Yoxford Antiques Centre - Apple Pie Review

Home made pie. Those few words will invariably bring a smile to my face and I don’t think I am alone in this. There are some people who will say that a mass produced pie cannot taste the same. Take The Pie Kitchen who we reviewed recently, they refuse to stop making their pies at home in the kitchen because they don’t think they can taste the same. I have been looking for pies to add to our list of the best pies in Suffolk. Hence I was delighted to find a chalk board advertising home made ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ at the Flying Goose Café which is part of Yoxford Antiques Centre in Suffolk. Why they called it ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ I have no idea and the sign hooked me in by promising free pie if you could guess the cultural reference in the name. Sadly my knowledge of pie didn’t help me out, I had no clue as to the answer, but I decided that pie was worth paying the £3.00 for.


Upon arrival I could tell this was a home made pie straight away. It arrived in good condition but had a slightly irregular shape. The top of the pie seemed to be supported by the apple underneath. This certainly didn’t detract from the taste. The pastry was soft, crumbly shortcrust, just what I like to see with a sweet pie. The apple was firm which gave the pie a wonderful texture. The apple tasted nice on its own but the additional cinnamon and cloves complemented it nicely, if perhaps the clove taste was boardering on too much. All in all the pie slipped down well as a before lunch snack and it was nice to sit outside amongst the random assortment of antiques, it certainly was different to the usual places I eat pies.


Once I finished the pie I went back inside and asked to take a picture of the whole pie. I then learnt that it had been made by the owner of the antique centre, Mr Goose which explained the name of the café. He was pleased to have his photo taken with the pie and explain the local ingredients he had used in it. I certainly hope he doesn’t get too busy running the centre to make the pies himself. The only feedback I would give is that the shape of this pie was somewhat unusual. While the pie certainly had a clear base and lid, the sides weren’t very well defined and it got worryingly thin towards the edge. However, on this occasion I overlooked it (as I hadn’t even realised when eating the pie). My complements go to Mr Goose who proved that you can find great pies in completely unexpected places! Keep your eyes out for pies!


Sam’s Apple Pie (Yoxford Antique Centre, Suffolk, IP17 3JW)
5.16/7

SJL

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Urban Pie are one of our many friends in the pie world. We have been there many more times than the 4 previous pie reviews indicate and they were kind enough to also blog about us! They called us 'pie experts' back in our early days of 2010. Aww, thanks guys! Perhaps this kind sentiment was in part down to our acclaim of this 'fast-food' pie format. It was our first taste of such a thing, before we discovered similar such ventures in London.
Pierateers RAS and SJL had a quick visit between changes of trains at Birmingham New Street. The place had new options since SJL’s last visit with new veg and potato wedge options. SJL opted for the Angus Steak and RAS took on the Lamb, Potato and Mint pie. The staff were very friendly which really helped to make a nice atmosphere. They even posed for a Pierate/Urban Pie promo photo.

Staff - and pies! - at Urban Pie, Birmingham


But enough of that – let’s dig into the pies!

Here are SJL's thoughts on the Angus Steak:
I am a big fan of the Urban Pie pastry because it does hold its structure well. The pies look fantastic and what I consider proper pies to look like. It also maintains some crispiness on the outside while being gooey on the inside. Unfortunately this time I also had some very thick pieces of pastry on the sides. These were a bit too doughy and hence the pie lost score. I am sure that this isn't representative though as I have had a number of Urban Pies before. The meat and gravy was classic steak pie fare. The taste of beef was intense and while it didn't do anything unique, everything it did do it did very well. Coming as a good value meal it was another Urban Pie experience I really enjoyed. It was just a shame it had been so long between visits!
And the thoughts of RAS on the Lamb, Potato and Mint:

Angus Steak Pie from Urban Pie
Score: 4.78/7 (SJL)
Lamb, Potato and Mint Pie from Urban Pie

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Chicken Pie Review and Steak and Onion Pie Review for Eric Lyons Ltd





Eric Lyons Pies



Eric Lyons Chicken and Steak and Onion Pies

The steak and onion was also full to the brim with tender meat, although sadly the content was overly onion-heavy for my liking. Sure, it's a steak AND onion pie, but I would always want to see the ratio more heavily weighted towards the steak! That said, the gravy was very good to and complimented the steak well. All in all the pie was one I would eat again (though an all steak would be more my cup of tea!)


