Birds & Bubbles
“I'm not a huge fried chicken fan but I would so crave their fried chicken again it was super delicious!”
“We got the winner winner chicken dinner and it was enough for the three of us.”
“My favorite side was the crispy potato salad, if you normally don't eat potato salad ( that's me) get it any way, it will rock your world.”
Birds & Bubbles
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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The 'Winner Winner Chicken Dinner' is the way to go for a couple, IMHO. You'll have left over – we couldn't finish it all, but we did knock out all the consistently tasty sides (you get four – they are small portions thankfully).
Nice cocktail list and solid wine/champagne list.
The biscuits and rolls and cornbread are deadly. Don't fill up on bread! Get it to take home in a doggie bag.
Clientele seems to skew towards business school young white goofs – at least the last time we were there.
I really, really wanted to enjoy my dinner here. We came here on a late spring evening when the temperatures were perfect for outdoor dining. In fact, it was more pleasant outside than inside considering it felt like there was no AC on in the restaurant.
The ambience at this restaurant is perfect. But the food was really average. And everything is REALLY pricy. And the portions were REALLY small. I live in Manhattan, and I'm no stranger to overpriced food, but if I'm going to overpay, I would HOPE the food is going to be delicious. Also, I can't even say the service made up for the food. It seemed like one waiter was serving the entire outside patio. So in his defense, it wasn't his fault that we had to call him over anytime we needed something. He did seem knowledgable about the menu and was very nice.
Also, do not come here excited for any of the food items you've seen pics of on Yelp (I.e. the Mac and cheese, birthday cake in a cup), those were special items they served during opening week that aren't on the real menu. Total let down!
All and all, the food was JUST okay. And if I'm going to pay ~80pp for two drinks and small portions, I better be blown away. I walked out of here VERY unsatisfied 🙁
I went with 4 friends and had the celebration dinner. I wasn't expecting nearly one of everything on the menu. For apps they brought deviled eggs which I passed on, steak tartare which was ok, chicken liver mousse which was also ok, and shrimp rillette which was delicious. Next they brought out a tomato pie which was very good, beets which were great and I generally hate beets, and 2 salads which I'm drawing a blank on but both were very good. For the main they brought out a whole fried chicken and maybe a little more along with corn bread and biscuits. The biscuits seems to be a favorite as we were fighting over them, the cornbread was a little strange but still good. They also brought out a small portion of chicken and rice which I don't think was touched, it reminded me of oatmeal with chicken in it. For sides they brought out green beans, potato salad, pineapple casserole, grits, and coleslaw. The potato salad if you could even call it that was my favorite, basically fried potatoes in a sauce. For dessert they brought us the birthday cake, mud pie, and banana pudding. I can't say I was blown away by any of them but they were enjoyable. For the price we paid ($65 I think?) it was a ridiculous amount of food. We were all ridiculously stuffed and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I'd definitely come back for a special occasion.
I have to say the most difficult part of coming to Birds & Bubbles was making the reservation. You need to call to make a reservation and they'll follow up with emails. If your group is larger than 8 people, they serve the pre-fix menu. This is a pre-fix family style meal which the emails and forms aren't very clear about. You'll get to choose the second entree (the first being the fried chicken) and 4 side dishes. You need to put a credit card number down also; for my own safety, I left out the security code.
You would never expect to find such a restaurant in a basement in Chinatown. Parked right across from the Grand St Park, you'll be able to spot #98 storefront and a few doors next to it you'll see the steps leading you into B&B. They have a narrow dinning room, but a much larger and spacious backyard. We were seated out there to while waiting for the birthday girl.
Our dinner start almost immediately after everyone arrived. We had shrimp & grits, seasonal slaw, pineapple casserole, crispy potato salad & onion souffle on top of our prefix menu – devil eggs, shrimp roulette, southern fattoush, bitter greens, buttermilk fried chicken, and dessert tasting. My favorites were the seasonal slaw, crispy potato salad and the fried chicken.
