We roll out some of Manchester's tastiest pastries
Let's talk about some of our favourite pies in Manchester (and nearby).
While we don’t want to bang on about pies indefinitely, we do want to precisely express their value. So consider this article the square root of pies. Whatever their circumference and diameter, these pies are filled with good stuff, made in the local area and available for takeaway or delivery now.
Ate Days a Week
All the dish names at Stockport’s Ate Days A Week are puns relating to songs; sometimes really excruciating ones but that’s all part of the pun fun, isn’t it? On that note, all their pies are christened ‘Pie of the Tiger’ but are thankfully filled with less-endangered meaty fillings like steak & ale, tandoori chicken and (our favourite) lamb, potato & mint. They also do a mean butty.
From £5.50 a pie / 8 Vernon St, Stockport, SK1 1TY
Beehive Food
Founded in 2013 by brothers Ross and Owen Parker, Beehive's range of pies and other savoury snacks are available from various outlets (and pubs, when they open again) across Greater Manchester. You can get them delivered from Eat Well MCR’s marketplace (along with loads of other great stuff). With the aim of bridging the gap between pub snack and fine dining, there's a tarka dahl pie with yellow split peas, caramelised onions and spices in turmeric pastry, a classic pork pie with minced pork shoulder, smoked back bacon and grated Bramley apple in cider jelly and a Homity pie with cheddar, white onion, potato and vegetarian parmesan. Buzzin'.
From £3 a pie / 376 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LY
Claire Market Chef
Claire ran the wonderful cafe at Smithfield market for years but sadly had to close it in 2019. Not just any market cafe, she treated the lucky market workers to brews, banter and brilliant food made using the freshest and finest produce from the market. She also hosted sensational supper clubs. Having popped up elsewhere with supper clubs last year when rules allowed, she’s now online with dinner kits, desserts and pies. Choose from Moo! Steak and Ale, Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, Veggie Roast Pie or, our favourite name by far, Oozy 9cm (triple cheese and double onion). You can add mash, peas and gravy too.
From £6 a pie / online only
Great North Pies
We first came across GNP at a little farmers' market off Deansgate almost a decade ago. From occasional pop-ups, this home kitchen startup now has permanent homes all over Greater Manchester at places like Altrincham Market and has won nine categories at the British Pie Awards. During lockdown in 2020, it answered our prayers and started doing nationwide delivery of its straight-sided, deep-filled pies. Created alongside producers from around the North West, fillings are classic but made using the finest local ingredients. Think Swaledale beef mince and onion, Dewlays Lancashire cheese and white onion or roast chicken and ham.
From £16 for four pies / Unit 2a Deanway, Manchester Rd, Wilmslow SK9 3HW
H.M. Pasties
Using ingredients sourced where possible from local prison farms and gardens, HM pasties are hand-crimped in Manchester. Their aim is to create sustainable employment for people with criminal convictions, 'bringing out their talent and stopping their lives from being wasted'. They also offer an employment programme helping provide people with the skills and confidence to find fulfilling work and enjoy a crime-free life. Their pasties and pies include classic cheese and onion, jerk chicken, and chickpea curry. They even do a ’make your own‘ pasties kit.
From £2.50 a pie / Alma Works, Rasbottom St, Bolton BL3 5BZ
Holland's
With plenty of trendy, experimental and luxury pies covered, we couldn’t leave good old Holland’s pies out of the party. Established in 1851, Hollands is one of Lancashire's oldest pie makers and it continues to move forward having recently launched a vegan roll and expanded its veggie range. Families (and gannets like us) will be pleased with the new, frozen, family-sized pies too. They serve four generously. You’ll find Hollands in classic chippies like Wrights and on supermarket shelves.
From £1.10 a pie / Baxenden, Accrington BB5 2SA
So guys we've added another yummy variety today.... Pau Bhaji Pie😊 Available at bothAshton & Chorlton Lily's😊 #vegetarianpies #vegetariansmanchester #veganfoodies #pie #paubhaji #lilysvegi #lilysdelichorlton
Posted by Lily's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine on Sunday, 24 January 2021
Lily's Vegetarian
Lilys might be known for multicoloured sweet treats and some the best vegetarian and vegan Indian food in Greater Manchester (if not the UK) but did you know they also do pies? Well, now you do. Choose from fillings like Bombay potato and paneer bhurji or try their latest creation, the pau bhaji pie; based on the classic Indian street food of thick, spicy veggie curry usually served in a soft bap and reimagined into a pie crust for the people of Manchester. The only downside is that Lily’s don’t deliver - yet.
From £2.50 a pie / 75-83 Oldham Rd, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7DF
Parkers Arms
We make no secret of how much we love Parkers Arms. It’s one of the best gastropubs in the North thanks to its elevated comfort food, made with love and passion by Stosie and the team. Since lockdown, the pub has turned to delivery with hampers featuring its famous pies - unsurprisingly proving a sell-out success. With fillings like Bowland beef & mushroom in beef fat pastry or wild garlic, potato & Lancashire cheese and all kinds of game (when in season) it’s no wonder they’re in demand. Sign up to the mailing list to be in with a chance of nabbing one of the next lot of boxes when they're released.
From £55 for a box to serve two with desserts, starters and sides / Hall Gate Hill, Newton-In-Bowland, Nr Clitheroe BB7 3DY
Patel's Pies
Founded by Steve Patel of Indian street food gem Vaso Kitchen, Patel's Pies are the newest on our list but are already the talk of the town since they launched out of new indie grocery store Bernie's in Heaton Moor a few months ago. Steve's combined the Indian cookery his dad taught him with pastry expertly made by Pollen alumni Beth (partner of Will France who owns Bernie's) to create a modern Mancunian take on a classic. Pies come in three flavours: lamb keema, desi chicken and aloo matar and you can pick them up from Bernie's as well as Groceries & Beer in Sale, Stretford Food Hall and Nordie in Levenshulme. Keep an eye out for collabs with local breweries if you want yours delivered.
From £4.50 / 3 Hawthorn Grove, Heaton Moor, Stockport SK4 4HZ
Pieminister
Not a northern company but with several outlets in Manchester, one of which scored highly from Gordo when he visited to review it. Pieminister make pies for the home kitchen as well as selling them hot and ready to eat from tiny restaurants all over the place. If you're in a need of a hot pie with mash and gravy, pronto, you can order one from Deliveroo across Greater Manchester. There's something for everyone but the ever-expanding vegan range is particularly impressive with everything from Mock a Doodle (tofu 'chicken', smoked garlic and white wine) to Evergreen (spinach, kale & edamame pie with garlic & ginger). You can order a palette of 12 plant-based pies (or their less pious alternatives) to be delivered by post as well.
From £6.25 a pie on Deliveroo / 198 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3NE