Score: 6.14/7
[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6.5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 6.14/7]

Score: 5.96/7
[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 5.5/7; Cheapness 6.5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 5.75/7; Content 5.5/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 5.96/7]

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Mother Mash Pie Reviews for Chicken, Leek and Ham and Steak Pies


Mother Mash Pies

So having been informed of Mother Mash's new pies, that were apparently even better than our last visit by Pierateer SJL, it sounded like a great excuse for Pierateers RAS and TJP - along with a faithful pie comrade known only as ACT - to rate their pies!

So having made their way to Ganton Street in central London, the lads were ready to taste the new additions to the kitchen. For those unfamiliar with the Mother Mash format, you select your mash, your pie (or sausages) and your gravy, though the Pierateers bucked this trend by naturally starting with their pie choice first. With three new pies on the menu, there will little time spent on the small talk! The friendly staff Iona helped us through the mash and gravy options and the lads eagerly awaited their pie and mash experience. It didn't disappoint!

Pierateer RAS went for the Chicken, Leek and Ham pie. Packed full of meaty goodness, the filling oozed out nicely as the cutlery made a very appealing crunch while slicing through the pastry lid. Despite being doused in delicious gravy, the pastry lid was still crisp and had a really nice crunch to it. But it wasn't just the lid that was crisp, for the sides and base of this pie were delicious and crisp too! I was glad this pie didn't fall foul of having a crisp lid but overly thick/solid base and sides, which have downgraded many a pie before! In fact, in terms of condition there was very little I could fault! The colour was also pretty much spot on.




Mother Mash Chicken, Leek and Ham Pie

Onto the content and the chicken pieces were both large and tender. I couldn't really have wished for better chicken, with the only query I had being the distinct lack of leek and ham in this chicken, leek and ham pie. I only spotted one piece of leek and little ham. Sure, those who know me well won't be surprised I thoroughly enjoyed the heavy bias to chicken (I'd go as far as to say a 90-10 split in favour of chicken) but I’m just saying that I was expecting the mix of flavours in my pie. Capacity was very strong though and thoroughly enjoyable.

Mother Mash Chicken, Leek and Ham Pie
Score: 6.36/7 (RAS)

Mother Mash Steak and Ale Pie

Pierateer TJP - who also incidentally brought his own Pierate mug to the occasion - opted for the steak and ale pie, with a creamy mustard mash and farmers gravy. When the pie arrived, I couldn't help but admire its beauty for a few minutes. The colour was practically faultless, and the condition that the pie arrived in could not be bettered. It charmed us all with its rustic authenticity. Diving in to the pie with a knife and fork, I could truly recognise the quality of the pastry, the crunchiness of which was impervious to the onslaught of bacon-flavoured gravy.

Capacity wise, this pie packed a punch. Perhaps the Mother Mash chefs had been shoving extra steak in to the pie for the Pierateers (hence we all try to keep a very low profile to avoid recognised...apart from the T-shirts of course), but either way it was jam-packed to the rafters with big, quality chunks of steak. My initial reaction on opening the pie was that the content looked a little dry - but then I remembered the enormous pool of gravy around it! It seems that the pie is used as a vehicle on which you can eat the mash and gravy. Had I eaten the pie alone, I perhaps would have complained that it was a little dry and needed more gravy. But as a dish here at Mother Mash, where the pie is complemented by heaps of mash and gravy, the pie is not at all dry. The steak was melt-in-the-mouth and not chewy. The cheapness of the pie was another 'plus point', although you can get cheaper pie, mash and gravy elsewhere in London. The ale-ness of the pie was lost a bit among the mash and gravy, so I didn't really notice as much richness of the ale as I have in other steak and ale pies. However, this pie was delicious and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending that you try one as soon as you can.

Mother Mash Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 6.40/7 (TJP)

At £8.95 this is a very reasonably priced pie for top quality pie and mash in central London. While they specialise in mash (hence the name), we highly commend the pies! They fully deserve their place in the Best Pies in London Restaurants list and here's hoping they open a Birmingham branch in the near future!

p.s. We had our just desserts at Mother Mash to! Check out our pie review of the Mother Mash Cherry Pie.

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Hungry Joe's pie review for Steak and Ale and Chilli Beef Pies

Joe 1 and Joe 2 (aka Pierateer RAS and Pierateer TJP respectively) had the pleasure of trying two Hungry Joe's pies, which were a new addition to the ASDA pie section.

