Little Birdie

The chef and owner of Little Birdie, Eric Brannon takes sandwiches seriously. At his new Del Ray neighborhood restaurant with a menu that revolves around chicken, Eric takes particular care to source birds from local, trusted hormone-free farms. Little Birdie’s delicious fried chicken sandwiches are the result of a long trial-and-error process that involved dredging, seasoning and brining. “It got to a point where, I said okay, that’s a really great crispy piece of chicken,” Eric says. The fixings for sandwiches, including cabbage, pickles and a signature sauce, are piled high on Japanese milk bread buns from the local bakers at Working Man Bread, Co. 

“It just made perfect sense that a piece of chicken needed to be in between them because it’s fluffy, slightly rich. It holds up and doesn’t fall apart. Sandwich structural integrity might be something I talk about too much in my life,” Eric jokes. While Little Birdie’s menu draws inspiration from Southern classics, Brannon also brings in Chinese and Korean cooking techniques and flavors he learned while working for top D.C. chefs Scott Drewno and Danny Lee of Anju and Chico.

But although Eric is very serious about his craft, Little Birdie brings Alexandria a playful menu paired with a fun atmosphere. Happy hour here is called “bucket hour” as in discounted buckets of wings and buckets of cocktails. Instead of a seafood tower, there’s a “tendie tower” loaded with chicken tenders, slaw, sauces, pickles, and fries. And the restaurant surprisingly sells a lot of caviar, via a $16 appetizer with a lot of Ossetra caviar placed on top of a chicken nugget. “There is a bit of playfulness on the menu,” Eric says. “It’s fun where you can experience the chef’s food or the atmosphere of the service, but walk away feeling like it was more than just a meal.”

Little Birdie opened in June 2026, and the neighborhood is already embracing the restaurant, with Eric seeing plenty of repeat diners. It helps that Del Ray residents know and love Eric and partner Matt Sloan’s restaurant across the street, brunch favorite Matt & Tony’s All Day Kitchen and Bar. The feeling is mutual. “There is something really special where you get to know the names of all your guests and they get to know you, in more of like this little America feel that we have here in Mount Vernon Avenue,” Brannon says about this Alexandria neighborhood.

When the team saw the Little Birdie space become available, they jumped on it, toying around with a fast-casual chicken concept. But then the rustic-chic design by David Anthony Chenault seemed to invite guests to linger. “It’s a little airy and a little bohemian and a little southern, a little grandma’s table,” Eric said. So the menu expanded with a tight list of creative cocktails, and options beyond chicken, like a sesame noodle salad or tuna tartare with crispy rice and starters like an addictive cornbread flavored with “excessive amount of sour cream,” per Eric. There’s also a full brunch menu with dishes like caesar avocado toast.

“I always like to say the chicken sandwich is on the pedestal. But it’s the supporting actors that are lifting it up,” Eric says. “Come for the chicken sandwich, but come back and try the rest,” he says.

Image credit to Little Birdie

Visit Little Birdie at 1504B Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, Virginia