Wednesday 23 October 2013

Atomic Burger / Bristol

Thanks to Mr Jones for the photo and review!
I'm pleased to present another guest review. Can this West Country burger outlet bring anything to the table? Recent London ex-pat Mr. Jones reports from Bristol.


Who Are They?

Atomic Burger are a chain (if you can call 2 outlets a chain) of pop culture obsessed restaurants that claim that “Great burgers ain't rocket science”. The restaurant is decked out in a quirky, fun way, from the comic book covers on the windows to the posters of Thundercats, He-Man and many others on the walls. Action figures, spaceships and the odd soft toy are arrayed across the ceiling and a full size ET figure perches atop the beer fridge . The big screen by the counter plays an eclectic mix of TV Theme tunes, American punk rock and cult movie soundtracks. I was there on a Monday afternoon and was alone, save for a couple at another table, so the atmosphere wasn't exactly jumping, but I can imagine, given the number of students in Bristol, that it must get pretty crowded there evenings and weekends.

Thoughts

The Menu consists of a whopping 22 different burger choices, including a burger of the month and a make your own option, they also do 6 different hot dogs and the usual assortment of appetisers and sides. Given the number of choices it was no surprise I had to ask my waitress for more time in deciding and I would recommend that if you were going with a large party at a peak time that you got people to check the menu on the website in advance or you’ll be waiting all night for people to make up their minds. The pop culture references continue onto the menu with each item being a namecheck from the Forest Gump (a plain burger) to the Chuck Norris (American cheese, pulled pork and onions. Each burger is also available as Beef, Chicken or Veggie, meaning that even your weird non burger eating friends can be satisfied, and believe me, they WILL be satisfied.

After long deliberation I chose the Double Jake & Elwood (2 burgers, blue cheese and fried onions along with a side of Sci Fries (fries in a chilli and garlic rub) with a Charlie Brown milkshake (peanut butter, cream and chocolate) to wash it down.

The burger when it arrived was pure heaven, the bacon was crisp without being brittle or burnt, the cheese was strong and plentiful and the onions were golden and tasty. The bun was firm without being crusty and managed to last through the meal without falling apart as so many others do. This couldn't have been easy as the burgers themselves were undoubtedly the juiciest burgers I have ever had, done to perfection and with a subtle spicy flavour which didn't interfere with the meat but added to it. The fries were hot, crisp and very spicy and the milkshake was so thick that in the end I gave up and asked for a spoon.

Conclusion

If you are ever in Bristol or Oxford, go to Atomic Burger, you will not be sorry. If you live somewhere that makes a trip to Bristol or Oxford unlikely, Move.

Score

9/10 - only because I don’t feel comfortable giving a 10/10 on my first review

Where can I find them?
Bristol and Oxford

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