Joe 1 (aka Pierateer RAS) opted for the Hungry Joe's Steak and Ale pie, while Joe 2 (aka Pierateer TJP) slammed a Hungry Joe's Chilli Beef pie in the oven.

Watch the video below to see what happened when the two Pierateers sat down to rate their pies!


First of all, let's start with the objective facts. The pies cost £2.48 each, slotting these pies in at the mid-range price point. While they were clearly aimed to serve one person, these pies are still quite large - weighing in at 320g.

Hungry Joe's ready for eating

Joe 1 (Steak and Ale): The puff pastry lid was nice and golden, and it was a pleasure to be able to pick up the pie without cutlery (see video for evidence). There are a growing number of pies for which picking up and taking a bit is not possible, so were were glad to see that Hungry Joe's was going back to basics with a pie that you can pick up and munch on. This was a very strong positive. The filling was relatively good, with tender meat but slightly gristly and chewy at points. The ale gravy was very apparent and complemented the pie well, with a good capacity.

Joe 2 (Chilli Beef): Hungry Joe's had me hungry for pie. I was nearly as hungry as Joe after watching my pie cook (from frozen) for 50 minutes in the oven. But boy, I was glad to finally pick that pie up with my hands and start eating. As you can see from the video, it was quite hard to tear myself away. Definite plus points are scored by ability of the pie to hold itself together despite me picking it up and mauling it with my hands. The pastry was a lovely golden brown colour after it came out of the oven, with a nice caramelisation to the lid. This is a decent sized pie, although £2.48 is still fairly pricey compared to other supermarket options. The filling wasn't anything particularly impressive. Although the box promised that the chilli would be "fiery hot" and used an icon of three chillis to really strengthen this point, the pie was actually not that hot at all. Overall, it felt a bit as if someone had taken some reasonable chilli con carne and encased it in pastry. The end result was a bit wet and sloppy. However, it did taste fairly nice, and the puff pastry was of good quality. There was not much air in the pie, giving a very pleasing air:filling ratio. The pie was large and the capacity was very generous.

And the scores?...

Hungry Joe's Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 5.33/7
RAS

Hungry Joe's Chilli Beef Pie
Score: 5.09/7
TJP

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When I was invited to review a gluten free pie for the pierateers I was shocked but very excited! I had never tried a gluten free apple pie before!! So my review is based on a comparisson between what I remember apple pies to taste like before I was diagnosed as a coeliac four years ago. Just seeing the box of gluten free pies put a big smile on my face (with the exception of the supermarket name).



Prior to opening the box, I was expecting a crumbly mess of broken pieces of apple pie - because gluten free pastry does NOT hold together. To my surprise, this was not how I found the four gleaming pies. Not even a crumble had dislodged. See picture below!!

The colour was great, and the top was sprinkled with a little sugar - just the right amount.  My first bite filled me with joy and yet slight shock of the slightly fake apple taste, which I had forgotten is an element of the classic apple pie. I quickly got over this and was blown away by the amazing pastry. There was no air gap beneath the lid (which is the classic sign of a cheap pie). I think that the filling, could have had a higher proportion of apple pieces to apple syrup and the syrup was slightly rubbery. None the less, I would definitely buy this pie again and recommend to fellow coeliacs. Coming in at around £2.00 for four pies, this is a competitive price given that gluten free foodstuffs are normally twice the price of a branded product. 

Colour = 6
Consistency = 6
Content = 4.5
Capacity = 6
Cheapness = 5.5
Chewiness = 6
Condition = 7

Tesco Gluten Free Apple
Score: 5.86/7

ALE

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Paul's Pies - Chicken and Mushroom Pie Review

I was quite excited to finally get my hands on one of Paul's Pies. My fellow Pierateers TJP and RAS have both been impressed by the Oxfordshire based team. TJP went as far as to send Paul's Steak and Guinness pie to the top of our Pie Rankings. With over 225 pie reviews pierate.co.uk is surely the world's leading pie review website and we have in fact reviewed pies all over the world. So I hope that you understand what being top of our pie rankings really means for Paul's Pies. It means that Paul is producing some of the best pies in the world. Hence I was pretty darned excited to get hold of a couple of these colourfully boxed beauties myself. One Chicken and Mushroom and one Steak and Guinness at just £3.50 each, similar in price to a premium supermarket pie. But would they really be as good as I was told or would they not quite satisfy my taste buds in the same way?


