Bird on a Wire

A funky new coop for a good old bird. Bird on a Wire has moved its Ponsonby Branch to the industrial enclave of Ponsonby Central on the corner of Ponsonby and Richmond roads. Serving the usual range of rotisserie chicken, chicken sandwiches, burgers, and healthy salads, the new BOW offers a breakfast menu until 11am and a small cabinet full of sweet treats such as raw amazeballs and gingerbread. Shame the breakfast menu doesn’t last longer on weekends. But apart from that glitch, the updated digs are definitely something to crow about.

Good Vibes Only reads the t-​shirt of the guy making my salad. Going vegetarian this month so eating salad at Bird On Wire which may not be completely representative of the fare at this restaurant.
Salad I had made was excellent. The Special Soda awesome.
Bangin Birdless Burger was also very very tasty according to my daughter.

I reallllly don’t see what all the fuss about this place is. Visited the Ponsonby branch this afternoon (3:20pm) for the first time. Took 10 mins for our order to be taken as a large group of women arrived while we were deciding. We ordered a half rotisserie chook with gravy, 2 salad choices, a vietnamese roll and a piece of their ‘Takapuna Fried Chicken’.
The salads and roll were very good but the fried chicken tasted very burnt and was drowned in the jalapeño mayo — possibly to try and cover up the burnt bits?
The rotisserie chicken was quite dry, really crusty dry on some parts directly under the skin. Possibly due to sitting under heat lamps since lunch.

Popped into Bird on a wire as a friend had an entertainment book voucher begging to be used. Food was tasty, but not as fresh as it could be, I found the coriander (that I love) to be past its used by date and had to be picked out of the sandwich I had ordered.
Also tried the BBQ chicken nibbles, they seamed overlooked with a burnt taste and texture to the batter (?) and the BBQ sauce was overly sweet.
Service was quick and friendly, with nobody else in the joint on a Friday night.

I got the half chicken, ponzu salad, and roasted potatoes with gravy. I arrived around 5:30 and was told the potatoes would take about 15 minutes. I am glad I waited for a freshly roasted batch of the yummy potatoes. Everything tasted fabulous and service was great!

My favourite place for a healthy lunch. Highly recommended!

Finally got to try this place for lunch today, I see why it’s so popular. Six fresh salads to choose from and plenty of succulent roasted ‘pulled’ chicken to add to it. I had the Asian slaw with peanut dressing and a kumara salad, all packed into a recyclable noodle box and delivered to an outside table. There are plenty of other choices on the menu besides salad, you can order baguettes, sandwiches, rolls, burgers, even soup. A few sweet options in the cabinet too. Great sidewalk lunch spot in Ponsonby.

Grabbed takeaway food for friends today. A selection of salads and a carton of pulled chicken. There are several salads to choose from and all fresh, crunchy and flavoursome. Chicken is free range which deserves a tick. I chose a trio of salads and loved that they weren’t over-​dressed and soggy by the time we ate them. Love the cardboard containers and friendly service. Every last morsel was eaten and fingers licked. Prices are realistic, too. I’ll be back. The place has a great vibe. I don’t like comparisons as a rule but Boy & Bird just along the street does not even come close in my opinion. I’m thinking Bird on a Wire will be a regular lunch take out for me. Healthy and delicious.

Came here at the end of three weeks traveling in New Zealand and was definitely craving some fresh and healthy food. I walked by several roasted chicken places (apparently that is a pretty common thing in NZ) with my heart set on this one. I was pleased with the selection of fresh, unique and tasty looking salads in the display case. The staff who took my order and prepped my food were both friendly and efficient. I only waited about 5 minutes for my takeaway order to be made.
I like that they offer different sizes, the option to add on different quantities of chicken to add protein, and that you can mix and match your salads in the one order. I chose three salads from the cases with a little bit of chicken to top. The salads were good and the chicken was very well cooked. One of the salads did taste a bit «off», I couldn’t tell if it was burnt or the dressing used but that is the only thing that did not make the experience a 5 star trip. Price is reasonable but not exactly cheap either.

