Reviews

Pieminister in Bristol review scores a 5 out of 5

Posted on: 2015-04-13

Pieminister, then, is still the reigning master when it comes to pies, not just in Bristol but all across the country. Packed with quality ingredients, faultlessly made and with a flavour-filled sucker-punch to the tastebuds.

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In life, there are few things quite as deliciously satisfying as a hearty, well-made pie. As a nation, we've got something of a predilection for these pastry-entombed edibles, be it steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom, or even the classic Melton Mowbray pork variety.

While those are just as popular as they've always been, Pieminister has unquestionably upped the pie making ante over the past few years. In fact, owners Jon Simon and Tristan Hogg's pie making crusade, which began in 2003, is now synonymous with excellence and quality, and you can traipse around many a restaurant and pub up and down the country to find Pieminister's sensationally made offerings part of the menu. 

From the beginnings on the festival circuit, the business has expanded exponentially and now has restaurants in St Nick's Market and Stokes Croft in Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Oxford, Stoke on Trent and even Amsterdam. Stick that in your meat-filled pipe and smoke it when it comes to impressive expansion.

I went for lunch where the whole shebang began, at their restaurant in Stokes Croft. With wooden tables, exposed brickwork, tongue and groove panelling and exposed filament bulbs, it ticks the boxes when it comes to the contemporary look for many a modern restaurant and has a relaxed, comfortable vibe. It also has an upright piano which I enthusiastically went to play but was just as enthusiastically dragged away from by my other half. (My musical talents are so under-appreciated.)

My Heidi pie - Somerset goats' cheese, sweet potato, spinach and red onion - was served on a fluffy pillow of exquisitely creamy mash potato, accompanied by a small boat of gravy. The delicious, thick, all-butter short-crust pastry gave way to reveal the perfectly cooked, unbelievably tasty contents. It's a balance of flavours that works incredibly well, all of them bouncing off each other in a complimentary fashion without feeling like a raging, tormented battle on your tastebuds.

My partner went for The Free Ranger - free range British chicken and ham with leek and thyme - and was equally awesome and eyeball-rollingly, ecstatic groan-inducingly good. Again, perfect crust, perfect combination, perfect flavours fusing together in one blissful gastronomic made-in-heaven marriage. She opted for skin-on chips rather than mash, and they were impeccably cooked, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. 

Pieminister is the only nationwide pie company that uses 100% free range meat and eggs and this, along with the irrefutable quality of all the ingredients, speaks - or rather tastes - volumes.  Some of the names of their pies can't help but raise a smile, such as Kate and Sydney, Moo and Blue, and Fungi Chicken. They also have a range of lighter pies which add up to less than 440 calories each, always good to know if you're partial to the occasional pie indulgence but keeping a beady, watchful eye on your waistline. 

You can wash them down with one of the local craft beers, ciders or gins, but my Fentiman's lemonade was sweet and sublime and more than did the trick.

Pieminister, then, is still the reigning master when it comes to pies, not just in Bristol but all across the country. Packed with quality ingredients, faultlessly made and with a flavour-filled sucker-punch to the tastebuds you won't get from any other pie, this is a superior product of a firm British favourite.

5/5

Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol.
 

 

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