Falling trade and rising rents, food and staffing costs have sadly seen Pierate Recommended pie maker Square Pie go into administration, and with that the sad loss of 50 pie jobs in its five restaurants in London and Birmingham.

While it has to be admitted that the Birmingham store was never regularly frequented by Pierateer RAS, the loss of yet another pie shop in the city (following the closure of Urban Pie a few years ago) is hard to swallow. It has to be asked "What is happening to all our pie shops?", with these closures following on from a fall in the number of traditional London Pie and Mash shops over the last few years as highlighted by fellow pie fanatics and friends of the blog the Pie n Mash Club, who have documented all the closed pie and mash shops.

The last we'll see of the Square Pie box

It was only 18 months ago that the new Square Pie shop opened in Birmingham to great fanfare, with over 1,000 of you reading our live blogging of the opening in Grand Central. Based above the main New Street train station in the heart of Birmingham, it was great to have an established and Pierate Recommended pie brand such as Square Pie in the centre of the city. Now it appears all will be left is the wholesale business, which sells pies to a number of major supermarkets. You can read more about Square Pie going into administration on the Big Hospitality website.

However all we can really be glad of is that since Square Pie opened their last store, the pie scene has improved in Birmingham with a number of top pies available in local pubs and a new Pieminister store opening. And with 4 London stores closing, we hardly need to remind you that some of our top 10 pies in our 600+ pie rankings are available in London, with MyPie London and Piebury Corner accounting for half of our top 10! Here's hoping we don't hear of any more pie shop closures any time soon, especially with British Pie Week only a few short weeks away!

Grand Central in Birmingham City Centre, which was home to Birmingham's Square Pie shop

For a trip down memory lane, you may want to read when we rated Square Pie as Pierate Recommended as we celebrated eating our 100th rated pie there down in London back in 2012, and in 2013 when we rated their Chicken, Leak and Wiltshire Ham pie at 5.58/7, which was another Pierate Recommended effort.

RAS

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Square Pie's Rugby Pie World Cup in Grand Central Shopping Centre, Birmingham

Square Pie Rugby Pie World Cup Review



Here at Pierate HQ we’re always big fans of a pie-motion, like the tie in of the Rugby World Cup happening in England with the “Rugby Pie World Cup” happening down at Square Pie right now!

The idea is pretty simple – there’s a new pie to represent each of the 20 competing nations in the Rugby World Cup 2015, which are trying to be crowned the Pie World Cup Champion! Just like the competing rugby nations, the pies are being put through their paces and pitted against each other in a group phase and eventual knock out com-pie-tition, based on pie sales. Intriguing flavours include Chicken Teriyaki for Japan, Springbok Sausage for South Africa and Moose for Canada! It’s also great to see money being raised for the Dallaglio Foundation as part of the contest. More info can be found on the Square Pie website.



Eyes on the pies!

As you may have read from my live blogging recently, a new Square Pie outlet has opened up in Birmingham’s newest shopping centre – Grand Central. Based above the main New Street train station in the heart of Birmingham, it’s great to have an established and Pierate Recommended pie brand such as Square Pie in the centre of the city. I got invited along to try three of the Pie World Cup hopefuls recently to see how they pie rated and these are my thoughts:

Overall – The pastry on all three of these pies held together well, all passing the hand-held test (even if the Steak and Ale was a bit less firm than the others due to the more liquid filling making the base pastry a bit softer). I was impressed that none of these had soggy bottoms though, particularly with the gravy in the steak and ale. The pastry lid was particularly flaky and crisp on all three. There was a bit of a pastry overhang on the lids of these pies and by the time you got to the corners of the pies there was a bit too much pastry to filling – but there’s not really a way of avoiding this in a square product and this doesn’t detract much from the overall enjoyment.

All these special Rugby World Cup pies are the same price as their standard pie range, which I think is quite commendable seeing as, being quite unique flavours, they would be made in smaller, less frequent batches. However at £4.50 for just a pie or £6.50 for a classic meal (pie and 2 regular sides or pie and one large side) prices them as a bit expensive for just a hot pie or meal takeaway, but a reasonably priced option for a restaurant pie. It has to also be remembered that you are in the heart of Birmingham, minutes away from the central train station. There is very much a takeaway vibe to the Grand Central Square Pie shop, with food served in a box to go or eat in their array of seating – both useful options for those using the pie shop to ‘grab and go’ before getting a train. I know I will be!

Wales - Rugby Pie World Cup Review

Wales: Cheese, Leek and Potato (Vegetarian)

There were big potato chunks in the pie, which were quite well cooked, soft and tasty without being mushy. The cheese was noticeable and added flavour alongside the leek, but could have been a bit stronger. There wasn’t really anything to get your teeth into with this pie though, as a result of the potato being quite soft alongside the cheese and leek. This and the runny sauce contrasted quite strongly with the crisp pastry. Slightly smaller chunks of potato and a bit more cheese would have improved this pie a bit. A decent vegetarian pie but quite a standard flavour.

