The newest sandwich shop in Wichita is set to open before the end of the month at Normandie Center. The much-anticipated Red Bird is finally done after a year plus of planning and construction. The restaurant at 6440 E. Central specializes in sandwiches, soups, salads, craft beers and cocktails.
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6440 E Central Ave, Wichita, KS 67206
316-364-4624
Monday – Saturday: 11am – 2am (Kitchen closes at 10am)
Closed on Sunday
Website | Facebook
Cash/Card Accepted
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For full transparency, I was invited to a soft opening at Red Bird, but I did pay full price for the meal and nothing was comped or discounted. Should I ever go to a soft opening where the food is covered, I’ll let you know, but this wasn’t one of those cases.
The first thing people will notice is the patio facing the south side.
Moving inside, custom-made furniture adorned the interior. You could tell a lot of thought and effort was put into making Red Bird a reality.
To add to the ambience, there was a garage door that also opened up to the patio.
There were 14 sandwiches on the menu to choose from. It was difficult to decide on just one, so I went with three for myself.
My order consisted of a full Cuban, half Wren (wagyu roast beef, spicy tomato relish, Gouda cheese, microgreens and mustard aioli), and half Golden Pheasant (grilled salmon, carrot ginger, jalapeño slaw, cucumber, red onion and spicy aioli). For my side, I went with the elote pasta salad…yes, you read that right, elote pasta salad.
Honest to God, I couldn’t pick a favorite one at Red Bird. They were all phenomenal. There were bits of each sandwich that I loved.
For starters, the Cuban was a classic. It truly was everything one would expect out of one. I thought it couldn’t get any better, but then the Wren blew me away with the wagyu roast beef and the spicy tomato relish. The meat was incredibly tender and the relish added the bit of heat my taste buds were yearning for. Then, I didn’t think it couldn’t get any better, and the Golden Pheasant completed my dinner of a holy trinity of sandwiches. The salmon was grilled to perfection and the jalapeño slaw was the best addition to the salmon.
And the elote pasta salad? Easily a top ten side I’ve had in Wichita. (Mental note: I may have to make a list of awesome sides in town).
I could literally go on and on about the food, but I think that says enough. Everything was truly wonderful, including my cocktail, The Ginger Bird (Tito’s aromatic bitters, cranberry simple, lime cordial, Crabbie’s ginger beer).
Wichita is truly in for a treat when Red Bird officially opens to the public. I’ll certainly be back, and one of my goals just might be to try every sandwich there.
Here was the menu at Red Bird:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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