These pies look fantastic, the crimped pastry edge and the letter denoting the flavour are nice touches. However, I thought that this might have meant excess pastry which can often lead to dry pie syndrome. I was wrong though, Paul uses suet crust pastry which is so delicious and moist that I could eat it by itself. The pastry had a fantastically homely and satisfying taste because of the use of suet instead of the more traditional butter or lard. I put this down to the fact that suet has more saturated fat than any other common cooking fat. This pastry did however make the pies taste akin to a steak & kidney pudding which use suet pastry whereas pies usually do not. Paul has shown that this twist on a traditional idea is a stroke of genius, the pastry was gooey on the inside with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside.


Onto the filling, the cross-section of the Chicken & Mushroom pie shows that the content really did fill the whole capacity. There were great chunks of 'slow-growing free range chicken' and wonderfully tasty pieces of mushroom (I don't even really like mushroom much!). I was surprised to see that the chicken and mushroom were also joined by some crispy bacon, certainly a good thing in my book as it really developed the flavour, however, I would have expected this to have been advertised on the box.


The chicken wasn't just breast meat as is traditionally the staple in this country but also used dark chicken too. I think this has much more flavour and contributed to a wonderful taste to the filling. When combined with the suet (which reminded me of dumplings) I got such a nostalgic feeling eating this pie. I had a bit of a 'Ratatouille' moment when the food critic is reminded of his childhood by the perfect ratatouille. This was a pie which really did bring a smile to my face.


So in summary, Paul won me over, the Chicken & Mushroom pie was one of the best I have ever had. You can be sure that Paul makes some incredible pies when so many of us aboard the Pierate Ship love his pies. If only all pies were like Paul's pies.

Paul's Pies Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Score: 6.55/7

SJL

P.S. For me this pie raised the question of whether 'puddings' which are a filling enclosed in suet pastry could be pies. If it had discernible sides, base and lid I find it hard to deny that a traditional steak and kidney pudding would actually be a pie (while not denying its right to also be a pudding). Potentially a controversial statement?

P.P.S. So what did I think to the Steak and Guinness pie? Well that has already been reviewed by TJP, I can't rock the Pierate Ship, you will need to ask me to find out!

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Pukka Pies Microwaveable Pie Reviews: Chicken Balti Pie and Potato, Cheese and Onion Pie

The Earth spins on its axis. The sun rises. The moon falls. The sun falls. The moon rises. We're machines of perpetual motion, working hard all day, on and on and on to make money. Pounds. Dollars. Yen. Euros. Rupees. Stock market news wraps itself round shimmering buildings dressed in glass. Suited men and women hurry up escalators, down escalators, up flights of stairs, down flights of stairs. We rush to get to work. We rush to get out of work. We rush to make money, then we rush to spend it.

Pukka Pies' 3 1/2 minute pie

Chicken Balti cross-section

First thing that strikes me is, in my opinion, how dry this pie is. I need to wash each mouthful down with water. The pastry is dry (and deliberately so, I imagine, so that it doesn't go chewy and soggy in the microwave). The lack of gravylicious gravy makes the meat dry, and I find the bottom of the pie has a tinge of burn to it so that the pastry is a bit crispy and...dry. The chicken is actually fine otherwise - not too chewy - but I feel that there's significant compromises being made here so that the pie is microwaveable. I'm really not convinced that a microwaveable pie is what the people want, and certainly not if this is the end result. The balti tasted alright, I suppose. But there wasn't any richness to it, or any smoothness. I wanted to melt away with this pie, into exotic far-away lands. Instead, I had to keep sipping at my glass of water while desperately trying to find some gravy to dip my chips in.

Incidentally, I also found this Pukka Pies 3 and half minute microwaveable Potato, Cheese and Onion pie, also in the frozen section of the supermarket.

Pukka Pies Potato, Cheese and Onion microwaveable pie

The problem with this pie turned out to be quite the opposite to the chicken balti pie reviewed above. The end result of the microwaving process was quite a soggy pie. Examining the base of this specimen, however, it seems that I've managed to burn it. It seems quite odd to me how the crispiness of the pie differs throughout its various sections.

