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Having started out as street food vendors back in 2015, Epic Pies finally launched its first bricks-and-mortar site at the end of last year. Was it worth the wait? Oh, yes. Inside, it’s bright and airy with a cute turquoise colour scheme.
Obviously, you come here for the pies, and pies you will get. There are three main ones to choose from: all are under a tenner and come with mash, steamed veg, plus gravy or liquor (a non-alcoholic savoury parsley sauce). For the swanky City, it’s cracking value.
We plumped for the ‘Eastender’. Burley and boisterous, it was generously crammed with a rich, peppery filling: braised pieces of steak alongside refreshing peas and carrots. The pastry was especially impressive. Golden, gleaming and crisp, without a soggy bottom in sight. And two circular scoops of mash did their job: creamy and hearty.
The menu also features a snack section, including the ‘epic pork pies’ (a bargain at £2.15 each), which sit royally on top of the counter in a glass box by the till. Ours was brilliant. Served cold, the top was crowned with a sticky, sweet red onion chutney, laden with crunchy pork crackling, tangy sweet pomegranate seeds and crushed pistachios. Again, it had a good amount of stuffing inside: fragrant, deeply flavoured pork.
But, hold it right there, because Epic Pies does some slightly lighter mains… tarts! The ‘marinara’ came with slivers of smoked salmon and chunks of mackerel, with a moreish, sharp mustard aioli. The mellow fish was lifted by hits of vinegary capers and fresh dill and, again, the pastry was on point: a crumbly, buttery joy.
It wasn’t all brilliant, though. While the entirety of the sweets selection is nobly made on site, the chocolate eclair we had was woefully average. Plus, service was a bit slow and it’d be nice to have some more innovative ingredient combos to rival those of that pork pie. Still, Epic Pies pumps out fantastic quality pies on the cheap. It is certainly an epic lunch.