Battersea Pie Station - Covent Garden (& Paul's Bakery)!

The sun is finally shining down on us after a bitterly cold winter, time for a nice long walk down Covent Garden to my favourite pie 'n' mash place.



The Battersea Pie Station is tucked away at the bottom floor of the Covent Garden market. You will find it located past a woman in an orange Mickey Mouse costume (obviously an unofficial Disney made one) and a stereotypical opera singer 'Pavarotti-ing' whilst making a balloon poodle! Expecting a somewhat fish and chip style place, Battersea Pie Station was very modern and stylish in a bright lit and white minimalist way. Clean and simple whilst making the pie the main attraction.

Although there is hardly any known history about the origin of this pie station, the pie itself was developed over time by the Egyptians and Roman from over 9000BC all the way to the Medieval and Tudor times. As it stands today the pie is one of Britain's most loved concepts, so much so that this pie station has appointed Ray Winstone as a worthy endorser of the steak and kidney pie. This is now officially called the Ray Winstone.

I have been here once before during the Christmas period where I guiltily ate little Rudolph in a delightful pie that had a peppered stencil picture of his face on top. Sadly we must wait another 10 months for that to comeback.

This time around I thought I'd go for a timeless classic, the steak and Guinness pie. Not the largest pie but an admirable size for a lunch portion including side orders such as creamy mash, red wine and herb gravy and even peas with mint and butter or baked beans.


The pie is well crusted and has a slight burnt edge which gives it the added crispiness and charred aftertaste. My favourite texture for a pie is when it is half crispy and half soggy after it's drowned in gravy. It is a filled pie as opposed to a top crust, the top crust itself is peppered. There was a fair amount of chunky meat, it was not shredded like a Greggs pasty. The gravy was much better than standard restaurant gravy, the herbs added greatly to the flavour yet the hint of wine was very faint. Fortunately the mash was not Smash or a recollection of the old school dinner days, the consistency was nice and thick and very smooth (although I like my mash lumpy, perhaps that should be a menu option).

If taking away, it is served in a plastic/cardboard type flat box. My only issue with this is that the flaps get in the way of being able to cut and scoop the food. The first time I came the gravy was served in a mini cup, this time it was poured all over the pie and mash. Considering I had a bit of a walk back to the office it did make the pie a bit too soggy. I would recommend asking for it to be separate.

The total bill (without a drink) came to £5.50 which I find a very reasonable price considering the quality of the meal.






As I came out of the pie station, I noticed this great little paella stand (£4-£6.00) with a giant pan full of bright yellow rice and a superb smell of saffron and peppers. As much as I really wanted it I didn't think I could manage it and then return to what would be a cold pie. However with that extra need for something to snack on later on in the evening, I took a trip down to Paul's Bakery (also in the Covent Garden area) for some bread and cake.





The olive bread (£2-£3) is just fantastic, nice hearty and wholesome stone baked bread in a pretzel style shape with chunks of olives on the outside and whole ones in the middle. The bread is lovely and soft and is definitely not one to miss out on. There is a piece missing here as I ate some on the way back!

For dessert and to snack on for the rest of the day were a bag of 10 chouquettes for £1.30. These are absolutely awesome, very soft and very addictive. Not bad for the price either. They are mouth sized and not tiny little ones, although keep these as dry and cool as possible as mine got a bit sticky in the bag with the pie.

Paul's bakery also does very nice French style sandwiches, pizza slices and a superb Le Fraisier cake (individual £3.50, whole around £12-£15). With fresh strawberries, green marzipan and vanilla cream. Highly recommended!


THE VERDICT:


Battersea Pie Station: 5/10: Friendly staff, short waiting time and very the price is very reasonable with regards to taste and quantity. Atmosphere is quiet and personal with a noisier outside seating area for Covent Garden's entertainment.

Paul's Bakery: 6/10: Great choice and range of cakes, bread and sandwiches. Quite pricey but the quality is well maintained and the coffee is also matching quality. Can become very busy but that is always a good thing. I have been to many of these outlets including Richmond, Kingston, Chelsea, Holborn and Kensington, each one maintains it's high standards and helpful service.