TAUNTON'S Eat The Bird is an award-winning burger joint offering “the best fried chicken in town”.

Located on the riverside at Pegasus Court, Coal Orchard, Eat The Bird is possibly the most chilled-out spot to enjoy a night with friends in Taunton over “a few too many cocktails”.

Eat The Bird began as a street food wagon and opened its Taunton location in 2017. It now also has burger joints in Cardiff and Exeter, and a pub residency in Bristol.

Dan Aldridge, Eat The Bird’s owner, said: “We’ve flipped the beef burger model on its head and we’re effectively a burger restaurant specialising in fried chicken.

Somerset County Gazette: Eat The Bird’s signature chicken takes 36 hours to prepare Eat The Bird’s signature chicken takes 36 hours to prepare (Image: ETB)

“Our Taunton restaurant is the OG that started it all, and it’s still the most popular. It’s right by the river so it’s perfect for enjoying a lazy evening in the sun with friends.”

Eat The Bird has an impressive collection of awards, with “chicken wings so good they’ve won Wing Fest twenty times”. Its Chicktator burger – fried chicken with Korean barbecue, kimchi, ssamjang, and iceberg – won Streetfood Dish of the Year at the Streetfood Championships.

However, the restaurant’s most recent high-profile victory was on Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, where they won first prize competing against two other “very different” restaurants in Exeter.

All of the dishes are cooked fresh to order, and almost all of the food is made daily in-house by the head chef Laurie Padure and the team – including the restaurant’s secret sauces.

Somerset County Gazette: Chicktator burger won Streetfood Dish of the Year at the Streetfood Championships.Chicktator burger won Streetfood Dish of the Year at the Streetfood Championships. (Image: ETB)

Eat The Bird’s signature chicken takes 36 hours to prepare as it is twice brined to lock in flavour and twice breaded for “outrageous crust”.

But it’s not only chicken that Dan and his team have perfected, they offer dry-aged beef and bacon burgers too. There’s also a fantastic range of vegetarian or vegan burgers on offer.

The self-professed “godfathers of fried chicken” in Taunton, managed by Matt Harper, have an impressive record when it comes to food hygiene. It is one of the few restaurants in the town to have an Elite Award, having maintained a 5* Food Hygiene Rating for three years in a row.

Dan added: “We are running an offer until the end of June. Order for delivery on our website using the code DELIVERY for 10% off.” 

Eat The Bird delivers within three miles of the restaurant and offers click-and-collect. Table bookings can be made online at eatthebird.co.uk.