It's as simple as this: chicken, bird, fire. Well, that's according to Butter Bird in Manchester, anyway. Located on the idyllically-named Blossom Street, this neighbourhood joint specialises in tea-brined, slow-roasted rotisserie chicken, promising succulent, fire-roasted meat and crispy skin. Each dish is made complete with a final flourish: your choice of melted house butter. Get your chops around preserved lemon, thyme and cracked pepper; tarragon Dijon mustard and wildflower honey or Moroccan spiced chermoula.
The experience starts as soon as you sit down with a snackable portion of chicken fat popcorn. To start, you might fancy a soft, warm flatbread teamed with cold pressed olive oil, hummus or whipped feta. Mains keep things really simple - we're talking about the rotisserie chicken that Butter Bird have developed their entire concept around. But, if you fancy something different or you're a plant-based diner, the chargrilled aubergine sounds delicious and is served with feta, saffron, cumin, coriander spices and roasted chickpeas.
Next up, it's time to add sides - and there's plenty of them. Rotisserie potatoes come sprinkled with chicken salt or smoked paprika and parmesan, while charred hispi cabbage is smothered in burnt lemon and chermoula butter. As for salads, there's options like fattoush, the 'almost' ceaser and house slaw. Personally, we like the sound of the ratatouille with sweet tomato and basil dressing. Top it all off with a hearty sauce, choosing from chicken gravy, chicken fat hot sauce, or roast garlic and truffle mayo.
If you're passing through from midday to 3pm, you can grab lunch, too. There's just three - but incredibly tasty - options including pulled chicken almost ceaser salad, rotisserie chicken sandwich on sourdough, as well as pulled chicken and smoked cheddar mac and cheese. On Sundays, the menu changes for end-of-week roasts, opening up the meat-based options to roast aged sirloin of beef served with potatoes, carrots, cabbage, carrot and swede mash, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.