The latest intel from Bicester (via my lovely friend Becky) led me to find out about a brand new vegan pop-up at Bicester Village, Holy Carrot. Many of you may have tried the food in their London restaurant, and now their ‘canteen’ is appearing in Bicester, providing respite from the chaos of the shops. Having opened at the end of July, the plant-based food truck will be there for a six-month stint, and we stopped by last month to try it out.
There were so many delicious sounding options on the menu that I really struggled to choose. The to-fish and chips was calling to me, but having had something very similar the night before, I opted for ‘spicy wings’, made with oyster mushrooms. The mains were cooked fresh to order, so I paid at the counter and took a seat until my restaurant buzzer started flashing.
The oyster mushrooms had been deep fried so they were deliciously crisp, and very well seasoned. They were served with a ‘gem wedge’, or a couple of pieces of lettuce. It was the perfect refreshing accompaniment to the wings, I only wish there was a bit more of it. Similarly with the ranch dressing and buffalo sauce, I could’ve done with an extra drizzle or two just to bring everything together. As it was, a very tasty dish, and with a couple of tweaks could’ve been excellent. Becky ordered the buffalo burger, essentially the same dish but in burger form. It looked really filling and I would probably order that myself next time! The skin on fries, served with a punchy truffle mayo, have to be ordered as a side separately, which does bring the cost up, but the portion was huge and could probably be shared between two.
To follow up my meal, I ordered the miso caramel mousse: layers of cream, almond sponge, and caramel, a truly decadent dessert which was essentially a creamy vegan trifle. It was so sweet, on the edge of sickly, so they could have probably dialled up the miso a little, but I really enjoyed it. It’s great to have the option of a decadent vegan pudding, and something a little different from usual too.
I baulked at the price of a cup of tea – £3.85 for a tea bag and some hot water?! But this is Bicester Village after all. Instead I opted for a carrot, apple and ginger juice, which I had assumed – somewhat naively, given that they were operating out of a small food truck – would be freshly made, but was handed to me in a small plastic bottle straight away. It was delicious but I wouldn’t order again for the price.
What I absolutely would order again would be the fruit danish pastry. The grab and go food truck serves breakfast from 9am-12pm and there were a few pastries left over which I couldn’t resist trying. The lamination on the pastry was impressive and the sweet apricot filling made for a really tasty snack. We need more vegan pastries like this to be readily available!
From glazed tofu, to veggie sushi, to a bbq burger, there were lots of other menu items that caught my eye. Given that they’re only there for a few months, I’ve got my sights set on another visit to Bicester Village very soon. I’m not remotely interested in the boutiques but I think it’s worth a trip to the shopping centre for Holy Carrot alone.
Vegan Eats Oxford 