Canteen Beef and Tomato Pie and Apple Pie Review

You may recall that Canteen are famed for their no nonsense Great British Food policy, which as a great fan of British food is right up my street! After all, that is exactly what they provided when I came here at Christmas for their Turkey Canteen Pie (which featured in our ’12 Pies of Christmas’ music video). Well with Great British Food on the menu and it being British Pie Week, I thought it was about time I headed on down to complete a personal #PiePledge that I had made a while back – long before British Pie Week began: to go for Canteen Double Pie!

Yes, with pie on the main menu and dessert menu, this is our idea of Pie-radise! And with the free power sockets and wifi in the restaurant, this is our first pie review of British Pie Week and coming straight from the restaurant!



So first, what did I make of the Beef and Tomato Canteen Pie?

The first impressions were very good. The pie was so golden and perfectly formed. No boil out or anything wrong. The pie was perhaps a little smaller than I had remembered from my previous visit to Canteen, but having cut it open I could see it was packed to capacity. The beef was so lovely and tender, not at all chewy and packed into the pie content. For me this is a crucial part of any meat pie – is the meat good?

In addition to the beef, there was a mix of some veg, herbs and spices and the obvious small pieces of tomato, which I would describe as clearly noticeable but not too overpowering in flavour. I think a beef/steak pie with gravy or ale gravy would be slightly preferable, but the tomato does add something different, so I commend Canteen for doing something a bit different.



The pie content was therefore very good and complemented the light, crisp top pastry. The side and base pastry was lovely too, though a bit softer. All in all, the balance was pretty good, with a piefectionist suggesting that perhaps a slightly larger pie would mean there was slightly more pastry to perfectly balance the packed capacity of meat, particularly because the pastry is quite thin and light, so there is not so much of it to balance the filling flavour.

At £13.50 for the pie, chips (or mash) and greens, it is a reasonable expenditure for a pie but when the pies are so good and you’re sitting in central London (Canary Wharf) you can see why. Another Pierate Recommended pie from Canteen!

Canteen Beef and Tomato Pie
Score: 5.93/7
[Colour 6.5, Capacity 6, Consistency 6, Condition 6, Chewiness 6.5, Cheapness 4.5, Content 6, Total: 5.93/7]



Onto round two of this Double Pie challenge – Apple Pie!

As you can see, you just get a slice of a bigger pie and the condition of this wasn’t quite as good as the exquisite meat pie. The colour was still strong but the top pastry had crumpled rather. The pastry was however really nice. Very different to the beef pie in that it was a lot crisper shortcrust, though the inside portion of the crust was softer. It therefore provided a nice crunch upon biting but not dry and off putting.

However the apple filling was a bit more mixed. The apple pieces were very big and on the whole tasted fine, but the apple at the edge crust was quite nice and soft (not mushy but just a gentle bite), whereas the centre pieces of apple were far more crunchy and bit too hard. The consistency between the apple pieces could therefore be improved and while nice, they didn’t blow me away with flavour.

I ate the first half of the pie without custard and it was a good texture apart from those crunchy apples. The inside of the pie was moist and flavoursome, contrasting the outer pie crust well. The pieces of apple were probably a bit too big and chunky for the pie crust, and if a little smaller would have probably cooked a bit better and had a more manageable bite to them. The custard did improve the dish and was very pleasant, not overpowering in flavour but complementing the apple pie well.

All in all, a decent apple pie, but at £5 for a slice (which could get you several whole apple pies elsewhere) it’s not one I would rush back to eat again.

Canteen Apple Pie
Score: 4.5/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 5.5, Consistency 4, Condition 5, Chewiness 4, Cheapness 3, Content 4.5, Total: 4.5/7]

RAS

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Pierate is going green! Well… getting their greens, anyway!

We’ve collated the top savoury vegetarian pies so that you know where to go if you don’t want to eat meat! Here are our top 5 vegetarian pies as of today and links to the reviews, or you can view our table of all our vegetarian pies here!

Don't forget you can view lots of different pie flavour categories and also pies sold by various supermarkets and brands on our "Pies Categorised" page!

