The Big Bang

A very unique experience this is a restaurant that has chosen to specialise on one thing it loves: bangers and mash.
I’ve been here twice now, once with my football team, which was an excellent experience and once with my girlfriend which was an excellent experience. So it clearly is multifunctional.
The atmosphere is fun and relaxed and the staff seem to be really enjoying themselves. Indeed, when I was there with my football team the manager came over to make sure we were ok.
The experience with my girlfriend was a Groupon and they did not scrimp on the quality or the portions. It was delicious and we struggled to fit through the doors on the way out!
I suppose the downside is the selection, but if you don’t fancy bangers and mash, don’t go!
The seating and lighting could also be a bit more comfortable, but you barely notice that.

Really good food for a reasonable price. If you’re a beer lover, you have to try the ‘Broken Dream’

Arrived with a party of 14 colleagues from EU and NA looking for authentic Brit food and have to say this sort of lived up our expectations in terms of good value food, but down on some aspects like servers, time to get food etc.
Nice selection of sausages (veggie and meat) and mashes. The food was good! However, in spite of the really convenient location in an interesting part of town (the Oxford Castle quarter always creates a good first impression factor), the service was sloooww, don’t go on night where are lots of big groups. Some of the servers were not that well trained (couldn’t make recommendations etc) and it was quite a noisy /​echoey venue too. Loos weren’t that nice either. Dripping tap, ‘knockers’ (? interesting comedy reference to women’s breasts?), multiple half finished loo rolls dotted around the bathroom and a hand-​dryer with intermittent functionality didn’t extoll a feeling of premium.
Also I noticed that there was a student discount deal but when we asked the server if there was a military discount, none was forthcoming (and the owner’s an ex-​Navy man, who posts his credentials on the website.) So another area of disappointment!
In short. Reliable food, atmosphere OK; location is great and not too expensive; service and bathrooms not the worst, but could *definitely* be improved.

This place is really cute and unique! The restaurant is located in the courtyard right next to oxford castle and its a little hidden away. They have a nice menu of classic british dishes! We ordered the bangers and mash and they were really delicious and well presented. The sausages were fresh and cooked to perfection and they came with a side of mashed potatoes and red cabbage. We went there on a Monday night for dinner and they were setting up for a live jazz show which was really unique. I am not sure if every monday they offer Jazz but we got dinner and a show that night which was fun!
Fun place for a date night!

Great selection of unique and delicious bangers and mashes. The staff is extremely helpful and attentive. Clean and modern dinning area. Free WiFi. An extremely enjoyable experience. Highly recommend.

I used to come here when it was a tiny room on Walton St. Super cool people and interesting food options for veggies also! When they moved to these new huge premises I was chuffed for them! I even got my free dessert with a Unilocal check-​in. Super score! And the owner who happened to be around was v friendly and just made me want to come back again and again. Love. :D

We visited tonight based on the Unilocal reviews. They are right on in accuracy. The bangers are quite good, service was excellent and we enjoyed ourselves We tried five different sausages between the two of us and all were quite tasty. I also tried the Cotswold dark lager which was quite good. I would recommend to anyone coming to Oxford.

Great food, and a fantastic selection for veggies. Service is also always really good, staff are lovely.

We came here on a recommendation. The food was basic — snazzy sausages with different types of mash. We ordered drinks, to have hot beer served. I’m used to cellar temperature beer in the UK, in certain circumstances it adds to the flavour, but it was in the high 20’s and the beer was close to that. I pointed this out to our server Becky, and her suggestion was ice cubes. We sent the beer back, and had a pop with ice instead. The main problem was the pompous ass of an owner Max Mason. He made no apologies for the hot beer — being a big enough jerk to bring back the flat beer with the melted ice cubes in it, suggesti g he had made it specially, and suggested that being a tourist we were not aware of local habits.
Having been stationed in the area in the British Army for a while, I’m fully aware of local habits.
One of the advantages of being in the military is that we can introduce him to some of our local habits in the near future :)

Thanks to all the Unilocal reviewers for pointing me to this place! I’m always on the lookout for great vegetarian food, especially if it’s local, and the Big Bang fits the bill. If you like to be an «ethical consumer» it not only sources as many of its ingredients as possible within 20 miles, but is also collaborating in practical ways with social organisations (check out their menu «broadsheet» for details).
Others here have already covered the yummy, hearty veg meals — and I agree with those reviews. However, someone should mention the decadent and delicious sticky toffee pudding (I had it with cream). I am visiting the Oxford area only for a week, but would go back for that alone.
Service was super friendly, atmosphere is clean and casual. It may still look like construction is going on (I was there the first week of July 2013), but don’t be put off — I think they’re just building/​expanding their patio.
And if you’re like me, you will also appreciate the absence of blaring TV screens while you’re enjoying a (Cotswold) cider.

