Delicious chicken and the some of the tastiest wood-fired pizzas we’ve ever had … the Get It girls were invited for lunch at Umhlanga’s yummiest new spot!
Perched on the corner in Umhlanga’s bustling village centre, the newly opened Bird & Co store is a great spot to sit back with a glass of wine or cold beer and enjoy a delicious meal. We know, because we tried it!
Owners and long-time Durban restaurateurs, Derryck Myers and Alan Lazarus (who also happen to own the Butcher Boys in the same street) invited the Get It girls to experience a selection of tasty treats from their menu and Alan sat down for a quick chat with us while we were there.
“I’ve been in the restaurant industry for 50 years and I’ve never served food like this. It’s freshly prepared, tasty and easy going,” says the Umhlanga franchise co-owner.
With six branches around the country, four of which are in KZN, the trendy Bird & Co brand has become popular on the North Coast. The Umhlanga branch offers the same, absolutely to-die-for favourites that the Ballito store first introduced to our palates. They also recently just took home the title of KZN’s best Peri-Peri chicken, bestowed upon them by the well-known Facebook group, GBN (Good, Bad & Nasty).
The secret, Alan says, is in the quality of the ingredients … and those absolutely delicious sauces! “We don’t skimp on anything and the quality of our ingredients is very important to us.”
After being served our drinks, our team lunch started off with a few slices of pizza. We ordered the Capri (mozzarella, bacon, feta, caramelised onion, avo and rocket) and the Bird & Co (mozzarella, peri mayo, chicken, chorizo, caramelised onion and rocket). Both of these wood-fired oven pizzas were crisp, fresh and full of flavour … and paired perfectly with an ice-cold glass of white wine!
Chicken, of course, is the hero of the menu at Bird & Co and Alan took the liberty of ordering us a smorgasbord of dishes to share. We tried the deboned chilli-peri chicken, the deboned chicken thighs on a skewer, chicken wings and the crumbed chicken strips! Sides included the yummiest lime coleslaw, fries and rice. Everything was super tasty and the braver of us even took advantage of the ‘extra hot’ chilli sauce we had on the side!
What blew us away more than anything was the incredible value for money of each of these dishes. At just R110, the scrumptious half deboned chicken with a side is an absolute steal, as is the chicken burger and chips for just R65 and the three deboned thighs for just R85.
There are veggie options for the non-chicken eaters, such as the halloumi wrap or halloumi burger and there are salads for those looking for something on the healthier side.
Something else we love about Bird & Co is its affiliation with our favourite locally-made ice cream brand, Scoop. Bird & Co Umhlanga is the only branch to have a whole Scoop freezer in the store – so you can enjoy a yummy scoop or two (or take a tub home) after your meal!
Having been in the Durban restaurant industry for so many years, Alan says it’s been wonderful to have had such great support since they opened this store three months ago. “It is such a great product and, after chatting to each customer, I know I can always walk away feeling confident and proud of the food we are serving.”
Details: Bird & Co Umhlanga, Shop 14A Lighthouse Quarter, Chartwell Drive, Umhlanga Rocks, 060 746 4874, 087 092 5721, [email protected]
