Fried chicken heroes Firebird Hope open new stall at Arndale Market

There’s no stopping fried chicken heroes Firebird Hope.

What began as a secret supper club run by Dan Hope and Emma Roberts has evolved into a successful pop-up. Where once you would only find out the location the night before, they now have two permanent sites in the city.

After numerous pop-ups around town including a stint at Hatch, Firebird Hope moved into a permanent kitchen at Now Wave venue YES last summer and have now taken on a second site in the city centre at the Arndale Market. They also operate YES’s Pepperoni Playboy pizza parlour.

Firebird Hope specialise in chicken. Not any old chicken, either. This is slow grown, free-range chicken ethically sourced and of the highest quality. It’s harder to find than you might think.

But they don’t just appeal to meat lovers.

Vegans love them too because they also offer a seitan alternative to their buttermilk-brined fried chicken sandwich using homemade seitan – a very near like for like on the classic option. Cooked in a vegan-only fryer, it’s as close as you can possibly get to the real thing.

The menu is beautifully simple with just three items: the Level-Up burger (made with the 24-hour buttermilk-brined chicken thigh), the Triple  6 vegan burger, and skin-on fries topped with lime and chilli salt.

Both sandwiches, vegan and meat, come with koji mayo, agave house slaw and ‘quickles’ (fast pickled cucumbers).

Lunch definitely just got a whole lot better.

Find Firebird Hope in the old MacDaddies/Suppa unit next to Panchos Burritos.