Square Pie Cheese, Leek and Potato Pie
Score: 4.68/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 5, Consistency 4.5, Condition 5, Chewiness 4.25, Cheapness 4, Content 4.5, Total: 4.68/7]

Square Pie Fiji Goat Curry Rugby Pie Review

Fiji: Fijian Goat Curry

One of the more unique flavours in the Rugby Pie World Cup, the Goat Curry pie was an interesting one to get my hands on! I’d only had a goat pie once before but that was in a gravy based pie, so the goat curry pie was a lot more dry in comparison to that. The ingredients in the pie apart from the meat were quite moist but there was no real sauce, which meant that the dryness of the meat was quite evident. This isn’t that surprising given my prior experience with goat, which is quite fatty but chewy and quite a dry meat, but this perhaps could have been factored into the pie filling. The meat was also in quite large chunks, which would have been better served spread out in more, smaller chunks in my opinion.

The curry flavour was quite mild but added some flavour. I recognise goat is not the easiest meat to prepare well and overall didn’t mind this pie flavour, but a bit more flavour and leaner, tender meat would improve the pie rating.

Square Pie Fijian Goat Curry Pie
Score: 4.29/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 4.5, Consistency 3.5, Condition 5, Chewiness 3.5, Cheapness 4, Content 4, Total: 4.29/7]

Square Pie England Steak and Ale Rugby Pie Review

England: Dallaglio Foundation Steak and Ale

The steak and ale pie is a classic English flavour, so it’s no sur-pies to see the English pie filled with it. There’s no denying it is a flavour we love here on the Pierate Ship, but that does mean with so many good steak pies eaten the bar is very high. However it was a good hearty effort, with a significant ale flavoured gravy. The gravy was very runny though, which did seem to make the pastry less crisp and sag slightly under the moisture. It was still able to be picked up by hand though, with a fair bit of steak and other filler such as onion to bulk it out. A bit more steak, which was slightly less chewy, and a lower viscosity gravy would raise this even higher up the rankings but still Pierate Recommended.

Square Pie Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 5.07/7
[Colour 5.25, Capacity 5.5, Consistency 5.25, Condition 5, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 4, Content 5.5, Total: 5.07/7]


Overall, we’re delighted there is a great new pie shop in the centre of Birmingham and the Rugby Pie World Cup is an ingenious idea to boost the range of pies on sale at Square Pie. With the board on the wall in the Birmingham shop celebrating the 127 flavours of pies made since 2001 – though now needing a massive overhaul following the 20 new types of pie during this Rugby Pie World Cup alone! – it seems clear pies are in good hands at Square Pie!

Grand Central in Birmingham City Centre, home to Square Pie shop

Thank you to Square Pie for hosting us for this Rugby World Cup Pie-Off in Birmingham. We'd already bought and rated Square Pie as Pierate Recommended as we celebrated eating our 100th rated pie there down in London back in 2012, and in 2013 we rated their Chicken, Leak and Wiltshire Ham pie at 5.58/7, which was another Pierate Recommended effort.

RAS

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The time for Birmingham has finally arrived! Five years in the making - and many more in the planning - Birmingham New Street station and the shopping centre above it have finally opened there doors! And the exciting news is that the Grand Central shopping centre has a pie shop at it's e-pie-centre! No longer do we have to pie-ne in Britain's second city for a pie shop to fill our cravings - following the sad closure of Urban Pie earlier this year - for Square Pie have opened in the city centre. And we're about to check it out, so follow the live blogging below!

Grand Central in Birmingham City Centre, home to Square Pie shop

Before we check out the new Square Pie store in Birmingham's newest shopping centre Grand Central, the name Square Pie may ring a bell - and you'd be right! We've already rated their pies in their London Westfield Shopping Centre store and they rated pretty well! In fact, a number of them were Pierate Recommended as we celebrated eating our 100th rated pie there!

That celebratory 100th pie was actually rated back in 2012, and in 2013 we rated their Chicken, Leak and Wiltshire Ham pie at 5.58/7, which was another Pierate Recommended effort.

So now with this swanky new pie shop opening in Birmingham, it's time to check it out! Let the live blogging commence... (in reverse order)

17:50 - I'll leave you with this photo of the Square Pies on offer - and treat you to more pie photos when I rate some next week!!!



17:45 - The Square Pie launch has already been a real success - with queues of customers reported at lunchtime - and the staff very helpfully took me through their offerings. But the new World Cup flavours are what I'll have my eyes on next week! Check back on Pierate next week for our next Square Pie review!

17:35 - Birmingham food blogger Laura aka 'Full to the Brum' has asked what this Rugby World Cup pie-off Square Pie are doing is all about? Well I can announce that there will be some special pie flavours to enjoy from this Monday as the World Cup pie-off hits Birmingham! Some very quirky flavours in there - the full line up can be seen on the Square Pie website!

17:25 - Just had an interesting chat with the manager Anthony, who only got access to the restaurant on Monday! He's been trained up in Square Pie shops down in London and really looking forward to this start up in Birmingham!



17:15 - The Square Pie restaurant is in a large food area of Grand Central, with an open air feel to it so you really get the hustle and bustle of the shopping centre while you eat. However there are secluded spots to sit too!

