4 Stars
This term, stumbling home from Indie Fridays or on a pilgrimage to Tops Pizza, I kept noticing this decidedly cool bar a little way down the Cowley Road. With fairy-lights strung across its wooden terrace and ‘Bigfoot’ scrawled in playful letters across the glass, it seemed slightly out of place in central Oxford. If anything, this kind of idiosyncratic concept and DIY glamour belongs firmly in Hackney. But I’m a Londoner at heart and, as if I hadn’t already been tempted enough, discovering their £5 Margarita Wednesdays sealed the deal.
Even on a dreary evening in February, the place is buzzing, but we manage to squeeze ourselves around the last empty table outside. The crowd is young and surprisingly fashionable for Oxford – there are no college puffers or quarter-zips in sight. Inside, the Hackney theme continues: mid-century modern furniture, plants hanging from the ceiling, and beanies as a seemingly compulsory uniform. Oh, and plenty of Bigfoot memorabilia. But the place is saved from suffocating in its own coolness by its laid-back atmosphere, the friendly waiters and scruffy charm.
The menu itself is simple but mouthwatering: four different types of tacos, five varieties of margaritas, and a few eclectic beers on tap. They have a whole menu of chasers for these, but I’m here for the margaritas and won’t let myself get distracted.
When it arrives, the watermelon margarita is just as pink as I’d hoped it would be. It tastes like summer and, more dangerously, not at all alcoholic. The standard one is a slightly classier affair, one that strikes the perfect balance between bracing and refreshing. These people know how to make a margarita.
In the name of journalistic integrity, we decide to order all of the tacos. For me, the standout of the night is the carnitas – the rich flavour of the braised pork perfectly balanced by the lighter notes of pickled red onion and pineapple. I’m less convinced by the chicken taco, the flavour of which is dominated by the chipotle mayo, but it is not unenjoyable.
I have (I hate to admit) a childish aversion to mushrooms, so I leave the oyster mushroom taco to the others, all of whom promptly inform me that it is their favourite. Apparently, the umami of the miso glazing and gentle spice of the jalapeno sauce is enough to make you forget you are eating an actual fungus.
The final taco is decidedly less familiar, but this is serious research we’re undertaking, so it’s cactus time. I’m really not sure what to expect but am more than pleasantly surprised to discover that cactus has the texture of pepper. If it has a distinctive flavour, it’s masked behind the cheese, jalapenos, and salsa, which are already a match made in heaven.
The tacos are definitely on the smaller side, and by the time you’ve eaten an entire meal’s worth, the cost does begin to mount up. But if you want to unwind, drink some filthily good margaritas and feel like you’ve escaped Oxford for a few hours, then Bigfoot might be the place for you.
