Flipping the Bird: The eatery bringing Nashville to Northbridge

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First, there was The Bird.

Opened in 2010, this alt-music and art venue was among Perth’s first wave of small bars and was notable for its streetwise swagger and party-starting drinks. Good eating was also part of its appeal, not least whenever its courtyard hosted pop-ups slinging tacos, hot dogs, burgers and other street-food hits guests could eat with their hands.

As management spread their wings they opened additional venues, food playing a more prominent role each time. There was Young Love Mess Hall, an Instagrammer’s fantasy in the former Penang Restaurant. Young Love Mess Hall then became North Bird Dining Room and Wine Store, a double-act built on wine, Mediterranean food and communities. If only North Bird didn’t open just before COVID-19 ... but following its latest makeover, the space now has a stronger food focus than ever.

Perth, please say hi to South Bird. Not only is the new identity of 175 William Street now geographically accurate – the space is south of the original Bird – it also speaks to its raison d’etre: fried chicken. At South Bird, fried bird is the word. Or more specifically, spicy Nashville-style fried chicken from the southern American state of Tennessee.

America’s southern states are home to many regional fried chicken styles (Texas roadhouse fried chicken, and its bovine cousin chicken-fried steak, are both dishes to seek out if you’re ever in the Lone Star State). But Nashville fried chicken is unquestionably the genre’s best-known exponent.

Australia has Morgan McGlone and Aaron Turner to thank for introducing us to the pleasures (and pain) of Nashville’s most famous foodstuff when the duo opened Belle’s Hot Chicken in Melbourne’s hip Gertrude Street precinct in 2014, featuring a range of sweat-inducing heat levels and natural wine.

Its success led to the opening of Nashville chicken shops around the country. Locally, Ben Atkinson’s terrific Meat Candy (2016-2018) at the top of William Street was cause for celebration. More recently, establishments such as Drasko’s Hot Chicken, pop-up Archie’s Hot Chicken, and Fremantle’s sadly shuttered Goldbird have followed.

One way that Bird and South Bird owners Braeden La Marr and Kabir Ramasary hope to stand out from the crowd is via a strong bar offering. And so it is, with a tight drinks list built on a handful of classic cocktails featuring bourbon, mezcal, rum and other spirits from the Americas, plus beer and lo-fi wines.

Another plus: the kitchen opens from noon to night. In the daytime you can best admire the devil’s ivy beneath the skylight, the benches handmade by La Marr and Ramasary and the room’s mid-century golden yellow lamps contrasting with emerald-green walls. At night, neon signs add to the diner appeal.

At South Bird, you have the choice of three cuts: tenders made with breast meat ($24; three per serve), whole wings ($22; four per serve) and a boneless thigh fillet ($23; thighs are also used in the burger and sandwich). The chicken is available in four spice levels ranging from an entry level smash-salt spice up to “damn that’s spicy”. (Spice levels, at least based on the gentle sting of “spicy” which is the second-hottest heat rating, feel sensible and designed for guest enjoyment rather than designed for social media virality.) You also get your choice of a side gleaned from the Southern American playbook. Dipping sauces and additional small dishes are also available.

Heads up: the chicken is big. Ramasary tells me the butcher they use sources hefty number 22 chickens. You can get a substantial meal-for-one for less than $25.

The chicken is juicy and crisp in all the right places, especially those fried to order in a Henny Penny pressure fryer, a flash bit of kit that – through the magic of pressure cooking – keeps chicken juicier while also using less oil. (These fryers are also used by a certain famous Colonel.) After frying, chilli oil and chilli spice are deployed according to guests’ wishes.

The thighs and wings are cooked in the Henny Penny and arrive at the table with a deep golden-brown exterior sporting a satisfying crunch: a result of dredging the brined chicken in buttermilk and flour to create an extra-crisp batter. The tenders get prepared using a conventional, non-pressure deep fryer. And while there’s still crunch and give they don’t quite attain the same succulence levels as wings or thighs. Such is life, however, when working with chicken breast: a low-fat protein that, while great for a wedding shred, tends to dry out.

Although they’re the messiest item to eat on the menu, the whole, Z-shaped wings get my vote for best on ground. Because they’ve been left on the bone – almost every meat tastes and cooks better when left on the bone – they’re protected from overcooking by an additional level of insulation from the bone, plus the bone itself gives its own flavour to the meat. If given the choice of any piece of fried bird, I’d reach straight for bone-on chicken thigh for all the above reasons. And if it was my lucky day, there’d be a drumstick there too, either attached to the thigh as a Maryland or riding shotgun as an additional second piece.

Still, South Bird’s boneless thighs are a good time, although they’re a bit unwieldy to eat with the fingers. (Does anyone else feel eating fried chicken with cutlery is against the spirit of the dish?) Better to get your thigh high via the burger or sandwich options, with the burger being my pick. The give and softness of the burger bun (plush and baked locally) provides an excellent counterpoint to the fillet’s crispness.

The chicken pieces are served on white bread to catch those precious, delicious chicken juices and chilli oil run-off. The same bread used for the sandwich, however, feels too thick and firm for the purpose, especially as the sandwich is pitched as a “sando”, a Japanese-style sandwich that relies on squishy milk bread that sticks to the roof of your mouth to create that all-important soft-crunchy contrast.

Order a sandwich or burger and it’ll be served in a plastic, diner-style red basket lined with gingham paper and piled with stubby fries that I’d rate somewhere between OK and fine. For my liking, they’re a little too crunchy and thinly sliced to be able to eat more than a few handfuls, plus the assertive, zesty salt they’re seasoned with overpowers everything. No issues, though, with the brilliant hush puppies ($8): four snooker-ball-sized comets of deep-fried cornmeal that’s sweet, savoury and soft and doused with a life-giving honey butter. They’re more than just a side, especially if dipped into the thrilling chicken gravy ($3).

Another heads up: South Bird, by nature of the venue and its price point, operates more like a bar than restaurant. A sign at the door explains the five-step ordering procedure and guests help themselves to a menu, seat themselves, then buy their food and drink at the counter. Staff, thankfully, will bring your food and drink orders to you. Service can be patchy, although with the current scramble for staff created by so many openings in Perth, uneven service looks like it’s going to be the new normal everywhere, at least for the immediate future.

South Bird is a great, price-conscious addition to the bottom of William Street. Its casual, urban offering feels perfect for students and 20-somethings wanting to begin a night right, plus it’s close enough to White Collar Heartland for suits to get in on the lunch-hour action. Generally speaking, flipping the bird usually has negative connotations. In this instance, the flip equals good news for many.