The Red Bird, a hot chicken restaurant opened late last year in Vienna, is home to halal chicken sandwiches and fries. Housed on the end of Vienna’s Cedar Lane shopping center, its Vienna shop is the first of three in Virginia, all of which have opened in the past year.
The shop’s other, newer locations, are housed in South Lakes Village Center and on Payne Street in Falls Church. Despite having numerous locations in Virginia and its home state of California, the brand prides itself on preservative-free, never-frozen chicken.
Hot Chicken Sandwich:
Red Bird’s staple Hot Chicken sandwich, which costs $4.99, comes in six different spice levels: original, mild, medium, hot, extra hot and its hottest option, “fck you cra.” We opted for the “hot” spice level.
The chicken hunk itself is large, much larger than the bun provided. Topped with coleslaw and Red’s Famous Sauce, which tastes extremely similar to Raising Cane’s original sauce for those who know, the sandwich overall tasted good and wasn’t missing any key flavors.
The bun appeared to be intentionally small, likely to increase the apparent size of the chicken.
Tayeb Chicken Nuggets:
The restaurant’s Tayeb Chicken Nuggets come with 10 chicken nuggets–from the chicken distributor brand Tayeb–along with crinkle fries and two containers of Red’s Famous Sauce. The chicken nuggets are a new addition to their ever growing menu as one of its only non-spicy options.
The chicken nuggets themselves were a perfect option for young children as they don’t burn the tongue with spice, although they did seem a bit bland for the flavor lovers. The chicken itself tasted fresh, in line with the restaurant’s claim they always use fresh and never-frozen meat. However, we sadly couldn’t find the crispy crust we were envisioning on the outside of each chicken nugget.
We shared that same disappointment with the crinkle fries, as they were not as crispy as we would have hoped for. Despite that, they were well salted and tasted great with the sauces provided on the side.
In addition to the two sauce containers provided, the restaurant also offered a sauce section with an assortment of five or so sauces and containers to pour. We tried the vibrant yellow Peruvian sauce, which was delicious to dip our fries in.
Overall, the shop boasts an impressive selection of chicken and chicken-related products, but prospective visitors might want to veer away from their chicken nuggets and redirect their focus to their signature hot chicken items.
