Review 5: Hartland Pies & Scotch Eggs

Well it’s been a little while since I did a review! Three months actually… oops. I wasn’t sure if people were keen on the reviews, but a friend of mine said that she liked reading them because they read like I speak, which was frankly just a really nice thing to hear. Please enjoy this extremely belated review mate.

Anyone who knew me towards the end of my year in Germany probably knows that one of the things I truly missed the most about the UK was a good solid pork pie. I spent days craving pork pies and being completely unable to satisfy the craving. Turns out Germans don’t really know what a porkpie is, and I think they are missing a massive trick, but all I could do was wait to eventually come back to England and be greeted by pork pie upon pork pie. Some of my friends even went to local farm shops to get me specialty pork pies for my birthday. The pork pie love is strong.

As you can probably tell from the photo, I went to the Hartland Pies & Scotch Eggs stall just before Christmas. Santa’s elf was extremely friendly and lovely and she had plenty of pies to keep a Northerner in the South happy. So many different porky fillings to choose from and everything sounded just delicious. Hartland Pies is, unsurprisingly, a family run business that the Hartland family have been running from their Nottighamshire village for over fifty years. Plenty of time to figue out what makes a good pie!

All the fillings for their pies come from local farms and each pastry is made specifically to suit each pie, very much NOT a one pastry fits all kind of deal. Their passion for pies really shines through in their product and I cannot recommend a pork pie to any other homesick Northerners enough.

I eventually chose the pork and black pudding pie (£3), which was amazing. I love black pudding. The pastry, the pork pie filling sandwiched between two thick pieces of black pudding, and all the gaps filled in with that delicious pork pie jelly? Incredible. Exactly what I needed to sustain me until I could get back up to Yorkshire for Christmas. Just gorgeous.

Review:

Item: Pork and Black Pudding Pie, £3
9/10 for taste, 6/10 for cost (I’m a stingy Yorkshire lass, what can I say?). Will buy when homesick.

Hartland Pies & Scotch Eggs (King’s Cross) Details:

Hours: Wed-Fri: 10:00am-6:00pm

Address: Kings Cross Square, in front of the station, along Euston Road N1C 9AL

Website: http://www.hartlandpies.co.uk/index.php

Review 1 - The Pie Hole (The Pie Room), Holborn

Last week was my "last" day at the office (contract got extended. I'm still here, but didn't know that until after lunch), so I thought I'd treat myself to a very nice, quite spendy treat to celebrate. I have been walking past the "Pie Hole" at least twice a day on my way to work and every single time I have been intrigued by the sights and smells that come out of the small service window.

The Pie Hole is the service window attached to the Rosewood Hotel's Pie Room on High Holborn, just a two minute walk from Holborn tube station. The menu at the Pie Hole is limited, with the option of just 5 pies, a sausage roll, scotch egg or pate en croûte and sides of gravy and creamed potatoes. The limited menu means that they can really focus on doing the things they do well. And oh do they.

 The idea was spearheaded by Executive Head Chef Calum Franklin, who remarks that he is "obsessive about pastry". The passion for pastry really shows through. The glass front to the Pie Room means that you have an unhindered view of the pastry chefs at work, rolling out pastry, filling the pie moulds. They truly make pastry an art. It's certainly not cheap, but it’s an experience.

The Pie Room is certainly a high end destination, and the way they present themselves clearly gives an impression of luxury. It's certainly not cheap, but for an extra special treat these pies fit the bill. The packaging is lovely, and each pie comes with cutlery, napkins, a menu and is wrapped neatly in greaseproof paper.

The pie itself was amazing. 10/10. I got the chicken, girolle & tarragon pie and can highly recommend it. The flavours were perfectly balanced, the pastry was beautifully flaky and it was just gorgeous to look at. I also got a side of gravy, for an extra 50p, and it was some of the best gravy I have ever had. In total this cost me £9.50, pretty steep, but worth it for a special occasion.

If you have an extra special occasion on its way, you can book the Pie Room as an exclusive dining room for up to 10 people. The kitchen that you see by day is transformed into a unique dining room, where you can enjoy a 3 course meal by Calum Franklin. And if you can't get enough of Calum, he also does 2.5 hour long Pie Masterclasses that you can book a place on. 

Review:

Item: Chicken, Girolle & Tarragon Pie with gravy, £9.50

10/10 for taste, 6/10 for cost. Would get again, but only for a really special treat.

Pie Room Details:

Hours: Monday - Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Address: 252 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EN

Website: https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/london/dining/the-pie-room