‘The chicken box of my dreams’: Beak, Crosby, reviewed

What: Beak

Where: College Road, Crosby

Food/drink type: Fried chicken and loaded fries

When: Mon: Closed // Tues - Weds: 5pm-9pm // Thurs: 12pm-9pm // Fri - Sat: 12pm-10pm // Sun: 12pm-9pm

Independent or chain: Independent

Decor 

Beak is definitely a takeaway joint first and foremost, with only one extended table and stools attached to the storefront window. It isn’t necessarily a sit-down sort of place. That’s not to say that it has horrible decor - it really doesn't - but the food is so good you want to take it home and eat it in optimal comfort. The neon Beak sign and ‘fried chicken’ in the window gives the shop an Americana edge. The colour scheme is forest green and white, complete with tiling. Clean, friendly and overall just basic takeaway vibes. 

The Main Event

The menu is on the wall of the shop, situated for optimal browsing. The menu isn’t overwhelming - the Beak owners clearly understand that it doesn’t need to be. It consists of burgers, which you can opt for as sliders, sides, Beak Boxes (chicken and chips of various flavours) and your usual dips and drinks. 

Appetites at the ready, my partner Scott and I grabbed a Heavy One burger, cheese fries, Beak bites - chicken tenders with Beak sauce - and a number two Beak Box of large fries topped with chicken thigh nuggets, buffalo and ranch sauce. We made sure we were good and hungry for this one. 

The Heavy One burger has lettuce, pickles, fried chicken, cheese and Ajumma Republic fire sauce. It was heavy, but in a good way. There’s something to be said for the pickles, which I read are sorted in-house with a recipe that has been developed over a few years. Again, this burger didn’t blow my head off when I tried it but had the right amount of spice for me. If you’re looking for something super spicy, this probably won’t cut it but it’s got a good kick to it. 

My Beak Box was bang on. The chicken box of my dreams, if you will. Spicy, saucy, the perfect amount of chips; you name it, the Number Two Beak Box had it. The spiciness wasn’t ridiculous or overwhelming, it was flavourful and had just the right amount of tang and warmth for me. Their ranch is homemade too, and has the rich creaminess that I feel only homemade sauces can give. I think this is probably my go-to order with Beak going forward. 

You need to order fries separately as the burger does not come with them as a meal. We opted for the cheesy chips. It’s a rich cheese sauce rather than actual cheese, but that’s not a deal breaker for me at all. I love cheese in any form and loved these chips. The sauce was fairly full on, so I could only manage a few before needing to call it quits. 

Lastly, we had the six Beak Bites with the Beak sauce (a garlic mayo type situation). Properly crunchy with no dryness, I just wish they gave more sauce to cover six tenders. You can get just three so they’re the perfect side if you need a bit more, but the Beak Box should have you covered with a bit more flavour and four different options to choose from. 

Judgement Day

Beak is making its mark on the scouse food scene, as it should. They’ve curated their own identity that has been so well received that it has led to a new opening on Smithdown Road. The food is outstanding and isn’t just average chicken. It’s homemade, crafted by a team that cares about what it puts out. It’s reasonably priced, local in now both North and South Liverpool and is proper quality - you can tell this from the first bite. 

Beak Fried Chicken, 56 College Road, L23 0RP