17:05 - Up the escalator and into Birmingham's newest retail centre! And a great view across the concorse, it must be said!

16:50 - The excitement is building as the train edges nearer Birmingham New Street. I'm like a kid counting down the days til Christmas!!!

16:30 - Have to admit I was a bit nervous earlier when I read this Birmingham Mail article that not all the shops in Grand Central were open yet! Fortunately Square Pie weren't on the list!
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/grand-central-birmingham-opens-public-10121923

16:20 - Where will this pie fit in with all the other top pies in Birmingham?! Check out our "Best Pies in Birmingham" article to find out the com-pie-tition!

16:15 - Just leaving the house ready to get a train into Birmingham New Street's new refurbished station. I caught a glimpse of the glass roof yesterday and it looked great!

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Square Pie - Chicken, Leek and Wiltshire Ham Pie Review

Square pie have been visited by the Pierateers before on the very special occasion of our 100th pie review. (You might think that was a long time ago as we approach 250 pie reviews but it was infact just last year!) But in case you aren't familiar with this old London pie favourite let me remind you. A fast food style pie establishment, the pies are already cooked and waiting in a warm counter for the eager customers to eat within minutes of entering the restaurant. You have a choice of veg and potato options to make your pie a meal if you desire. This type of fast pie is fairly unique, Battersea Pie Station and Urban Pie are the only others I can think of who are doing the same thing. The benefits from this format are clear. It offers a pie restaurant experience a bit cheaper than your average pub and the pies tend to be fairly gourmet with an interesting variety of flavours. However, Square Pie seem to be the original, having established their first outlet in Old Spitalfields Market back in 2001.


Despite having visited a number of times before the fast pie experience keeps drawing me back. It is just a very convenient way to get a pie. A recent trip saw me grab a Chicken, Leek and Wiltshire Ham Pie with peas and gravy for £6 from Old Spitalfields Market. This was one of their more expensive pies so I hoped to taste the best Square Pie offer. For comparison a similar pie meal at Urban Pie would cost £4.95 and £7.00 in Battersea Pie Station (to eat in). So we are looking at a fairly competitive price (as usual remembering we are in expensive London).


But of course I had high expectations given that this was a restaurant where the pies are the main attraction. They earn their crust making pies every day and claim to be a cut above mass produced pies. I am pleased to say they didn’t disappoint. I think this was the best square pie I have had so far. In the photo I have pulled out some of the filling so you can see there were big chunks of chicken and plenty of ham too. Pieces of leek were easy to find and they added plenty of flavour. This pastry was perfect; buttery and soft. There was plenty of thick gravy inside the pie with a real meaty taste. It is actually difficult to say that there was anything wrong with this pie at all, it did everything right. So why did it not get a full score for a pie which left me very full? I think this was mainly down to the chicken, the texture of which didn’t quite do it for me. Also the pastry perhaps slips down too easily, it is quite gooey and I think my ultimate pie has a bit of crunch. However, these are minor criticisms and overall this pie squares up very well to the competition.


Chicken, Leek and Wiltshire Ham (Square Pie) 
5.58/7

SJL

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Well it was bound to come sooner rather than later, with so many pies being eaten and reviewed amongst a busy schedule for the Pierateers, so 852 days after the first review on www.pierate.co.uk, the world's most popular pie blog, we have reached a milestone #100thPie Review! Thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged the ridiculously high consumption of pies by the Pierateers (it's a wonder we're not all morbidly obese by now). And as a special treat for you all, the pies that got us up to #100thPie have been reviewed by the three most prolific Pierateers. Here goes:


So to mark the final appearance of one of the Pierateers in West London, the three most prolific reviewers hit Westfield Shopping Centre to give Square Pie a go. You can imagine from the it-does-exactly-what-it-does-on-the-tin title of the company that the pies were all - you guessed it - a square shape. So with three Pierateers and way more than three different flavours of pie on the menu, here are the 98th, 99th and 100th pie reviews on www.pierate.co.uk:

Square Pie: Steak and Cheese = 4.34/7
Reviewed by TJP
The Steak and Cheese pie was a high quality offering and the meat was particularly good, however the reviewer felt it was too salty overall which meant that the reviewer couldn't manage to finish the whole content of the pie. The pie was expensive, but it was evident that they cared about the condition the pie came in.



Square Pie: Chicken Curry = 5.25/7
Reviewed by SJL
It was a nice, vintage pie, with light pastry and a spicy but not too hot filling. It packed a flavoursome punch. The pastry was nice and light, gooey and complemented the contents well. A bit too pricey but one thing I would say is that the pie was certainly filling, so this more than made up for the cost.



Square Pie: Steak and Kidney =5.15/7
Reviewed by RAS
The pastry was nice and light, with no thick side crust which can be the downside of many a pie. The content was very nice, with good chunks of tasty steak. The gravy was also very good, and the mix of content between the steak, kidney and chunks of carrot worked well. The price was quite high but for a filling pie it was worth the expense.



So there you have it - the #100thPie reviewed and here's to the next 100 pie reviews!

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