The chicken shop bringing a red-hot taste of Nashville to Northbridge
The North Bird space is flying (and frying) south and rebooting as a 50-seat diner focusing on “crunchy as hell” fried chicken, spice-friendly drinks and good music.
Fried chicken has been a constant theme in the life of Kabir Ramasary, owner of Northbridge live music venue The Bird and a partner in nearby laneway bar, Ezra Pound.
This interest started at age 10, when Ramasary’s parents would take him to get KFC; blossomed in 2017 after a trip to America exposed him to the addictive spice of Nashville-style fried chicken; and continues to the present day with deep-fried birds of all styles featuring in our man’s diet and, occasionally, on the menus of his venues.
On Monday, Ramasary takes his relationship with fried chicken to the next level when he opens South Bird Hot Chicken, a 50-person bar and restaurant inspired by southern American diners, in the entertainment precinct. The short drinks list will feature iced teas, whiskies and spice-friendly cocktails and wines. The music will lean into blues, jazz and hip-hop. The doors will open for lunch six days a week. But most important of all, the kitchen has a one-track mind.
“We didn’t want to go into any sort of burger world and do beef burgers or anything like that,” says Ramasary.
“We wanted a place that would focus just on hot chicken. It can get confusing if you’re trying to do everything and make fried chicken but also trying to perfect a smashburger.”
While William Street isn’t short on fried chicken options, Ramasary says South Bird Hot Chicken will be the precinct’s only venue focusing specifically on Nashville-style hot chicken (that is, a very crisp style of fried chicken from Tennessee flavoured with chilli oils and powdered spices of varying intensity levels) alongside a strong drinks focus.
The opening fried chicken menu will feature just three options: chicken wings, chicken tenders, or boneless skin-on (a crucial detail) thigh cutlets. All the chicken will be brined in pickle juice in the name of flavour and tenderness, with pieces being double-dredged to ensure that they are – to quote Ramasary – “crunchy as hell”.
Eaters can get their bird in four heat levels with the spiciest being “damn that’s hot”. A vegan-friendly fried tofu offering is in the final stages of recipe development.
The chicken will be accompanied by a range of southern American-themed sides including mac and cheese, coleslaw and hush puppies, the south’s famous fried cornmeal fritters.
A big believer in community, Ramasary has recruited some friends to help bring his vision of polished fried chicken to live. Fellow Ezra Pound owner Braeden La Marr has weighed in on the spirits and short, five-drink cocktail list (think Aperol spritzes, the bourbon negroni variant the boulevardier, Tommy’s margaritas and other libations that play nice with spice). Daisy Case has helped shape the wine list of high-acid and textured whites, and consultant chef Frankie Dawson pitched in with adapting Ramasary’s home fried chicken recipe for commercial use.
As part of the transformation of North Bird to South Bird, management has installed a small forest’s worth of wood panelling throughout as well as built a series of booths and seats throughout the space. North Bird’s former wine store, meanwhile, will be home for the next three months to The Alice, an interactive ticket cocktail party that embraces the Mad Hatter’s tea party-esque surrealism.
South Bird Hot Chicken (175 William Street, Northbridge) opens on Monday April 15 and opens from 12pm to 9pm Monday to Thursday; and 12pm to 10.30pm Friday and Saturday.
Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.