Were Great Britain to select its top four national dishes – a culinary ‘Fab Four’, if you will – then we’ve got a pretty good idea of which meals would make it up. Of course, the Sunday roast and Full English would battle it out for the rival Paul McCartney / John Lennon roles. Fish and chips might get Ringo Starr’s drum kit. But it would be the humble pie – that stalwart of our culinary scene – that would be the George Harrison of the group. The quietest, but coolest, member. The one that can surprise the most.
OK, we’re being facetious, but you catch our drift – pies are a seriously important part of our foodie heritage.
A History of British Pies: From Roman Flatbreads to Festive Feasts
Like plumbing and roads, we’ve got the Ancient Romans to thank for our pies, having brought them here a few millennia ago. The first pies were flatbreads filled with meat and cheese, dubbed rather unsexily as ‘placentae’. Once word of them reached our shores, we added the crust top, made from flour and water, and the pie was born.
From the very beginning, pies were a hearty affair, and were essentially stews encased in pastry, with lots of meat, cooked vegetables and gravy inside. While they were a staple part of the working man’s diet – especially as they were easy to transport to the fields or the factories – they were also used by the chefs of the rich to create spectacles, like the famous one from the song ‘Sing A Song Of Sixpence’ with the live birds that are released. The 16th century was when sweet pies became a thing, largely as sugar was brought over from the New World – Queen Elizabeth I reportedly sampled the first ever piece of cherry pie.
The UK’s Regional Pies: A Tour of Pastry-Wrapped Perfection
Like our Sunday roasts, regional varieties abound too – from Cornish pasties to Wales’s cawl pie, everyone’s got their own take on the best kind of pastry or filling. Up in Yorkshire, you had the traditional pork pie, still associated with Melton Mowbray today, which is served at room temperature. In Scotland, they are partial to steak pies, which they have on New Year’s Eve in particular.
Then there are cottage pies and shepherd’s pies, which were made as a way of using up leftovers, making use of minced lamb or beef, vegetables and potatoes, with pastry eliminated entirely. And of course, mince pies, originally made with meat, but now only made from fruit – much to the confusion of our neighbours across the pond – are a Christmas staple
Where to Find the Best Pies in London: A Guide
So, where in London to get the best pies? Cubitt House pubs, of course. Head to The Thomas Cubitt for our take on the traditional shepherd’s pie, or The Alfred Tennyson to sample a classic chicken, bacon and leek, served with mashed potato. To take your pie education to the next level, may we direct you towards The Grazing Goat, where Head Chef Ben Tish has put his signature Mediterranean spin on the chicken, wild mushrooms and guanciale pie.
It goes without saying, our pies are served with lashings of thick gravy, because we were brought up well like that. With regular specials – including a seven-chef takeover for British pie week, it’s always worth dropping by to see what’s happening pie-wise.
Book your favourite Cubitt House pub and try one of our pies today. After all, you never regret the pies you’ve eaten – just the ones you haven’t.
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