Rank	Pie Producer	Pie Flavour	Score	By	Info
1	Sainsbury's Taste the Difference	Roasted Butternut Squash and Feta Cheese with Filo Pastry	6.03	TJP	V
2	Piebury Corner [N7 8DL]	Goats Cheese, Spinach, Sweet Potato and Mushroom [Reg Lewis]	5.90	RAS	V
3	Canteen [W1U 8EW]	Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek	5.85	SJL	V
4	Higgidy	Sweet Potato, Feta Cheese and Pumpkin Seed	5.76	TJP	V
5	Tom's Pies / Selfridges	Spicy Cauliflower, Spinach and Lentil	5.72	SJL	V

Our number one vegetarian pie from Sainsbury's

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Canteen Christmas Turkey, Leek and Cranberry Pie Review

Now I don’t normally focus on non-pie items in restaurants that I visit – we do, after all, like to keep our eyes on the pies on the web’s leading pie review blog! – but there’s something I’ve got to tell you about Canteen, before I even laid my hands on the pie in question. Canteen is a pie reviewers dream! In fact, I’d go as far as to say I have seen the future of pie reviewing in Canteen London, Canary Wharf branch! They offer free wifi* AND power sockets for your laptop, making it the only pie place I’ve been to so far where I could write and post my pie review IN THE RESTAURANT! How cool is that!!!

Arriving in Canary Wharf, I couldn’t miss the red and blue signage lining the wall outside the store and it overlooked the ice rink in the adjoining square, making it an ideal choice to warm up with a nice hearty pie after your skating or Christmas shopping! The restaurant is nicely presented and has a nice, lowly lit ambience to it. No school canteen nightmares came running into my head!

I’d arranged to meet Ashleigh and Olivia there, who interviewed us a few weeks ago on International Pierate Day. They are fans of the blog and wanted to give pie rating a go themselves! (You can read their views on the Canteen Pie on their website.) But let’s face it; you’ve had enough build up and you clearly want to know how the pie rated! So let’s get on with it then...

The pie I chose was the Turkey, Leek and Cranberry Canteen Pie – part of their “Great British Food” campaign. The pie came out well presented with a side of mash and veg. The pie pastry was brilliantly golden – pie perfection and worthy of a 7/7 for colour - and when I cut into the pie it was well filled, pretty much to the brim with very good capacity. This was very much a turkey focused pie, which I for one was not at all complaining about! For me, the meat is the key ingredient in any meat pie – so the more the merrier!



Canteen Christmas Turkey, Leek and Cranberry Pie

The pie included large chunks of tender turkey were really enjoyable, nice and moist as well due to the gravy (which can be an issue in other pies, as turkey meat is often quite dry). However the gravy was not leaking out of the pie all over my plate, a good sign of the right consistency to keep the pie moist but not overly runny inside.

The turkey was very tender and not at all chewy. While it perhaps didn’t have the strongest flavour and the pie wasn’t filled with lots of herbs and spices, it was clear from the outset that Canteen keep things simple and make the simple things in life taste great! I’m totally with them on this – no need to add every herb and spice under the sun into the pie if the pie tastes just fine as it is. While the pie did receive some feedback from Olivia as not being overly memorable in flavour, I still felt that I ordered a turkey pie and I got a turkey pie. In other words, I was satis-pied that what I ordered I got! (After all, I didn’t order a “Turkey and a thousand spices” pie – and I wouldn’t have wanted to!)



Inside the Canteen Turkey Pie

That said, the pie is sold as a turkey, leek and cranberry pie and there was not much evidence of either in the content of the three turkey pies we had between us. (Yes, I know... that does mean I didn’t eat “3 Canteen Pies” all by myself...) While I had no problem with this, as I was here for the turkey, not the leek or cranberry, it is worth noting for the leek and cranberry fans out there! Ashleigh for one would have liked a bit more Leek and Cranberry flavour in her pie. And it has to be said that £12.50 for a pie meal is quite pricey, especially when you can get them for £9 or less in other pie establishments in London. But hey, I’m sitting in London in the Canary Wharf area eating and enjoying a delicious pie – how can I really complain! (Especially when Canteen kindly let me have the pie for free, so thank you, even if I had to rate the pie based on the expectation of a pie fan paying £12.50 for it!)

