Bird & Co Groenkloof — Restaurant in Gauteng

I don't even know where to begin with how absolutely terrible my experience at Bird & Co was. This place is a disaster from top to bottom, and I genuinely regret every second spent here.

First off, the owner, Keith, is a nightmare. I've never seen someone so rude and condescending to their staff. He was yelling at them in front of customers like they were dogs, and it was uncomfortable to watch. It was like a toxic, hostile environment, and honestly, it made me want to get up and leave just to escape the tension. It's clear Keith has no respect for anyone working for him, and it's painful to witness. I've never seen an owner behave this poorly in a public setting, it was genuinely embarrassing.

Now, onto the food. The food tasted like it had been fried in old oil. You know that greasy, stale taste you get when the oil's been reused way too many times? Yeah, that. It was disgusting.

And then, to make matters worse, I found a cockroach in my pizza. Yes, a cockroach. I couldn't even finish my meal after that. Honestly, I don’t know how a place can serve food like that, let alone with the sheer lack of care about cleanliness or food safety.

Of course, it gets better. I ended up with food poisoning within hours of leaving. I can’t believe I trusted a restaurant like this, but lesson learned.

I wouldn't recommend Bird & Co to my worst enemy. The unprofessional atmosphere, disgusting food, and blatant lack of hygiene make this place a hard pass. Stay away, there are better options in Groenkloof, and trust me, they don't come with a side of food poisoning and cockroaches. I won’t be back, and I highly suggest you avoid this place at all costs.

Zero stars if I could...

I ordered two pizzas from them on Uber Eats - Messicano and Regina. I put instructions in the little box for both the pizzas to have the restaurant add salt to the pizzas during preparation. The instructions were in capital letters with exclamation marks at the end. When the pizzas came there was ZERO SALT in either pizza!!! Almost like they didn't even bother to look at the instructions!!! Why ask for instructions if you're going to totally ignore them?????!!!! I have very low blood pressure and need salt added to food during preparation. I did not feel the need to explain the reason behind my asking for salt during preparation because I thought that just letting them know that I needed salt in the pizzas during preparation would be enough!!!! Thank you Bird & Co, Groenkloof, I'll NEVER eat from your...

What a nice surprise it was finding this local-is-lekker place. Conveniently located, it is a joint not to be missed. It is clean, brightly illuminated and the service is offered with a personal touch; here you are a customer, not a number. We went for the Thunder Thighs; a generous portion and full of flavor. A short dessert menu will put the nice black cherry on top of the experience. And the coffee is a MUST. Where I grew up we have a saying that fits perfectly here: -Good coffee doesn't need sugar; bad coffee doesn't deserve it-. As we personally know the coffee supplier it was our real pleasure supporting him to overcome the aftermath of this pandemic/lockdown nightmare. Please, join a good cause by supporting our local...