The overall taste of the pie was, in my opinion, quite strong in it's cheese and oniony-ness, to which my personal palate isn't suited. Perhaps you need to give this pie a go if you are a fan of cheese and onion, but since in my household the cheese and onion crisps are the last to go from the multipack, I'm not convinced that fans of cheese and onion do actually exist.

These microwaveable pies are certainly convenient, but I am personally finding it difficult to nail the cooking process. I have had a pie that's too dry, one that was a bit soggy, and one that was really quite soggy. Am I doing something wrong? Or should we all just stick to oven cooking pies in the future?

Pukka Pies Microwaveable Chicken Balti Pie
Score: 3.2/7
TJP

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Higgidy British Beef, Stilton and Ale pie review

Ah, Higgidy. We had a Higgidy celebration back in July, in aid of our 200th pie review. Back then we tried the Slow Cooked Steak & Red Wine pie, the Sweet Potato, Feta Cheese and Pumpkin Seed pie, and the Chicken Pot Pie with Ham and Leek. Today I'll be reviewing the British Beef, Stilton and Ale pie from the Shoreham-by-Sea company.

Higgidy Beef, Stilton and Ale Pie

The pie has no pastry lid

The lack of pastry lid to this pie is my immediate concern. We strongly favour pies that have a filling totally and wholly encased in pastry (have we ever mentioned that before...?), so the omission of a lid here is guaranteed to lower the final score. This also detracts from the colour of the pie, as I often assess the pastry lid for a rich pine colour. Here, despite cooking the pie for the allotted time at the allotted temperature, I appear to have burnt the potato topping slightly. However, the condition of the pie is good.

The inside of the pie

 Moving on to content now - and this is where this Higgidy offering starts losing points rapidly. As I cut the pie open, I noticed something very strange about the filling. Therefore I separated out all the pastry and mash from the steak, ale and stilton filling, and was very disappointed with what I found. Have a look at this close up of the filling:

This was all the filling

This photograph - apart from a few bits of gravy still stuck to the pastry which I couldn't scrape off - is the entire filling of this pie. I haven't included the potato mash here, because that is technically the lid. As you can see (or perhaps not quite so clearly), the chunks of beef are few and far between. Most of what you see here is gravy with some fibres of beef swimming around in it - there are a couple of small chunks of beef at the top of the photograph. This was extremely disappointing and not what I would expect from a premium beef pie. If you're expecting a big meat feast with this pie, then think again. For those who like their meat pies with meat in, this might not be for you. I could have probably eaten the entire filling here in one large spoonful. Is this a sign that Higgidy isn't ready yet to compete with the big carnivorous players?

That fact aside, the filling was actually delicious. There was definitely a fairly strong taste of stilton. I know for some people this will be a big negative, but for use fans of blue cheese, this is definitely a 'plus' point. Good on you Higgidy! Be brave with the stilton taste! Big flavours. Just need to be bigger on the chunks of meat.


Overall, at about £3.50, this was priced at the premium end of the supermarket pie spectrum - but the quality is clear. The meat (when it was there) was not chewy, and the pastry was great quality. It loses points for no pastry lid, a lack of filling and a lack of beef in the filling, and also it is slightly expensive.

Higgidy British Beef, Stilton and Ale pie
Score: 5.17/7
TJP

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Pie Review of Mr Kipling Lattice Apple Pies






Mr Kipling Lattice Apple Pies

As for the taste itself, you won’t probably find it a surprise to hear that the apple lattice pie was very similar in taste to the Mr Kipling Apple Pie reviewed before. However the lattice lid was a bit lighter in taste than the full short crust topping. The apple was not at all chewy and very flavoursome, complementing the short crust pastry well. While it was disappointing to see Mr Kipling pies turn away from the full pastry encasement of their filling – something we at www.pierate.co.uk are strong advocates of – it was still a very nice pie and the slight lack of top crust pastry did little to put me off buying this pie again (not that I had to buy it this time!)


Score: 6.14/7

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Self-confessed celebrity pie fans

Barack Obama - After watching this video you won't be debating whether he loves pie - you'll be debating whether he can stop talking about pie. However, it seems that Obama has an affection for sweet dessert pies - many of which aren't actual pies, like pecan pie or sweet potato pie. Does Obama also share the same love for fully encased pies?