Canteen Turkey, Leek and Cranberry Pie
Score: 6.14/7
[Colour 7, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 6, Condition 6, Chewiness 6.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6.25, Total: 6.14/7]
RAS

*As a side point, in my opinion it is worth visiting Canteen in Canary Wharf just to ask them what their wifi password is – it made me smile before I’d even laid my hands on the pie! Go on... ask them next time you visit!

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SJL decided as his pie pledge for British Pie Week to go a whole day eating only savoury pies. No food would be eaten that wasn't encased in pie pastry, which meant no veg or mash with the pies either!

The day began with a pack of 4 Asda Mini Pork and Apple Pies which were consumed on the train into London. The train was quite packed and there was standing room only. Other people looked concerned by SJL's choice of breakfast. However, the pies were noted to be a great choice for breakfast, the sweetness of the apple stopped the pork being too overpowering. There wasn't much fat or gristle detected. The pastry was also not too solid, as it can be for hot water crust pastry. At £1.28 for the pack the price was fairly competitive with the Tesco pork pies reviewed recently.
4 pies eaten @ 50g and 184kcal each

Asda Mini Pork Pie Selection

Upon getting to the office SJL made the error of picking up some free fruit on the way in. Realising this mistake the offending banana was carefully put aside for tomorrow.
Lunchtime came and SJL had a plan. To counteract the heavy pork pies, he headed to The Little Greek Pie Company shop on Tottenham Street where the pies come in filo pastry. Upon arrival SJL was sad to find the shop had closed down, although the pies can still be brought in some other shops. Now desperate for a new pie to review SJL headed to EAT on Tottenham Court Road. What attracted SJL was that EAT proudly advertise that they serve pies, with this fact written about 7 times on the outside of the shop. A Steak & Ale Pie was ordered at £4.15, although SJL was careful to not get the accompanying mash. The pie was satisfying, with the inclusion of some vegetables which was a pleasant surprise. The meat was tender however SJL felt it tastest slightly like it came out of a tin. The pastry was firm enough to eat with your hands but still quite gooey on the inside. However did it do enough to justify the much higher price tag than a standard Pukka pie from a fish and chip shop? Two colleagues also got into the spirit of BPW by grabbing EAT pies along with SJL.
1 pie eaten @ 250g and 670kcal - Total 5 pies eaten @ 1406 kcal

EAT Steak & Ale Pie

The afternoon saw SJL open another two packs of Asda mini pies. Two Asda Snack Cheese & Pickle Lattice Pork Pies were eaten and 1 Asda Mini Pork & Stuffing Pie devoured. One pie was taken along to a meeting as 'brain food'. Both types of pie offered similar pastry to the ones eaten in the morning. However the pork and stuffing was found to be more fatty. All we considered by SJL to be good variations of the standard pork pie. Without the additional flavours this many pork pies would have been sickly. There were excess pies which were offered to colleagues although only one colleague took up the offer. At this point SJL found the taste of pie beginning to seriously repeat on him. Lots of coffee was drunk to try and suppress this.
1 pie eaten @ 50g and 199kcal
2 pies eaten @ 60g and 219kcal - Total 8 pies eaten @ 2043 kcal

The Cheese & Pickle Pork Pie

After leaving the office SJL had a sudden urge for a pie a bit more special than the others consumed so far. The others had been solid performers but there were certainly no gourmet pies. Hence SJL headed to Canteen on Baker Street which had been reviewed before and he knew they served some top London pies. However this is a restaurant so SJL was pleased when they agreed to do a take away pie for him. Unfortunately he didn't realise he was ordering a whole pie meal in a box! This unfortunately came at the standard restaurant price as well. However, this didn't stop the Canteen Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek Pie from being a fantastic pie. The Canteen pies always seem to achieve such a fantastic Colour and Condition. The pastry was gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside. The flavour was unusual but worked well. The crunchy celeriac and the soft mushroom provided good counterpoints to each other. The only downside is that the meal seems quite small for the price, especially when not eating the veg and mash!
1 pie eaten @ ~ 250g and 600kcal - Total 9 pies eaten @ 2643 kcal

