pieminister

pieminister on church street, on the edge of manchester’snorthernquarter, over the road from affleck’s palace, is a pie shop that sells pieminister pies.

there are a lot of choices for lunch around my workplace in thenorthernquarter, but i get so busy and generally just grab a sandwich and work and munch at the same time. a bad habit that i am trying to break and focus on enjoying lunch in the future. feeling rather more peckish than usual, i wanted a little treat, something different from sandwiches.  i decided on pieminister since it is literally about 2 minutes’ walk from work. once inside i chose the pietantic fish pie which consisted of smoked haddock, salmon, pollock and prawns with a side order of mash. as the pie was presented to me without any sauce i was worried that it would be too dry, and i didn’t fancy gravy with my fish pie. i don’t usually go for pies, but this was actually the best pie i have ever had. it was not dry as the filling was moreish, with just enough sauce so the pie wasn’t swimming in sauce, and enough bite in the chunks of fish. the pastry was perfect too, freshly made and not too thick, just how i like m

i've been a fan of pieminister pies since first sampling the matator pie at pi in chorlton some years ago. (that's a lot of pies!). the heidi pie with goats cheese and sweet potato takes some beating and i really like the chicken of aragon pie too, so i was excited to try out the restaurant on church street in thenorthernquarter. inside is casual. exposed brick, school chairs, wooden tables. a few essential condiments. i chose the deerstalker pie (venison, dry cured bacon, red wine and puy lentils) and turned this into 'the mothership' with the addition of mash, peas, cheese, crispy shallots and gravy for only £7.95. i'm not sure the grated cheese was necessary but it did not detract from the overall taste and my enjoyment. although, this was huge and i almost had a stitch when walking home afterwards! i must try pie & ale @ bakerie soon too for comparison. 

i was the very first customer at the brand new pieminister today, banging on the door shouting ; i need pie let me in! i know pieminister pies very well, first i think at the big chill festival years ago, then at chorlton and altrincham bars pi . the inside is as you'd expect; that modern clinical slightly industrial look. turns out they have another branch at trentham gardens , near my home town, so many of the staff are well experienced, although thenorthernquarter is a very different clientèle. they have a good visible position there as well, just down from the crossroads where vinyl exchange is, and not too far from the arndale. i had some gourmet pork scratchings with apple sauce whilst i was waiting. these were good, crunchy, not too salty and tasted proper home made. for £3 though, i'd expect a few more to be honest. i also had to drink a fentimans dandelion & burdock, a perfect old school accompaniment to a pie i think. they had beer, but the choice was fairly limited