Warwick Davis - We're not sure if Ewok's are into pies, but delighted that Warwick Davis is! He was making a pie on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch and tweeted us about his love of pies:

Hey @pierateers, I LOVE pies! My Mum once made me a pastry pie because I like pastry so much. It was a little dry, if I'm honest. #DryPie
— Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) February 16, 2014

@pierateers Creamy chicken and mushroom pie (but no skanky bits of chicken please).
— Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) February 16, 2014

Miranda Hart - Miranda posted a message on her Twitter account stating her love for Higgidy pies. We enjoy them too, Miranda!

David Beckham - Rumour has it that this footballer is about to kick-off a pie-and-mash venture with Gordon Ramsey. And here's some more proof of Beckham's love of pie-and-mash.

Best selfie possible pic.twitter.com/PKfvDjAoLr

— TONY'S PIE AND MASH (@TonysPieAndMash) May 14, 2015

Chris Evans - looks very happy to be around these pies (BBC), and more evidence of Chris eating pies (BBC). Also his blog post here confirms his love of apple pie (BBC). Evidence enough for us!

In July 2015 Chris was seen munching on Dee's Pies while planning the scripts for Top Gear!

Keri-Anne Payne - Keri-Anne tweeted us to tell us she loves a good pie! Fortunately the Team GB Olympic Silver Medallist in the 10k Open Water event has found the right blog to help with her pie selection!

@pierateers @wajon68 @BritishBakeOff @BBCTwo I love pies! Who doesn't?
— Keri-anne Payne (@KeriannePayne) October 24, 2013

Jonathan Ross - Apparently Wossy likes a good Fray Bentos Pie!

@FrayBentosPies ha! Thanks. I do like them!
— Jonathan Ross (@wossy) November 6, 2013

Celine Dion - The biggest selling female artist of all time loves...PIE! Here's what Celine said in the Metro Newspaper recently - and she didn't even have to "Think Twice"...

So @metrouk are straight in there with the important qu for @celinedion - Do you never think "I'm going to stay home now & cook some pies?"
— Pierate (@pierateers) November 8, 2013

Of course the legendary @celinedion replied "Me? Yes!" - Yet another pie fan for our #CelebrityPieQuest! What's your favourite pie Celine?
— Pierate (@pierateers) November 8, 2013

Graeme Swann and Toni Duggan - It appears there was pie banter a plenty going on between England cricketer Graeme Swann and women's footballer Toni Duggan recently. No shame in being a pie eater! That definitely deserves a place on the #CelebrityPieQuest!

“@Swannyg66: @T_Duggan great figure for one who munches pies all through the show! pic.twitter.com/tbx1zEHyKJ” Stitched up!!! #PieEater
— Toni Duggan (@T_Duggan) May 17, 2014

Zara Dampney - following on from a number of other Team GB Olympians, it's great to hear Zara loves a good pie too!

@pierateers MetroUK but I certainly do like a good pie!!
— Zara Dampney (@Zara_Dampney) August 19, 2014

Alistair and Jonny Brownlee - once again following in the footsteps (and swimming strokes and cycle tracks) of a number of other Team GB Olympians, it's great to hear the Triathlon superstars love a good pie too! Wonder if they'll ever do a Pieathlon one day?!

Thanks for the triathlon pie @Walkerspies does this mean we have to eat it, in 3 sittings? We'd prefer just 1. pic.twitter.com/sULfAATq2M
— Jonathan Brownlee (@jonny_brownlee) October 2, 2014

Dan Walker - Having spoken to the man himself, when he's not got his focus on the football, Dan's got his eyes on the pies! He pie rates the pies at Kidderminster and Forest Green Rovers!

Suspected celebrity pie fans

John Cleese - ordered a batch of Pieminister pies during a visit to Bristol (pieminister.co.uk)

Julie Walters - enjoys the Chicken of Aragon pie from Pieminister (thisisbristol.co.uk)

Keira Knightley - enjoys the Chicken of Aragon pie from Pieminister (thisisbristol.co.uk)

Dannii Minogue - enjoys the Heidi pie from Pieminister (thisisbristol.co.uk)

Kate Moss - seems to be quite a pie fan considering her waifish figure. Pieminister claim she loves their pies (pieminister.co.uk) and also Square Pie say that their spinach, sweet potato and goats cheese is her favourite (squarepie.com).