Canteen Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek Pie

Arriving home the family had already been tucking into an Asda Chicken & Gravy Pie and Asda Steak & Winter Vegetable Pie so SJL grabbed a couple of slices of the action. At this stage perhaps SJL had just eaten too many pies but these failed to impress. Allegedly the chicken pie had puff pastry but this wasn't noticable as both had quite dry pastry. They were also quite thin so not a lot of Capacity. The chicken pie tasted particularly mass produced. The steak and winter vegetables at least gained some points for doing something a bit different. However there are nicer pies at this price.
1 pie eaten @ 138g and 337 kcal
1 pie eaten @ 138g and 382 kcal - Total 11 pies eaten @ 3362 kcal

The two Asda family sized pies

There were some near misses, at one point SJL accidentally ate some cabbage but this was safely spat out. One noticeable effect was a constant thirst due to the salty pies. But in the end a whole day was covered with only pies eaten and a record number of pies consumed in one day on the Pierate Ship. A learning experience, this showed that other food really isn't necessary. Why isn't everything encased in golden pie pastry?

Asda - Mini Pork & Apple Pies - 4.35/7
EAT - Steak & Ale - 4.25/7
Asda - Mini Pork & Stuffing Pies - 4.30/7
Asda - Snack Cheese & Pickle Lattice Pies - 4.35/7
Canteen - Celeriac, Mushroom & Leek Pie - 5.85/7
Asda - Chicken & Gravy Pie - 3.35/7
Asda - Steak & Winter Vegetable - 3.85/7

SJL Pie Count Day Two: 11
SJL BPW Total: 12


Pierateer RAS feels quite small and insignificant sitting next to SJL’s quite incredible #onlypiesallowed challenge today, but that didn’t stop him attending the Aston University Pie Night put on by Catering@Aston and having a very nice Chicken and Mushroom Pie (see separate review) and also providing Mr Kipling Apple Pies to another three colleagues at work. A number of colleagues had a look at the pie blog and planned to suggest good pies they’d eaten.

RAS Pie Count Day Two: 1
RAS BPW Total: 3


After the enormity of SJLs efforts on Day 2 of BPW, Pierateer TJP feels that the single medium-sized Pork Farm pork pie purchased from Sainsbury's delivered little to the Pierateers accumulated pie total. It was a decent enough pie, however, and the full review will be coming soon.


TJP Pie Count Day Two: 1
TJP BPW Total: 3

Day Two Total: 13
British Pie Week Total: 18

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Canteen - Pork & Apple Pie Review

With the recent Guy Ritchie directed Sherlock Holmes film and the ever popular BBC series Sherlock it seemed like the perfect time to have a Sherlock Holmes themed pie review. What is more appropriate than to have a freshly baked London pie on Baker Street? Sadly 221B itself is not a quaint little pie shop but actually an office block. However just down the road is a delightful restaurant called Canteen. Advertising 'Great British Food' I deduced that pies would certainly be on the menu. Having a Frenchman amongst our group it was great to be able to find somewhere specialising in British food for him to try. Walking into the restaurant I detected a distinct lack of atmosphere in the establishment, it was too quiet for my liking but fortunately this doesn't count towards their score.

I soon started interrogating the main witness in the pie baking incident (the waitress). The pies that day included a pork and apple pie which I decided to investigate further. It was nice to have different freshly made pies each day. My first clue as to the quality of the pie was in the lovely golden brown colour it had assumed. It looked very tasty but perhaps like the great Sherlock himself this pie was a master of disguise? Not a bit of it. The pie burst open with delicious flavours, the pork was tender and the pastry quite melt in the mouth. I also got a healthy portion of mash and veg. My main concern however was for my bank balance. The proper restaurant setting came with restaurant prices so this pie set me back £11.50. However this is London and the pie really was a premium product so it still weighs in with a high score.


Pork & Apple (Canteen)
5.79/7 

SJL

And that's it, case closed, a great pie. Everyone goes home happy and hopefully no one noticed the very tenuous link to Sherlock Holmes.

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