You’ve heard of Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, and Wingstop, and I’m even sure you’ve heard of Dave’s Hot Chicken, but have you heard of Byrd’s Hot Chicken? If you haven’t, we’re here to tell you about it. 

Byrd’s Hot Chicken is a brand-new fast-food restaurant that recently opened in the West Oaks Shopping Center. Byrd’s is a small chain that has various locations in California, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, and coming soon to Florida. 

The menu consists of multiple options such as tenders, fries, nuggets, sandwiches, shakes and two limited options, which are the fishville sandwich and the chick’ ‘n donut. They also have a variety of sides and a unique option called the bird bomb, which is diced chicken tender, cheese, slaw, 24k Sauce, and pickles served on a bed of fries and toast.

After hearing about the menu I’m sure you’re wondering the two obvious questions. How does it taste? If I go, what should I get? Well, we tried some of the popular items to help you out.

We tried one of their limited-time offers, the chick’ ‘n donut, which is a tender that’s in a glazed doughnut bun. We also tried the regular sandwich and a single tender with fries on the side. We got each item at the mild spice level. The levels range from plain to supa hot. 

Chick’ ‘n Donut: 

Anika: At first, I didn’t think it would be that good because you don’t usually think about eating chicken with a donut, but surprisingly, the sweet and savory flavors mixed very well, and I liked this better than the original sandwich. I also really liked the sauce they included and thought it mixed well with all the flavors.

Addison: When I first saw this on the menu, I was wondering if it would be good with the mixture of chicken, sauce, and pickles because it’s a lot of salty with a little sweet mixed in. My opinion changed, however, when I tried it because even though we got mild as our spice level, it was still a little spicy to me, and the doughnut cooled it down. The salty and the sweet complemented each other and mixed well together. 

Fries:

Anika: I assumed these would be like regular fries you can get at any fast food restaurant but these fries were exceptionally unique. They had a bold flavored seasoning, which really brought out the flavor, and they were extremely crispy and crunchy. I really liked the fries, and they exceeded my expectations.

Addison: Whenever I get fries from a fast food place, they are normally soggy and covered in salt, but this wasn’t the case. These fries were perfectly crispy and also had a good seasoning on them that made them taste even better. I was happy with the way they tasted. 

Single Tender:

Anika: When we had first ordered, we got one tender because we weren’t sure how good they would be. As soon as I tried it, I wished we ordered more. The flavor was so good, and the tender was super crispy. It was hot when it first came out and this was one of the best tenders I’ve tried.

Addison: I’ve never been a big chicken tender fan so I normally get a sandwich when I come to these places, but this tender was much better than other places you will go to. It was very crispy, and there was a sauce on it that made it taste even better. The crispness of it made it taste bitter to me rather than being soggy and gross. 

Regular Sandwich: 

Anika: After trying all of the other items, the regular sandwich didn’t seem like anything special. It tasted better compared to other places because the sauce was flavorful and the tender in the sandwich was crispy but compared to the other options we tried, this would have been my last choice to order.

Addison: As I said before, I normally go for the sandwich when going to a place like this because it’s basic and will always meet my expectations. The tender itself was good, mixed in with the pickles, cheese, cole slaw, and the Byrd’s sauce, but the bun wasn’t my favorite. It was a little too heavy for me which made it harder to bite into the sandwich. It was good, but with a different bun, it could be even better.

Spice Level: 

Anika: The mild spice level was perfect for us because it was not spicy but still had a large amount of flavor. I really liked that the mild was super flavorful because sometimes mild means completely plain.

Addison: I’ve never been a big person on spices, and I try to go for plain spice or mild when it’s an option. I felt that Byrd’s was a higher level of mild than other places, and if I go again, I would stick with plain or mild depending on what I’m getting. 

Overall, we would both go again, and if you’re looking for something new to try, we would highly recommend you pay a visit to Byrd’s Hot Chicken, and if you have a higher spice tolerance, then we do maybe you can try supahot or even medium.