The BIRD is back. The chicken hasn’t just crossed the road, but strutted two miles north west — the follow up to Paul Hemings and Cara Ceppetelli’s clucking brilliant BIRD Shoreditch recently opening up in an old pub on Holloway Rd, Islington; once more with a cheeky, industrial aesthetic courtesy of Brinkworth and Michael Marriott.
The 1930s boozer that’s now home to BIRD number two is just down the road from Arsenal’s library-cum-football stadium (that’s a football joke, kids) the Emirates — and, as such, considerations for match days were made in the design process; there’s also special menus and at-the-counter ordering to accommodate the Gooners. But BIRD Islington is about so much more than footy fans and, with a Camden premises on the way, the husband and wife duo’s mission to elevate gourmet fried chicken to the heights of London’s revered hamburgers is clearly going very well indeed. The space may have its own unique feel, but the design team are cooking up a brand for BIRD that is set to be as synonymous with their restaurants as Hemings and Ceppetelli’s finger-licking goods. Poultry in motion.
Photography, Louise Melchior