Sausages and mash, and that’s all.
But such sausages. And such mash.
For Mayday one year, the proprieter made a full English sausage. Black pudding. Eggs. Sausage. Bacon. Baked bean. Tomato. Mushroom. All in a sausage. And another pair on the side. With mash.
and they do more than taht.
So good.

Big Bang is right. They’ve got more bangers than you could imagine. All sorts of shapes, sizes, consistencies… just like out in the real world! ;)
It was our first time at The Big Bang, a very casual dining establishment, and the owner came by the table and kindly recommended some things for us. I ended up getting the Pork & Apple, complimented by some garlic mash, and turns out, it was actually quite delicious. The peas came out straight up, rather than that mushy crap, which I prefer better.
All around, I had a very satisfying dinner, and dessert as well since it was on the house thanks to my handy dandy Unilocal app. When you check in you get a free apple crumble! Overall, a very welcoming environment and better service than 98% of Europe… yup, that’s right.
Last but not least, knobs and knockers are all welcome (be sure to step through the right door if you use the toilet).

Sadly this place is not there anymore due to area reconstruction. but rumour has it that it is opening some place new very soon!

IT’S CLOSED down!

I visited Big Bang on a handful of occasions last summer, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Fantastic bangers & mash,
top it off– the entire menu is local, with all ingredients sourced within 20 miles of Oxford. I wish I could remember more little details other than that, but at least the deliciousness of the meal has stuck with me, right? That is saying something.
As I’ve just moved back to town, I was so excited to go back and experience some more… but when I arrived, I discovered that sadly, it has shut. Boo!
However– if you want more Big Bang, the owner, Max Mason, has been organising pop-​up restaurants around the city since the closing of the brick-​and-​mortar restaurant in august. Find out more @
.
I hope he re-​opens a permanent shop soon!

The Big Bang is an excellent option if you’re a visitor or a local to Oxford. I was visiting the area with two other guys from the US and we found it the perfect choice for a night out in Oxford.
Its a bit off the beaten path, a few blocks away from the main retail district. The inside is quite charming. Its dimly lit, upscale, yet approachable. The menues are pretty cool, made of old used books. Great if you’re looking for an upscale spot thats unpretentious.
The staff was great. Very friendly and attentive. They were fast and showed an interest in chatting with us and being as helpful as possible. As visitors to the area, we were unaccustomed to eating «bangers and mash». All of the variations seemed the same to us unsophisticated Americans… ha! Anyway, the waitress took a seat at our table and explained the nuances of the menu. Kudos to her for making us feel at home.
They had a nice beer and wine selection, with both bottle and draft beers. I had a local oxford brew while the other guys enjoyed a bottle of English beer.
For my meal, I had one of the combination plates which is comprised of three bangers and a healthy portion of mash. I believe the name of my bangers were «Toulouse», and they were nice and garlicy. I got regular mash to balance out the strong flavors. The food came out fast, it was cooked just right, and with a perfect portion (not overwhelming). All of us got different bangers, so we were able to get a good sampling of the flavors. I’d certainly recommend doing the same. We skipped dessert, since we were quite full from the meal.
All in all, a fun night out in Oxford. I’d recommend this for groups of guys or girls. Great atmosphere and great food.

