Boy & Bird

I’m a regular here for a reason ! The quinoa salad is always my go to (please please never remove that from the menu!) The chicken thighs with spiced cucumber are always so succulent. I never thought I’d love any chicken more than I love Karaage! Boy & Bird proved me wrong! I’m not a fan of the rolls though, I’ve tried them a few times and both times they were very average!
The décor is very cute, it has a vibrant welcoming feel to it and it stands out against the other shops in the area.
The staff are not bad at all, but they have always been quite absent. more so then other places anyhow.

Been meaning to try this place out for over a year now, but it’s so hard when delicious KFC (no judgement please) is right next door and BurgerBurger is just up the road.
I was pretty disappointed. The chicken roll I had was average, the gravy went everywhere, and there was a small chicken bone in it.
Only redeeming feature was the delicious potatoes side that we had that were so crispy.

Casual and cozy chicken spot in Ponsonby. My husband and I dined here while we were on holiday in Auckland. We started with the cauliflower and split the full chicken. The chicken was juicy and delicious, and our only complaint about the cauliflower was that there wasn’t enough of it!
Our food did take a significant amount of time to come out. They were busy and it was a Friday night but tables that were seated much after us received their food before us. It took over an hour for our bird to come out. We didn’t mind as we were drinking wine and as we were on holiday had really nowhere else to be, however it wasn’t ideal as we were starving! They did apologize and the service was very friendly.

A healthy option from Michael van der Elzen of the Food Truck and serious competition for Bird on a Wire down Ponsonby Road. The menu is unsurprisingly full of chicken, but fortunately also includes some other meats snd a good selection of chicken-​filled and vegetarian salads. The décor is stylish and the food is tasty, but the service is sometimes reminiscent of a headless chook. New staff could use a bit more training — being brought the wrong meal and being told I must have ordered it without any offer to replace it with the correct meal was a little unexpected. Fortunately, I won’t let that stop me from being too chicken to return and see what’s new in the coop.

I love this place and as soon as I’ve been, I want to go again. I could eat here forever.

Here on a Saturday night. Staff welcoming and nothing too much trouble. Staff know the menu well and make recommendations. Engaging waiter who seems to go out of his way to make sure we had a good night. Food is well prepared, fresh and although very casual an atmosphere, it’s a great spot. Would recommend.

Ennnnhhhh I wanted to love this place. It is ADORABLE! Such a sweet and fun interior with lovely gingham napkins. Now, I’m a vegetarian who used to die for roast chicken, so eating here is a bit of a tease for me. Though I’d heard good rumbles about this place, I stayed away not wanting to tempt myself with the forbidden juicy chicken delights.
Then, dear Unilocaler Stasj tempted me with talk of a magical kale salad, and I just had to try it… and then… the ennnnhhhh…
It looked BEAUTIFUL, and the idea is really good — quinoa, massaged kale, apple, smoked almonds, shaved fennel, and grilled halloumi all mixed up in a creative vegetarian delight. But…
It just missed the mark. The smoky almonds overtook the flavor and it ended up seeming too heavy for the salad. There was a wedge of lemon to squeeze on it (good idea), but there wasn’t any or nearly enough lemon to balance out the smokiness and the oily-​ness of the dressing already on it. The halloumi was salty and at times the ensemble was overwhelmingly salty-​seeming. The flavor had the potential to be really good, but just didn’t hit the sweet spot.
I give them a lot of credit for a very inventive veg option. There’s another hot roll thingy on the menu that’s vegetarian, and some good looking sides that I’d like to try. I’m just not quite excited to check them out after the disappointing salad. Healthy stuff should also taste good, and they just didn’t quite execute that here…

Michael Van De Elzen is at it again, this time with the funky new «Chicken Kitchen», Boy & Bird.
Now that I’m being strict with veggies-​only, I hesitate rushing to specialty roast chicken spots (insert: logic). But do not fear, Boy & Bird has veggie options as well!
I went for the sauteed kale salad which was accompanied by thinly sliced apple, (very) smoky almonds, quinoa, halloumi cheese, and a fresh lemon to squeeze on top. I reallllly love the idea of this salad — unique, creative and an awesome line up of ingredients, but I still felt something was missing to bring it all home.
I’m intrigued by the vegetarian Hot Roll, too: chickpea cauliflower fritters, mayo, sprouts and feta, and would come back to give it a whirl.
I love the space and décor here — bright, colorful and hip, with plenty of outdoor seating for the entertaining game of Ponsonby Road people watching ;)
PS — they serve wine, beer, cider, cocktails and even make their own homemade sodas!

Great new place on Ponsonby road.
Delicious salads. The chicken flavoured popcorn was great.
Our waiter was very pleasant and even though he was new to this recently opened joint he was very knowledgeable and coped well with our extensive questioning.
With wine and beers by all plus a couple of shared desserts we came out spending $ 40 each for our party of five.

