The food was well put together and fish sandwich sizable. I was surprised that the sandwiches didn't come with anything. But we'd ordered a side of Mac n cheese with was noodles and liquid cheese. It took a long time for someone to come to the counter to take our order. Seemed like just one person working. There were plenty of seats and a good amount of people dining in.

I love hot bird. The chicken is taste the sauce is scrumptious. I first went and hubby tried the burning. And I gotta tell you that ish is hot af. Not for the weak for sure. After our third time going I found my spice level and I'm a Medium. My husband is hot. Their beer is good, but I only had the one. Service is good, they take your order and then bring it to you it's really nice there and there's an ice cream place next to it. Take the Burnin challenge if you dare there's no time limit. You just have to finish the burnin meal, and you get your picture taken and it gets up on the wall. The house sauces are so good they have this honey one the middle one in the pictures and it's so good.

We tried this place twice via Doordash and loved it. Our third time was when we were in the area recently and thought we'd grab lunch here. Hubs got the fried chicken sandwich (mild) and I tried the fish sandwich (also mild), and OMG love love love love love. The flavor is so rich, and the crunch that comes with freshly fried anything is pure LOVE and a stab to the heart at the same time. Skip doordash. If you have a car, drive your hungry ass over and enjoy it fresh.

If you're a fan of Nashville hot chicken, you no doubt are wetting your pants over the presence of this Oakland cafe. And why not? They do a pretty good job of replicating the spicy down home style of a Hattie B's (review: https://yelp.to/7VXLRu1VQw), but they were sorely lacking the Southern hospitality I was hoping for with this type of operation. Glum is the best description of the service here. Because of its proximity to the Fox Oakland, Jamie W. and I have been here a couple of times for pre-concert bites. On our first visit, I tried to be good by ordering The Salad with Fried Chicken. It consisted of shredded cabbage, peanuts, carrots, cucumber, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, crispy shallots, various herbs, and green goddess dressing (photo: https://yelp.to/m9ii5JdLwF). With the chicken, it came to $17. It was quite a generous serving and packed with flavor. As with every dish, you have the choice of six different levels of heat. I went with Mild because I'm a wimp. Jamie had the $14.50 Fried Fish Sandwich, a beer battered filet in a buttered bun stuffed with slaw, dill pickle, and their comeback sauce (photo: https://yelp.to/L6zgweS0aD). He went Mild, too, and the sandwich was a hefty delight. We came back several months later and tried a couple of other favorites. Still the same glum service, too. This time Jamie was smart and had the $8.50 Hotbird Jr., just a smaller version of the fish sandwich (photo: https://yelp.to/pVKxP_1sgh). I went in the other direction and had the heavy $21 Nashville Fish & Chips, whole beer battered and fried catfish with apple slaw, dill pickles, and a pile of fries (photo: https://yelp.to/fD82Y0xJRb). That was definitely for the seriously committed. FOOD - 4 stars...hefty portions of fish and chicken that manage to satisfy AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...not enough tables when we come but we made do SERVICE - 2.5 stars...turn that frown upside down TOTAL - 4 stars...Nashville-to-Oakland, get on board RELATED - Exploring Oakland? Here's a collection of places I've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2ObVcpQ

Got the mild fish sandwich for work lunch and it was yummy! The bread is soft and a bit sweet. I got the coleslaw on the side. The coleslaw is on the tarter side, can see it being a bit too much for some people but I really liked it and it pairs perfectly with the mild spice from the sandwich. Would definitely order this sandwich again!

Random training class downtown. Talked a bunch of strangers into going to lunch with me. The person taking our orders was pretty nice, offered his opinion on menu items. I got the honey butter chicken sando, no cheese no jalapeno. I would have liked to sub the cheese for something else but only pimento is offered I guess. I got the fries, thinking they were waffle fries since there were a bunch of photos with waffle fries. They were not. Kind of disappointed about that. I wanted to get the Mac but I knew I was going to be too full, and I wanted the banana pudding. The banana pudding was not a disappointment. Overall, great vibes, great food. I will return.

The Bay Area seems to have nice places to have a good chicken sandwich. This is one of the nice places I've tried. The inside seemed a bit empty but lovely with the 'All you need is hot chicken'. Service was clunky but thorough. Waiting time was fine. I did notice that their fry selection is not too extensive. I went with waffle fries and the regular hot chicken sandwich, I believe medium was the spice level. I can recall there were layers of sweetness. The coleslaw was sweet to me, not sure if it was the pickles as well. The flavour was nice. The spice was potent but not extreme; very comfortable while I watched people pass by. Waffle fries were crispy and fresh. The sauce was more on the sweet side but a good layer of flavour. Water and utensils are self served by the doorway. Right in the middle of downtown Oakland. Easily accessible with public transport.

We stopped here before a weeknight concert at the Fox and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a simple menu plus beer, wine, and some soju cocktails. Perfect for a pre-show bite. The inside was very quiet and service was quick. It's nice that you can choose the spice level (and maybe get on the wall of fame if you're brave enough!). It gets pretty serious even for people who like spiciness. We got the tenders and a chicken sandwich. Both brought the heat and the breading was perfectly crisp. Not greasy, not soggy. The sauces (esp the Come Back Sauce) were a great compliment. The slaw was tangy and sweet. I'd love to try more of their stuff!

The Hotbird is pretty damn legit if you ask me! There seems to be quite a few of these hot fried chicken spots opening up in the area. I'll admit that I'm a creature of habit and have been basically stickin' with my old and faithful World Famous Hotboys. And while I love them to death, I also love that I have options now. Because... who doesn't love them options?! Dropped by one evening to check this spot out for dinner. The location is prime time. It's located just one short block from the Fox Theater and tons of fun bars off Telegraph. For a chicken shop, the interior is pretty spacious. They have a beer and soju cocktail bar with a couple of big screen TV's inside. You order at the register and they'll deliver your food to your table. They've had some burglaries in the past unfortunately, so they don't accept cash for payment (which is totally understandable given the circumstances). The sweet young lady who assisted me at the register was really kind and helpful. You can adjust the heat level to your liking. One thing that I found unique about this spot is that they offer hot fried fish. Can't say that I've seen this option at any other hot fried chicken spot that I've been to thus far. I was intrigued and you know I had to try it. And that, I did. Welp, it was... ***wait for it***... FIYAH! As in, hawt fiyaaah! Me likey, me likey a lot. I'll be honest, it's truly nothing like a hot chicken sandwich. The texture is a lot softer of course and even though I got a medium heat level, it didn't seem too hot to me. Now if I had gotten a medium hot sammy from Hotboys, my ass would have been on the toilet pronto. So in essence, the medium spice level here worked on my behalf. Loved the aioli sauce and the simple slaw. They hooked it up with a fat ol' piece of fish for me too. It was super filling. I liked the waffle fries too even though I'm more of a traditionalist and would have preferred plain Jane fries since the sandwich is pretty fancy itself. The only thing I'd say is don't expect the fish sandwich to be anything like a hot fried chicken sandwich. It's a totally different experience and I don't mean that in a bad way. The fish is just a lot more subtle and less textured. Pretty impressive for my first ever hot fried fish sandwich. I'd get the fish sandwich again, but I will def try their chicken sammy on my next visit.