Absurd Bird Glasgow [Review]

Absurd Bird Glasgow is an American diner-style eatery in the city entre of Glasgow. The restaurant focusses on fried chicken, waffles and cocktails and has a significant vegan offering to indulge all your Deep South cravings!

The vegan options range from vegan chckn tenders, waffles and burgers to mac & cheese and slaw. Located in the middle of the city centre, a stone's throw away from the shopping mile, train stations and bars & clubs, it is the perfect place for a bite to eat in town.

Disclaimer: We were invited to Absurd Bird in order to review the food.

Absurd Bird Glasgow is one of five Absurd Bird venues across the UK, dishing up fried chicken from the American Deep South to hungry Brits. It opened recently on Nelson Mandela Place, just a stone's throw away from Buchanan Street, one of Glasgow's main shopping streets. It's city centre location makes it a perfect place to grab a bit either after a shopping trip to the city or before heading out to a pub, club or gig.

There are many vegan options on the menu - nice to see that even a new chicken waffle restaurant in Glasgow can't ignore the increasing demand of plant-based foods - and we were invited along to try some of the dishes ourselves.

Before even looking at the menu, I noticed how much detail went into the entire set-up of the restaurant. The decor on the walls is all Western- and Country-themed - photographs of country-stars like Dolly Parton and drawings of cowboys and women with horses. From the speakers sounds a never-ending stream of country songs, from popular songs by Shania Twain to traditional bonefire classics like Country Roads. Then, looking at the drinks menu, I chuckled about the different chicken- and Western-themed cocktail names. I loved the sound of the Hen Night cocktail, but opted for a Tennessee Waffle, made from Jack Daniels, maple syrup, lemon juice and elderflower - it was even served with a slice of waffle!

Then, looking at the menu, we were impressed that there were quite a few different vegan choices. For starters, we went for Mac & Cheese and a veganied version of Fried Pickles (made with vegan batter and served with a vegan "honey" mustard dressing). The pickles were simple, but mouthwatering and the dressing a sweet counterpart to the tang of the veg. When the mac anc cheese came out, we were not sure for a second whether it was actually vegan. It looks very cheesy - perfect colour and texture - but alas, it was vegan indeed! It could have done with a bit more salt, but I always find that's easy to add yourself - no biggie. The cheese was perfectly melted, there were nuts in the mix for added crunch and plenty of spices and flavours to keep it interesting with every bite.

For our mains we ordered the Buffalo Chckn Burger and a portion of Vaffles. While the burger was not my personal favourite - the buffalo sauce was too spicy and overpowering for my taste - Thomas absolutely loved it. His words: The vegan cheese and the texture of the chckn made it really satisfying to sink your teeth in. A very juicy burger with a light bun! I devoured the waffles with ckckn pieces and loved every bite of it. I'm a sweet tooth, so I don't mind combining my main dish with my dessert whatsoever. The waffles were served with maple syrup and a sweet and salty peanut sauce on the side, and the entire portion was huge!

We basically rolled out the restaurant and can't wait to be back. Highly recommended!

Labelling:

Vegan dishes on the menu are highlighted in turquoise. A few other dishes can be veganised, just ask your waiter for options. Cocktails are not labelled, so make sure to mention you are vegan when you order drinks - my cocktail, for example, came with a slice of waffle.

Vegan Options:

There are several vegan mains, sides and starters, incl. chckn tenders, two types of chckn burger, chckn waffles and mac & cheese.

Budget:

Absurd Bird is a low to mid-range budget option - burgers start at £8.95, bites at £4. We shared two starters, two mains, fried and two drinks, which totalled up to about £40 - we were stuffed to the brim, so you could easily get away with less!