Although it sounds simple, the seasonal slaw had a fretting spicy kick to it. The crispy potato salad, as the name says, was crispy and very filing. As for the family style bucket of chicken – delicious. We had 2 buckets and it was more than enough for all of us. I'd be back just to eat that…but with a smaller group to not have to go thru the reservation process.
A hidden gem! Absolutely LOVED it!
Hidden in the basement level of Forsyth Street (between Chinatown & Bowery), this tiny restaurant has been undoubtedly the best gastronomic surprise I've had in quite some time.
We visited Birds & Bubbles for brunch and were blown away by everything we ordered! We started with banana nut bread (new dish on the menu) which was unbelievable (great sweet & salty mix with the bacon bits), and followed with a homemade pop tart, which was very tasty.
As a main I had the Birdies in a Blanket and absolutely loved it: a re-imagined version of chicken and waffles in which the fried chicken itself is waffle-fried and covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon! A real treat!
My wife and buddies had the Chicken & Egg Biscuit (which were great!) and the Christmas Casserole (which was very good).
And…. of course, we ordered rosé champagne! There's no Birds & Bubbles without bubbles!
Overall, GREAT GREAT food, reasonable prices (even champagne was reasonable), friendly staff, fast service and no waiting time (even without a reservation).
Fried chicken by itself has been in the spotlights for years, and deservingly so. But when you add champagne to the meal? WHOA.
Birds & Bubbles is a posh upscale restaurant tucked neatly away on Forsyth St. With exposed brick walls and lavish banquette seat, it's a trendy NYC approach to a classic southern dish. The chicken was great, faintly sweet and crusty; however, it could have been juicer. But heirloom grits and collard greens made up for it as side dishes.
As a rookie in the champagne, I'm thankful for our pleasant server who took the time to explain the drinks. Plus, he was hilarious.
I understand all the mixed reviews on here. We're gonna be doing a lot of back and forth good/bad:
While the place is charming, the heater seemed to be broken (we heard the table next to us also complaining) and we sat next to a drafty hallway.
While our server Sam was super accommodating and always cordial, he seemed to steer us away from ordering the best thing on the brunch menu (Waffle Fried Chicken bucket), and didn't warn me that the Christmas Casserole would be extremely tiny.
While the food was delicious (but then again, how can you go wrong with fried chicken), the portions were tiny and overpriced.
Case in point, the aforementioned Christmas Casserole. Said to be a biscuit, layered with egg, cheese, and sausage, my heart dropped when it was delivered in front of me. No side salad, just a casserole dish the size of my phone. This alone was $13!!!
Meanwhile, the Waffle Fried Chicken Bucket was definitely the star item of the table with 4 decently sized pieces of chicken, covered in what tasted like freshly fried donut. This was $14.
Back on the overpriced side, coffee was $4 for a cup, and $5 for a latte. This is ridiculous even for NY.
My friends around the table ordered the egg and cheese biscuit sandwiches, and were still hungry after we finished. Never a good sign when it comes to brunch, which i usually want to be hunger-satisfying in the nap-inducing kinda way.
Definitely would not come back. Brunch is sacred in NYC: Birds&Bubbles takes their brunch-diners for granted with super small portions that leave you wanting.
Really need some work.
It's Friday night and the place is almost dead… So, that says something. I'm a huge fan of southern food so I want to try every southern food restaurants in the city.
The bubbles I tried weren't my fav, and I didn't see a variety of liquor for cocktails- though I'm sure they have a full bar to make what you wanted…
The fried chicken is tender! A big BUT: they do not have mayo or ketchup! Is it normal? They do offer one thing— chilly honey! Lol… Not my fav combination with fried chicken though.
Devils eggs aren't the best either. And shrimps and grits are just ok too… Even the service. People who were not serving us actually looked friendlier for some reasons.
Now I understand the ratings foe the previous reviewers. It's overall meh…