Absolutely love this place! It’s so perfect for that 5pm «what to have for dinner» stress when you really can’t be bothered heading home to cook something yourself.
They have a fantastic spread of delicious salads, as well as burger and roll options. They offer fantastic variety. With roast chickens and pulled rotisserie chicken to add to your salad on offer too, you can’t go wrong.
The raw beetroot, carrot, spinach and walnut salad with maple vinegarette is a personal favorite, absolutely delicious.
Service is friendly and fast, no complaints whatsoever.
Quickly, tasty and healthy, the perfect takeaway option!

Guilt free take-​aways right here! I’ve had all the sandwiches (Korean BBQ being my favourite) and none were disappointing. Each sandwich is fresh and has the most beautiful harmonious flavours (who would have thought you could get that all in a sandwich)! The salads are great too — all very fresh and it seems that they rotate between the different salads as there are always one or two new salads to pick from each time I go there. The roast chicken is wonderfully juicy and tender, and while it may seem on the expensive side, it is definitely worth every penny.
My partner was doing an 8 week diet challenge, and lost 10 kgs and 10% body fat. Bird on a Wire was fast, fresh, and diet friendly food that we could get in a pinch, not to mention help him stay on track!
The only negative experience we had was when we got a take-​away salad and some shedded chicken on top. We were in a hurry and needed to grab something quick. Alas, when we got home, he opens his salad in anticipation to find there was no shredded chicken. He e-​mailed them to inform them of what had happened, which they gladly were willing to put a salad and chicken on his membership to make up for it. We went back a week or two later to find no salad and no chicken loaded. This was quite embarrassing, but luckily we showed the staff our email trail and they gladly gave it to us (luckily!). Nevertheless we will still be coming back!

Awesome rotisserie chicken. Free range delicious meat. Great bread. A must for a quick bite in ponsonby shopping day

To sum this up really easily.
The head of the Australia division of the company I work for specifically requests this for lunch every time he is in town. Nothing else is good enough
He is fussy
And I imagine incredible wealthy
And could possibly eat gold leaf on diamond grain toast if he really wanted to
But to be honest I can see why he loves it. The chicken is juicy and amazing. The beetroot salad is light and tangy. The slaw is crunchy and fresh. The french stick we received in our feast pack had literally just been baked (is there anything better than fresh warm bread? No)
Also the service received by one of the lads at the Ponsonby store was top notch just to really provide the cherry on the top! Coolest place and I love the touch instore with the compost bins system. Very earth friendly
Just be careful of the lunchtime rush at the Ponsonby store. When I collected our phone order it was like a mosh pit and people were queue jumping all over the show

I first discovered Bird On A Wire at the Go Green Expo back in April this year. They were one of the most popular stands at the Expo and I can see why! Free range rotisserie chicken, plus wholesome tasty salads and friendly staff. Seems like the whole package to me!
I have since been to their new fit out on Ponsonby Road. We got takeaway salads and rotisserie chicken. It was so filling, but I felt wonderful afterwards.
I really enjoyed my visit to Bird On A Wire, because of the tasty chicken and the yummy ingredients in the salads. A meal at Bird On A Wire will definitely leave you feeling absolutely guilt-​free!

Bird on a Wire is great eatery for a «Quick Bite». This place does amazing rotisserie chicken and its all Free Range, Woohoo! This place is great as its cheap and all relatively healthy — for all you health conscious peeps out there.
Great menu choices — either the choice of sandwiches, burgers, chicken feeds or chicken by the ¼, ½ and whole. The Baguette for the Korean Bbq roll was crunchy but had a great softness and chew to it! The filling was so moorish. It has a tarragon mayo which oozes out and for $ 10 its awesome for value for size and flavour! My friend had the Gravy roll on a gluten free bun. Im not sure how they make it but geez you wouldn’t even notice its gluten free if someone had said otherwise. Great option and also full of flavour. If you are not carb loading, try a mix of their amazing salads and you can add the option of chicken. Being the hungry piggy I am, I also took home half a chicken with the Korean bbq sauce just to use for my own chicken wraps.
Great healthy food and friendly service. Also if you go enough like I have, join up with their points system for great rewards on their food!
Rating
Food: 9.5÷10
Service: 9.5÷10
Value for Money: Excellent
234 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby
Opening Hours:
Mon-​Sun 11am-​930pm