Extrem überteuerter Laden! Nur was für Fans.
Ich war da erst letzte Woche essen und muss jetzt unbedingt mal einen Kommentar loswerden:
Englische Würste sind ja ohnehin schon nur «Würste» — von der Konsistenz her erinnern sie eher an eine deutsche Wurst, die verarbeitet wieder rauskommt. Aber dieser Saftladen hier hat ein Menu, das nur aus diesen Würsten besteht, Würste, Würste, und nochmals Würste. Klar, mag jetzt witzig, originell oder gar postmodern rüberkommen, wenn man bedenkt, dass die verschiedene Kreationen anbieten (Knoblauchwurst, xyz-​Wust, etc.), dazu verschiedene Saucen. Aber lets face it: Man bezahlt hier drin mindestens britische 11 Pfund für zwei kleine (ich meine wirklich kleine) Würstchen, einen Klacks Kartoffelbrei und eine blöde Bratensauce. Thats it! Wer hier satt wird, ist selberschuld. Dasselbe Essen mit größeren Portionen und vergleichbarer Qualität kostet im Pub 4 Pfund, also weniger als die Hälfte.
Jetzt mag der eine oder andere einwenden, die Bedienung sei aber so freundlich und der Besitzer so ausgesprochen witzig und wortgewandt. Ja mein Gott, um den dummen Leuten, die sich den teuren Spaß antun, diesen völlig überteuerten Mist anzudrehen, muss wenigstens die Bedienung sehr freundlich und charmant sein, damit die Leute den Eindruck eines gelungenen Abends erhalten.
Alles in allem eine bessere Würstchenbude mit viel Lärm um nichts. Und ja, mir ist durchaus bewusst, dass der Laden auf der englischen Qype-​Seite von offenbar kulinarisch beanspruchten Zeitgenossen in den Himmel gelobt wird, aber objektiv bewerter ist der Laden Müll.

I came here with Lauren H. today for breakfast and was very surprised at how much I enjoyed the entire meal. The place is a bit off the beaten path, on a quieter road, which was a nice change of pace for me. Lauren, who lives in Oxford and has been here on many occasions, was telling me that they make a relatively healthy English breakfast and that this place is quite green. Excellent!
So, we went in, sat ourselves down at the cute newspapery table, and received these cute menus in the form of old books. Oh, Oxford. I ordered the Baby Banger for £4.95, and it comes with hella food! There was one fried egg, a Cumberland sausage, a rasher of bacon, oven grilled tomato, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, hash browns, and toast with jellies.
Everything was stellar! The baked beans were a nice sweet treat, the bacon was hearty, the mushrooms perfectly done, the hash browns crispy and provided good texture contrast to everything else, the sausage was mmm-​mmm-​meaty, and I always love me a good fried egg over easy, and this one hit the spot. I also tried Lauren’s vegetarian sausage made with some kind of stilton, and it was SUPERB.
I enjoyed the hell out of my meal, and surprisingly, felt very satisfied and healthy afterward. In my mind, English breakfasts are big greasy extravaganzas, but this one was pretty reasonable in terms of portions and not overly greasy either.
Overall, an awesome meal, with good service, a nice space, and good prices. And if you’re feeling extra hungry, you can get the normal Big Banger for an extra £2 and they double everything!

This ranks among the best meals we’ve had here in Oxford. We visited the funky establishment for breakfast. Surprisingly, the restaurant was quite empty. I ordered the Big Banger and my wife ordered the Baby Banger. Unless you have a serious appetite, I’d recommend the Baby Banger. It’s a proper sized portion.
Cheap, yet delicious local food. Quintessential British fare. Go get some…

A friend studying at Oxford recommended me this place during my UK trip. Wow, what a cool place to have some hearty sausages. Here, I learnt the term bangers and mash, a dish primary made of sausages and mash potato, served with peas and thin slices of red cabbage. Sausages are juicy and tasty and many to choose from, and gravy on mash and other ingredients are simply savoring. I felt like licking off every remaining bits of food off the plate.
They also have nice, casual atmosphere and cool looking menu (pieces menu paper glued to pages of old books, a good college theme).

My friend that works at Oxford University Press brought us here for dinner last week. I didn’t realize Bangers meant sausages.
For a place that only serves sausages, there’s an amazing variety! To be honest, I can’t remember what our table ordered, everyone had something different and no one had anything bad to say about it.
I had some spicy chicken sausage wish was FRICKEN AWESOME! The spice totally caught me off guard, I ended up choking on it! I highly recommend it!
I found it amusing how their menu was taped into the pages of a book. haha! that’s pretty cool!