The Birmingham, Fitzroy VIC

It has been a long while in between reviews here, and even longer since I sampled the wings at Fitzroy’s The Birmingham. But don’t let that distract you – I’ve been back to the Birmy twice since for those wings, and they remain fresh in my mind…

But the relative freshness of my brain has no relevance. The only relevance is The Rules. So here we go…

The Scores

• The Specs: Drums and flats. As it is, almost always. I mean, I don’t hate the single wings, but double-jointed wings will forever rule. Just not at the Birmy. RATING 5.
• The Sauce: Tasted like Frank’s to me, and the wings are beautifully made. The only problem? Not enough of that delicious orange buffalo goodness! RATING: 8
• Crunch: My notes need no further embellishment: Crunchy, deep fried, Seasoned flour. Perfect. RATING: 9
• Serving size & price/Value for Money: The Birmy, bless them, offers wings for 50c each, as long as you order a minimum of 10. And who would want less than 10 anyway? I ordered 20. Outstanding value, especially given the quality, and will push these wings up the rankings board for sure. RATING:10
• Heat/spice level: Excellent heat level because… Frank’s. You use the right sauce, you don’t over butter, and you cannot go wrong. The Birmy clearly knows what they are doing. RATING: 8
• Flavour: Excellent, excellent Buffalo Wings. Crispy, hot, but... there’s still that lack of sauce. Don’t be scared guys, slather that spicy nectar on!  RATING 8
• Celery: No celery. Just some kind of weird rocket based garnish. This is gonna hurt. RATING: 0.
• Dipping Sauce: Blue Cheese. But not the strongest version of. No chunks at all. Given that ranch is also an option, I’m not sure why the blue cheese needs to be so median.        RATING: 5 
• Other Stuff: Hard to resist a pub that sells buffalo wings for 50c each… but outside of that magnificence, the Birmy is a decent place to watch sport – be it AFL, NFL, UFC etc, all are played on the various TVs. The tap list is what you might call independent, rather than crafty. At time of first visit, locals Stomping Ground and Mountain Goat both had West Coast IPAs on tap at the pub. And, of course, West Coast IPA is perfect to accompany a feed of buffalo wings!   RATING 8.

OVERALL RATING 53/80. 

No Moist Towelettes and no celery really harm the ratings for The Birmingham. You may scoff but both minor additions would boost an otherwise excellent plate of wings. And make no mistake, the Birmy’s wings are excellent!

A score of 53 puts The Birmingham in tenth place, at time of writing. A travesty really, as with the addition of just celery sticks, they'd be up in 4th place - a much fairer testament to the quality of these wings.

Venue Details:

333 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065

Facebook: @thebirmy  Instagram: @ the_birmy
Website: www.birminghamhotel.com.au