Battersea Pie Station

British
Covent Garden

Confusingly, Battersea Pie Station is located nowhere near Battersea. It is based on the lower ground floor of the central Piazza in Covent Garden, hidden slightly out of view of the tourist hordes, but attracts a good crowd.

As you'd expect from a pie and mash shop, Battersea Pie Station is London to the core; perfect to help celebrate the upcoming diamond jubilee. Cockney legend Ray Winston appears on the posters and even has a pie named after him (unless they mean Winston Churchill of course...). Even the logo has the iconic four towers of the Battersea Power Station hidden within it.

If you've been to any major festival recently, you may recognise the brand as their mobile kitchen has appeared at various events, including Glastonbury, Reading, V Festival, Isle of Wight and Bestival, amongst many others. The Covent Garden shop is at present the only stationary location, but they do have a delivery service, so you can get Battersea’s delicious pies delivered directly to your office if you need to.

We sampled the free range chicken and bacon pie with mash and the vegetarian butternut squash and goat's cheese pie with mash, plus portions of minted garden peas, roasted vegetables and a rocket, onion and cherry tomato salad. The pastry on both pies was golden and flaky and melted in the mouth. The chicken pie had a rich creamy sauce while the squash and goat's cheese pie was silky smooth and deliciously rich. Food this tasty surely can't be good for us, but the fresh salad, peas and vegetables helped us feel healthy and, unusually for a place like this, had been perfectly cooked with care, and were easily as good as side dishes as you would find in far swankier restaurants.

Battersea Pie Station has a small number of seats to enjoy your meal in store, but a fair portion of trade appears to be takeaway too. It's a snug fit inside, with space limited but pleasant enough inside the iconic market piazza, and the staff are all very helpful and friendly. A real gem and probably one of the best pie and mash shops outside of the East End.

28 The Market, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 8RA

Average price for meal: £5
Food/Drink: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 4/5 

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