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Nice Pie Lamb, Beef and Chicken Pie Reviews

As we said last year when we last sampled some of the "Nice Pie" range, one of the challenges for a Pierateer in British Pie Week is how to fit in all the pies you want to eat and rate - and then having time to write up all the reviews after! That's my poor excuse for why it has taken a while to write up our reviews of the three brilliant Nice Pie flavours we enjoyed in Leeds on Day Six of British Pie Week 2017, but here they are!


Nice Pie Beef Pie

Long term fans of Pierate will know Nice Pie have produced countless Pierate Highly Recommended and Pierate Recommended pies - including, but not limited to, their kangaroo, zebra, wild squirrel and crocodile exotic pies - in fact, see the table of past Nice Pies here! The pies we had this time were some more from the traditional menu - the Slow Cooked Lamb and Mint pie, Chicken, Gammon and Mushroom pie and Beef in Red Wine and Roasted Marrow Bone pie.

All three were new to us, but had all had a strong showing at the recent British Pie Awards. The Beef in Red Wine and Roasted Marrow Bone pie won the "Beef and any flavour" Class and the Chicken, Gammon and Mushroom pie won the "Chicken and other meat" class, while the lamb pie had got a gold award (90%+). These are award winning pies!!!

As we've mentioned in a number of Nice Pie reviews before, it was the filling that really stood out in these pies, absolutely bursting with meaty chunks that were so tender and flavoursome. It really amazes me how they can pack so much meat into these pies, as the capacity is always so full to the brim! The only slight downside is that with so much meat in there it can mean the pastry struggles to hold all the filling in, especially if you try to eat it by hand as I did. This is however a very small criticism as the main thing is to have a packed, flavoursome pie filling and this pie certainly provides that, especially complimenting the crisp butter shortcrust pastry that Nice Pie are renowned for!

Nice Pie Lamb Pie

Out of the three pies, I personally preferred the Lamb and Mint Pie and thought that stood out amongst other lamb pies I've had. Unlike many lamb and mint pies which are absolutely smothered in mint and lacking in meat, this was a perfectly balanced flavour and full of tender meat. The lamb easily shredded when the knife cut through it due to it being slow cooked, so while the pieces of meat were quite large it did not feel too big. I could have happily kept eating this pie all night!

Nice Pie Beef Pie Review

The Beef pie was also very nice, with thick rich gravy complementing the tender chunks of meat and bit of veg. I personally think the gravy wasn't quite my cup of tea compared to some of the red wine or ale gravy's I have had in other Nice Pie's or other pies lately - perhaps a result of the bone marrow - but at the same time I still enjoyed the pie and it does add a slightly different taste to the content. It balanced well with the crisp, golden pastry and I'd still happily eat another (there are just so many good Steak/Beef Nice Pies to choose from!!!)

Nice Pie Chicken Pie Review

The chicken pie was again packed with meat and although the pastry was a little flaky it still managed to hold in all the content well! The sauce was very nice and complimented the meat flavour well, and once again we struggled to fault much as it was a very good filling! A traditional flavour done well!


Once again Nice Pie have done us proud, producing two more Pierate Recommended pies AND a Pierate Highly Recommended pie! It's an absolute credit to Katharine and all who work at this small pie company that they are able to churn out top rated pie after top rated pie, and it's been great to hear about the success of their on-site Pie Shop and Cafe too! We hope to visit it one day soon!


Nice Pie Slow Cooked Lamb and Mint Pie
Score: 6.18/7
[Colour 5.75/7; Consistency 6.25/7; Cheapness 5.75/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6.75/7; Capacity 6.75/7]

Nice Pie Beef in Red Wine and Roasted Marrow Bone Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 5.75/7; Consistency 5.75/7; Cheapness 5.5/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6.25/7]

Nice Pie Chicken, Gammon and Mushroom Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 5.75/7; Consistency 5.75/7; Cheapness 5.5/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6.25/7]

RAS