. Not worth the value.

    Burger & Lobster

    4.0(52 reviews)
    1.2 miFarringdon
    ££

    We walked in at 8:30pm and the place was dead. Just us and another table. We were seated and…read moreordered right away. Drink portions for a Martini were very short. The burger was very good and quite tasty. They were out of the medium lobster tails and only had BIG's as they call them. Not sure how this happens at a Burger Lobster place with such low occupancy. We were left with the option of a small lobster which was not nearly enough to accompany as a compliment. By the time we were done, we had a hard time finding someone to bring our check. Split burger and small lobster tail with my son and it was $106, not worth the hype.

    You don't find many burger joints that also have Lobster/seafood so we decided to give B&L a try…read more It was busy around 7:30 Wednesday evening. A 1/2 hour wait became 15 minutes which was a nice surprise. A good size dining area with a long bar. We started with a local draft Lager (can't remember the name) & the Lobster Martini which was excellent. Ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese which was also excellent & a good portion for sharing. We all wanted to try their B&L (Surf & Turf) burger. Temperature choices are medium or well-done. Burgers were cooked more than medium. Despite that, the combo of Gruyere & Lobster on top of the Patty worked well together. It is a rich and filling burger despite being 5 oz & looking like a slider when it comes out. Two ordered regular fries (it's a la carte) & mentioned they tasted like the fries of the fast food place that has served many. We also ordered the Parmesan truffle potatoes. Although a bit oily, were definitely a better compliment to the B&L burger & worth the upgrade. If you are really hungry, the regular burger sans Lobster is 10 oz and a bit lower in price. Surprising they highlighted that their beef comes from Nebraska given the locally sourced movement. Worth a try for the B&L burger & a few tables looked like they were enjoying the Lobster also. Service was friendly and attentive.

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    Burger & Lobster
    Burger & Lobster
    Burger & Lobster - Lovely booths

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    Lovely booths

    StickyWings - It has a name which i forget

    StickyWings

    3.9(37 reviews)
    0.1 miBrick Lane, Shoreditch
    £

    I've known about StickyWings for some time. Actually, since they were selling their wings across…read morethe pond at the Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, New York, USA a few years ago. Of the places not from Western New York at the festival, StickyWings stuck out as having the best-tasting wings. Vacationing in London years later, I had to pay them a visit. StickyWings is a takeaway-style joint on a side street, with a dozen or so tables occupying a narrow dining room. After ordering at the counter, I took a seat and waited for the wings to come. The amount of time my food took to arrive was just enough to convince me that the wings were cooked fresh and, indeed, they tasted that way. Crispy, saucy goodness. While I wish they had a spicier "Buffalo" option, these are hands-down the best Buffalo-style wings I have had outside of New York. My ONLY complaint is that the sauce is a little off. Tastes a tad buttery for a traditional Buffalo "medium", but other than that, the wings were perfect. Cost was reasonable, too, and service was friendly. I lived in Buffalo, New York for 8 years, surrounded by the best wing joints in the world. StickyWings is the real deal. These wings are damn good and, frankly, they could teach a lot of places in America how to do them right.

    Got food poisoning here. Check if the wings are undercooked…read more . . . . Why do I have to make this review so long?

    Photos
    StickyWings
    StickyWings - Just learned that this fellow is called Boris (I'm sure you can guess why!)

    Just learned that this fellow is called Boris (I'm sure you can guess why!)

    StickyWings

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    Crab Tavern

    Crab Tavern

    3.1(15 reviews)
    0.4 miLiverpool Street / Broadgate
    £££

    Crab Tavern is basic. Basic at a high price. For the same portion/quality, I feel like you could…read moreget the same thing elsewhere for about half the price. Three friends and I came in for dinner on a Tuesday at around 8 pm. The place was pretty empty. It seemed that most of its patrons were just hanging around the bar for some after work drinks. I ordered some kind of linguine with crab and mussels. There was barely any crab in there. The dish overall was basic - probably something I could have made better at home. However, I did like the parmesan crisps that were served on top of it. (I stole their idea and made it myself at home, and it was AMAZING) For drinks, I had the Basil Bay (vodka, crushed basil leaves, lemon & sugar). I asked them not to put any sugar, but it still tasted pretty sweet. Plus there was barely any alcohol in it. It was really just a basil lemonade. It also took forever to come out. I ordered it as I was finishing up my meal. I didn't actually receive it until after we let them know we didn't want dessert, and right before the bill. On top of all this, our waiter was not friendly and pretty inattentive. He wasn't rude about anything but he just seemed like he couldn't be bothered to do anything for us. We had to constantly flag him down just to get some water. 100% would not recommend Crab Tavern....but I am appreciative of the parmesan crisp idea, I'll give credit where it's due.

    Having visited the Crab Tavern twice in its opening weeks, the impression it had on me was that it…read moreis somewhat intriguing with its speciality in crab but is otherwise a little anticlimactic and confused. First off, one side of the restaurant has a wall plastered with cartoon crabs - reminiscent of something you may expect to see at a swimming pool and this side of the restaurant gives off a family-friendly diner vibe with comfy booths to sit in, whilst the other side of the restaurant appears to try to be more stylish with high chair seating, wine glasses a-ready, narrow tables and hooks underneath for handbags. The staff did not appear to gel as a unit and it was not clear who was the barman, the waiter, the host, the manager, or otherwise. The wine menu is printed neatly on the back of the food menu but they have no non-alcoholic drinks menu to speak of. When asked to make up a mocktail this seems out of their comfort zone as the result is an uninventive mixture of fruit juices with a disproportionate amount of chunky ice (served in a jar-shaped glass). The Crab Taster sharing platter is worth a try as the variety of crab bites is unique and well presented.  The West Coast Bucket looks somewhat impressive but at £35 per head seems overpriced for what is essentially a small lobster, some parts of crab, some small mussels and then lots of potato and slim spicy sausage. The Singapore Crab seems very much like Crab doused in a spicy marinade whereby the flavour seems to be a separate entity to the crabmeat. The crab legs pretty much 'cost an arm or leg' leading my friends to say we would've been better off buying them at the market. Nevertheless, it did deliver the easiest to eat and chunkiest bits of crab on the menu. The potato mash is a decent side on offer, whilst the steak and chips was quite unremarkable and could've done with some side salad to spruce it up. In conclusion at Crab Tavern you can expect somewhat inflated prices and bog-standard food in a restaurant that seems to be confused about its identity. Worth a visit if you are a sucker for crab but let's face it, there are plenty of other 'fish in the sea'.

    Photos
    Crab Tavern
    Crab Tavern
    Crab Tavern

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    Absurd Bird - chicken_wings - Updated May 2026

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