Whilst in Bristol, one of the restaurants we were looking forward to trying out was Pieminister, located on 24 Stokes Croft in central Bristol. I ken there might be some readers thinking, “but what can you really do with a pie that hasn’t been done before?” Well, I was half-thinking the same thing. However, when Pieminister invited us to try their Festive Feast Menu, served during the Christmas period, our attitude soon changed.
The Festive Feast Menu
Pieminister’s Christmas menu is, for want of a better word, a bit of a cracker. I know, I don’t belong here with puns like that. Thankfully my taste is far, far superior. Either that or the pies were just good. On the festive feast menu at Pieminister, there was a fair pile of pies to choose from. What could be worse? I ordered the “Deer Santa” pie; packed fulla venison, bacon, and red wine. As a Scottish person, it would have been out with my acceptable remit to see venison in a pie in Bristol and not do my sworn duty. My better half-tucked into “The Cracker,” filled with turkey, ham, cranberry, parsnip, and sherry. Sherry baby.
Hungry Pies
Whilst we got considerably knee-deep in Pieminister’s pastry deliverables, we noticed that the table next to us had opted for less than festive pies, but looking lush nonetheless, such as the “Moo & Blue” – British beef steak & Stilton, the “Fungi Chicken” – chicken, portobello and chestnut mushrooms, and lastly, the “Mock-a-Doodle” – tofu ‘chicken’ with leek, smoked garlic, and a white wine sauce. Each of which looked just as inviting as the pies perched in front of us. Pieminister was dead cosy inside with the hearty food certainly mirroring the rustic, yet quirky, interior.
The desserts were kind of like mini pies too, I had the “Apple Pie” – vanilla ice cream with apple, caramel, and shortbread in a waffly casing of goodness while Miss V tucked into a good old fashioned sticky toffee pudding with ice cream.
Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip to Bristol short due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we’re coming back. Both to Bristol and to where the good pies go. Luckily for us and many of you reading, Pieminister has multiple restaurants across the UK including in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. All we need now is for them to expand into Scotland but nonetheless, Pieminster certainly gets our vote! Check out their menu here.