Interesting name isn’t it? ‘Boy & Bird?’ Owned and operated by Mike Van de Elzen, ‘The Food Truck’ guy & Marie Colosimo. This red-​and white décor has a young, American-​diner style influence with matching teatowels, as napkins. After enquiring about the wait time at 6pm: every table was occupied with small children and accompanying family — it would be approx 15mins. Apparently you can book tables (online) here — great, now I know. We were offered a table outside under a roof heater, which was pleasant while pondering the menu/​s. The wait staff were exceptional: very articulate and communicative. Wine by the glass was reasonable, around $ 12-​$ 13 for a good drop. Offered complimentary chicken-​flavoured popcorn which was tasty, at $ 4. Mains were inexpensive from $ 10 for a quarter chicken, to $ 16 Caesar salad. I had the Quarter box with chunkies (fries) and slaw with a small jug of gravy for $ 15! Yummo! Also, a glass of Spanish red wine and a deconstructed cheesecake — with almond crumbles & citrus for afters. Pleasantly satisfied. Menu also includes non-​chicken fare too, like gnocchi or schnitzel. Good addition to Ponsonby Rd, just by Prego or the top of Franklin Road. Go people.

Walked past this place a few times and finally got a chance to try it out in the weekend.
Really good décor that goes well with the music and interesting little cartoon drawings everywhere!
When it comes to the food — I was a little disappointed, I guess it’s why you don’t see many chicken restaurants outside of kfc and nandos. While there was other meats on the menu, I stuck with chicken and while it good chicken (I got a gravy roll and ¼ chicken meal) it wasn’t anything amazing .
Worth checking out for something a little different, just don’t expect to be blown away :) Had a few nice beers on the list. Maybe back in the future.

Finally went to Boy & Bird and what did I do? Not get any bird (or boy, for that matter).
Already stuffed from an accidental stop in the International Dining Hall, I decided to get the take-​away kale salad, which had sautéed kale, fennel, quinoa, apple, almonds and haloumi cheese. I also got a side of their slaw and a take-​away long black (Three Beans Coffee is lovely, btw).
Back home, I open up my goodies. The slaw was good, but anything to write home about. I would most likely have to try it again and pair it with some bird. The SALAD, though, had me at kale and kept me at quinoa. Everything was perfect: the kale was massaged well, the quinoa was in the right amount and not dried out, and running into the chunks of cheese always made me happy. I wish I could have had a bowl of this salad it was so good.
Will have to return here for some bird, as that is the main focus of their cuisine. But if you have a vegetarian friend to bring along, they won’t be disappointed if they choose this salad.

Underwhelmed.
Ordered the Quarter Box and the hot bird salad. The salad was tasteless. The chicken was beyond bland and ingredients like the feta felt out of place. Four bites later I gave up which was disappointing for a $ 16 salad.
The Quarter Box was better, the chicken was tasty at least. I was imagining a quarter chicken covered in gravy but there was barely enough gravy to cover the chicken, maybe 1 – 2 teaspoons all up. All up it was much better than the salad, but average overall.

Boy and Bird
09÷09÷20 140 Comments
Boy and Bird is the great new venture from NZ Chef Michael Van De Elzen. I thought it was brave to open an eatery with a similar concept as Bird on Wire since, also just being down the road, its up against some strong competition. I was actually pleasantly surprised of the ‘chicken kitchen’.
Between two of us we shared everything, but the menu is versatile for sharing or individual portions. Boy and Bird is known for serving free range chicken which has been citrus brined, spice rubbed and rotisseried. The meal options are served with slaw and chunkies, with choice of a whole, half or quarter of a chicken. What I admire is the length that is taken to offer healthier options. Whether you want white or brown meat for quarter birds and no skin can be asked upon request.
Everything we had was full of flavour, very light and grease-​free. Oh except the Beef Krokets ha. Although you dont leave feeling stuffed or bloated. The salad was fresh and vibrant. Its a great portion size, and although its $ 14 and vegetarian, the ingredients in the salad are expensive such as halloumi and quinoa, so it all adds up to its value. The Chicken brioche roll was nice but to be honest the bun itself didn’t taste anything special. If we hadn’t been told their purple (they use a purple potato in the dough) and steamed, I would think its a pretty ordinary roll. The beef krokets are great, as the meat is pulled which we didn’t expect so they were really tender, although they looked a bit overcooked from the fryer.
I was really pleased by the great waiter, he was efficient and meal checked. So tick tick. Good Job Boy and Bird — keep up the good work.
Rating
Food: 7.5÷10
Service: 8.5÷10
Value for Money: Very Good
222 Ponsonby road, Ponsonby
Opening Hours: Mon-​Sun 11am-​Late