Moby - is a judge of the vegan category at 5th Annual Good Food Pie Contest (blogs.kcrw.com)

Damon Hill - says regarding Mayfair's Windmill Pub: "I had the world champion steak and kidney pie and (as one to another) it was well worthy of the title"

Do you know any others? Leave a comment below or join the discussion on Twitter using #StarsAndTheirPies.

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London Pie Reviews - The search for the best pies in London

Pierate is a pie review website where we rate pies of all kinds: sweet, meat - we aren't fussy! See our best pie rankings for the full list!

Many people will visit our nation's capital and wonder: what's the best pie in London? Never fear, we have eaten all the pies already (well, nearly) and can point you in the right direction. By London restaurant pies we mean anywhere that serves a pie which you can eat on the premises. Of course there are also countless take-away options.

The EDF Energy London Pie

Our top recommendations for the best pies in London are below, so click on the pie flavour to see our review. 

You'll note that Piebury Corner is the current top recommendation for their pie deli on Holloway Road. But there are also plenty of fantastic options in central London. If you are taking a stroll along the South Bank why not grab a pie from Pieminister at Gabriel's Wharf? Their pies are now available all over the country but this fantastic setting only adds to the enjoyment.

For an old fashioned pie and mash experience in a relaxed restaurant setting, Mother Mash and Battersea Pie Station are highly recommended. These provide a modern take on the timeless classic. Or why not try the original thing? L. Manze in Walthamstow have been serving traditional pie and mash since 1929 and little has changed since then.

For a more formal meal then the The Windmill, Punch Tavern, Newman Arms and Porters all have very good ranges of pies in 'gastropub' type settings. The Windmill and Newman Arms both have dedicated 'pie rooms' in their restaurants. Particularly recommended for its obsession with the pastry product is Porters English Restaurant. If you are looking to celebrate, you can push the boat out with Bob Bob Ricard who offer the most extravagant pies we have come across, one of which contains Champagne!

Of course, London is also full of a wide variety of pubs. A number of the Fuller's Ale and Pie Houses have been visited and they do an impressive variety of pies in addition to a unique house pie in each establishment.

There are also fantastic pies available throughout the rest of the UK and we recommend you check out our full pie rankings page to see the list of every pie we've ever reviewed!

Best Pies in London Restaurants

Rank	Pie Producer	Recommended Flavours
1	Piebury Corner	Venison and Red Wine or Lamb and Veg
2	The Windmill	Steak & Kidney
3	Pieminister	Chicken, Ham, Leek and Cheddar
4	Mother Mash	Chicken and Mushroom or Steak and Ale or Chicken, Leek and Ham
5	Punch Taverns	Chicken, Tarragon, White Wine and Wild Mushroom
6	Battersea Pie Station	Steak and Kidney
7	L. Manze	Traditional Minced Beef
8	Canteen	Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek
9	Bob Bob Ricard	Chicken, Mushroom and Champagne
10	Porters English Restaurant	Minced Beef, Pea & Red Wine
11	Square Pie	Chicken, Leek and Wiltshire Ham
12	Fuller's Ale and Pie Houses	Steak and Fuller's Ale
13	Young's Pubs	Steak and Young's Ale
14	M. Manze	Traditional Minced Beef
15	Putney Pies	Beef Bourguignon

Pie Producer	Location
Piebury Corner	Islington, N7 8DL
The Windmill	Mayfair, W1S 2AZ
Pieminister	South Bank, SE1 9PP or Farringdon, EC1N 7TS
Mother Mash	Nr Oxford Circus, W1F 7QZ or The City, EC3A 4AA
Punch Tavern	99 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1DE
Battersea Pie Station	Covent Garden, WC2E 8RA
L. Manze	Walthamstow, E17 7LD
Canteen	Baker St, W1U 8EW or Spitalfields, E1 6DW
Bob Bob Ricard	Soho, W1F 9DF
Porters English Restaurant	Covent Garden, WC2E 8QH
Square Pie	Spitalfields, E1 6BG, Westfield (White City & Stratford)
Fuller's Ale and Pie Houses	Various inc. The Melton Mowbray, Holborn, EC1N 2LE
Young's Pubs	Various inc. The Old Ship, Hammersmith, W6 9TD
M. Manze	Tower Bridge Road, SE1 4TW
Putney Pies	Putney High St, SW15 1SL

Please note, whilst it was a pie favourite due to having a pie room, the Newman Arms is under new ownership and no longer serve pies.

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