Bird is the word at this glammed-up fried-chicken joint

There's a lot to be said for the pragmatism of a single-ingredient-focused restaurant. In terms of cooking, this sort of specificity allows you to become an expert rather than a generalist. And in terms of customers, the sales pitch is very easy: are you in the mood for chicken? Great! Then here's a chicken restaurant.

That's the premise of Bird, a chicken-focused restaurant that opened last September off Lygon Street in Brunswick East. The idea, according to co-owner Luke Elia, is to take the comfort of fast food and chicken-shop chook and give it a glow-up. That means a trendy room with neon accents, a local wine and beer list, cocktails made with Australian spirits (revelling in names such as Couped Up and Empty Nest) and a menu that is mainly – though not all – chicken or chicken-themed.

While Bird is locally owned, it has an upscale, chain restaurant vibe and, as such, it's a weird fit for the backstreets of eclectic Brunswick East. But the dining room is full and families in particular seem to be flocking (no pun intended) to a place where the menu is kid-friendly, the tables are easy to wipe down and there are drinks to please the adults as well as the littlies.

Those cocktails were mainly too sweet for my taste, apart from an odd and kind of cool drink called a Pickle Chickita ($22) made with tequila, agave and pickle brine. Wines, many of them from the Noisy Ritual winery up the road, are served as glass pours or carafes, with only a few bottles available.

But I have to hand it to the Bird kitchen team: all of the chicken here is done extremely well. The fried chicken, which you can order as tenders ($18 for three), drumsticks ($15 for three), boneless thighs ($18 for three), or a mix of all three called the Bang' n Bird, which is meant to feed two people ($48), is among the best I've had in Melbourne. The bird is soaked in buttermilk before being fried, making the skin shattery-crisp and delicious.

The Buffalo Wings ($14) are perfectly sticky, mildly spicy and thoroughly satisfying. Even the boneless grilled chicken breast ($18) – how boring! – is incredibly tender, probably owing to a 24-hour marinade, after which it's glazed with lemon, honey and thyme.

Aside from the chicken, the most-touted menu item is the mashed potatoes that come with a 48-hour gravy ($9). This I found a tad disappointing, lacking depth of flavour and more in line with a tepid, fast-food offering than a really good, home-cooked gravy.

Other sides were more appealing: chopped broccoli with blue cheese ($9), served as a nice fresh foil to all the fried chicken on the table, while corn cobs ($10 for two) were a decent version of the Mexican corn street snack elote, grilled and then smothered in creamy sauce and grated cheese.

And the mixed pickles, which are available as a side ($6) but come on the Bang' n Bird mixed fried chicken plate as well, are made in-house and also offer a wonderful vinegary contrast to the oily decadence of the bird.

The restaurant caters well to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-intolerant folks, with soy drumettes ($16), a crispy mushroom burger ($18) and the option of gluten-free breading on all the fried chicken.

There are plenty of non-alcoholic options on the drinks list, too – the place is obviously intentionally geared towards accommodating lots of needs and tastes.

That flexibility does not extend to dessert, however. If you're not in the mood for burnt Basque cheesecake ($12), then you're out of luck.

The success of Bird – if it does, indeed, achieve longevity – will probably say more about the changing nature of Brunswick East than about the merits of a glammed-up, fried-chicken joint.

Elia and his business partners have been either smart or lucky enough to tap into an audience that's fairly under-served: young families who don't want to go upmarket but might want something a few steps above truly casual dining.

Don't be surprised if this concept winds up multiplying – although we shouldn't count our birds before they've hatched.

Vibe: Trendy, slightly corporate-feeling bar/bistro

Go-to dish: Bang' n Bird fried chicken plate (for two, $48)

Drinks: Australian-focused cocktail list, local wines and beers, plus nice non-alcoholic selection

Cost: About $70 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine