On a day off work during the Olympics I managed to peel myself off the sofa long enough to make it to the Cowley Road in Oxford to visit Atomic Burger. Inspired by the amazing feats of skill and athleticism it only seemed right to stuff my face with burgers, fries and ridiculously good milkshakes before returning home to slip into a burger coma.
Atomic Burger isn’t just about the food, it is an experience from the moment you step through the door as the inside of the restaurant is festooned with images and characters from TV, Film and Popular Culture. I have visited numerous times so have done my gawping around at everything, excitedly pointing out a model of the DeLorean from Back to the Future or a Sooty hand puppet but you can always spot the first-timers as they struggle to take it all in. Even the view out of the window is awesome!
My top-tip for visiting Atomic Burger is to go hungry, REAL hungry so that you can make the most of your visit. The range of starters is excellent, Cajun Shroomies are a fave of mine (Breaded mushrooms with Cajun spice & a garlic mayonnaise dip for £4.95) but you could also pick Blackened Corn, Hot Wings or Nachos. You can then either choose to go for a burger (more of that in a minute) or you could a jumbo Rocket Dog, Pulled Pork Sandwich or a Chicken Sandwich – Crispy fried chicken, USA cheese & Jerk or Louisiana Hot Sauce.
Back to the burgers…. there are 19 menu options available, you pick Beef, Chicken or Veggie and then go from there. On top of the 19 options you can customise to your hearts content giving you almost endless choice. The options are all based around the theme of the restuarant so you could have a Jake & Elwood (Blue cheese, crispy bacon & fried onions), a Chuck Norris (USA cheese slice, BBQ pulled pork & fried onions) or maybe a Dolly Parton (Double stacked burger, jalapeños, crispy bacon & double USA cheese).
There are 7 options suitable for vegetarians and the veggie patties are suitable for vegans making it a great choice for a mixed party, everyone is a winner. I opted for the Frito Bandito with a veggie burger (Cheddar cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream & nachos) for £10.50 and added a portion of the STUNNINGLY good Sci Fries, seasoned with chilli and garlic for £2.75. To finish it all off I went for an Oreo Cookie Shake with cream for £4.75
I could do a whole blog post about the menu alone, raving about the bacon milkshake or the trailer park fries (both tried pre-vegetarian and SO good) but instead I’m just going to drop this link and let you drool over the Atomic Burger menu yourselves.
The place looks cool and they have a good menu, is the food any good though? Good? It is amazing!! All the ingredients are high quality, locally sourced and the food is cooked to order. The buns are soft, delicious and are also available gluten free on request. The homemade veggie pattie was thick, tasty and perfectly cooked – so often they can be dry and fall apart but this one was moist and held together while I was devouring it.
The nachos added a good crunch and worked well with the generous amounts of gooey green guacamole, salsa and sour cream. It says a lot that my mouth is watering writing this! The slaw was excellent and the pickles added a tangy crunch to proceedings and weren’t super cold like I have found at other places.
I LOVE the Sci Fries so much, they are obviously made from actual potatoes rather than coming frozen and the skins on some of them are good to see. The seasoning is hot without being overpowering and works a treat with the mayo on the table.
Last but by no means least is the Oreo Shake, which was a f*cking BEAST and was blended well without too many massive chunks, I like to drink my drinks rather than have to chew them. It served as the perfect pudding to the meal though if you were still hungry there are some killer options on the menu, Roasty Toasty Marshmallows for example where you get to toast marshmallows at your table with your very own campfire!
Leave a Reply