Seriously my new favourite place for lunch. Great friendly staff and a nice central spot for me as I work just down the road from it. I popped in on a very wet day and found myself trying to work out which salad to buy. So many choices, and all of them looked super yummy. I ended up with a chicken salad with kale, peanuts, dates and a nice smooth dark vinegar dressing. I could tell it was a vinegar dressing by the fact the box fell over in the car and went all over my passengers seat. Now I get to smell that vinegar everyday of the week YAY… not. But if you’ve never been it’s very worth it and very well priced for what you get. Even the small box for $ 8 is great value. I’m going to be a very loyal customer to this place. Enjoy ;)

Heard so much about this place so had to try it out. The menu was great got a selection of salads, subs, and full on dinner options.
When we went to order, we were told there was no chicken left and it was going to be a 45 mins wait. Kind of screwed up the plan with the family. Kind of ironic for a chicken place with no chicken.
Another weekend later we were a little luckier this time. I was a little underwhelmed by all the hype about this place. The chicken we got was truffle butter and two side salads. The chicken was a little burnt and overdone. The potato salad was a little raw. Kind of disappointing as we were serving this as a Sunday lunch with friends and family.

Finally I made it to ‘Bird on a Wire’ Flagship store in Ponsonby (after so many recommendations) to experience something truly wholesome and unique!
My friend and I had ½ chook, two ciabatta buns warmed, Antipodes sparking water and two delicious salads: classic Caesar and an Asian noodle-​inspired gastronomy.
Apparently they change their salads regularly, refer to their FB page for details.
We decided to sit outside with our healthy treats and eat it DIY style, on makeshift plates with wooden cutlery:)
The service was sensational!
They also offer fresh juices: green (orange, apple, spinach & lemon) or red (beetroot, carrot, apple & ginger) not bad for $ 6.50!
Just yum!

… Now that’s some freakin’ good chicken.
It’s obvious the guys at BOAW know what they’re doing (although I was slightly perplexed by the Chick-​fil-​A ad on display? Certainly, CFA’s got nothing on them ;)).
To be clear, you wouldn’t come here for restaurant ambiance (there are a few tables [including some outside], but most people rock up for grab-​and-​go, takeaway style.
I went for the Bahn mi sandwich and was far from disappointed: crusty wild wheat bread, delectably juicy chicken all perfectly complemented by crispy greens and savory dressing.
Plus it’s free range and local so you really just can’t go wrong.
They also carry brownies from neighborhood friend Rocket Kitchen (which look divine). I’d like to try one on my next visit. That is, if I can stop stuffing my face with juicy chook for, like, 3 seconds.
Oh and bonus points for being open past 6PM (!!!).
You really need to choooooook it out for yourself! (haaa, sorry, I just couldn’t help myself!)

Free-​range rotisserie chooks, fresh, innovative salads, Wild Wheat bread and pottles of organic ice-​cream… Seriously, what more could you want! Ponsonby’s Chicken shop is revolutionizing the conventional idea of fast food with it’s delicious and nutritious offerings (bar the ice-​cream).
I recently popped into BOAW for lunch and for a bowl of their outstanding winter soup, Spicy Italian Minestrone with zuchinni, green beans and pesto. Chocca block full of veges, it was hearty with just the right amount of chilli. On a recommendation from the staff, I also added pulled chicken. Absolutely brilliant idea — delicious!
If I worked in the area, BOAW would be my go to lunch spot for sure.