Home Grown has been a Reynoldstown institution since 2010. The retro diner energy, the worn-in Southern comfort of it, the Comfy Chicken Biscuit that earned the restaurant back-to-back Michelin recognition — it is the kind of place that feels less like a restaurant and more like a piece of Atlanta that belongs to the neighborhood. So when word got out that the Memorial Drive spot was adding a full evening identity, people paid attention.

Enter Wyld Bird — a dinner concept rooted in Miami-inspired Cuban chicken that takes over Home Grown's space five nights a week. Think charcoal-fired pollo asado, tropical cocktails, and a menu built around one very personal culinary obsession. It's the kind of unexpected night-out move that makes Atlanta's food scene so hard to stop following.

Wyld Bird is the project of Brad Syfan and Tony Seichrist, the team behind Savannah's Wyld Dock Bar. Long before they headed south, both worked alongside Home Grown's Kevin Clark at Iberian Pig in Decatur — so when Syfan relocated back to Atlanta with a new concept in mind, reaching out to Clark was the obvious move.

The conversation was easy. Syfan floated the idea of launching a dinner operation inside Home Grown's space, and Clark — who had already been thinking about evening service since he and co-owner Lisa Spooner purchased the restaurant's building last August — said yes immediately. The partnership was a natural extension of years of mutual respect in Atlanta's restaurant community.

The menu anchor, pollo asado, comes directly from Seichrist's Miami roots. He spent years chasing a version of the Cuban-style charcoal chicken he remembered from childhood in South Florida, and Wyld Bird is where that idea finally has a home. Syfan says high-end sushi was briefly on the table, but ultimately pollo asado made more sense — it matched Home Grown's comfort food ethos and its commitment to keeping things affordable.

THE BIRD

The menu is tight and intentional — built around one star ingredient done exceptionally well. The centerpiece is pollo asado: whole birds and partial cuts marinated in a citrus-forward spice blend for 24 hours, then cooked over live charcoal in a grill set up outside the restaurant. The result is smoky, juicy, and deeply seasoned in a way you're simply not finding elsewhere in Atlanta right now. You can order by the cut — smaller portions up through a full bird — making it easy to go solo or share your way through the menu.

Skin-on airline chicken breasts, sliced and served in sandwiches, bowls, and salads, give you additional ways to work around the main event without straying far from it.

THE SIDES

Rice and beans and plantain chips anchor the plate, keeping the Miami reference grounded and unfussy. This is comfort food — just not the kind you grew up eating in Georgia.

STARTERS WORTH ORDERING

Braised pork cheek rounds out the savory side, and the appetizer to know about immediately is the griddled Chihuahua cheese tortilla strips — think cheesy bread by way of Havana, served with dipping sauces. Order these first. Also on the way: guava pastries with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

THE BAR

The cocktail program is deliberately light and tropical — built to complement the food rather than compete with it. Expect citrus-forward classics alongside a standout mezcal cocktail finished with coconut oil and a housemade pineapple syrup that leans sweet and smoky all at once. A curated selection of beers and wines by the glass round things out. Nothing overcomplicated. Just the right drinks for the meal you're eating.

Wyld Bird takes over at 5:30 PM Wednesday through Sunday, right after Home Grown wraps up lunch. Walk-ins only — no reservations. Syfan handles daily operations at the Atlanta location himself, which means this isn't a ghost kitchen situation or a passive licensing deal. Someone who actually cares about the concept is running the room every night.

The Comfy Chicken Biscuit stays at breakfast and lunch — it's not crossing over to the dinner menu. Plan accordingly. But the pollo asado is more than reason enough to show up after dark on its own terms.

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