Pieminister

I’ve never had an English pie before. In fact, I’ve never really thought of pies as actually being all that great. Those frozen dinner pot pies were just not cutting it for me I guess. Obviously, I haven’t had much experience with legitimate pie operations. Pieminster is legit. They have an array of 10 or so different pies, perfectly sized with very deliciously sounding ingredient combinations. It makes it very difficult when it comes to choosing which pie to purchase.
We came on a random weekday for lunch, and the market area was almost empty. It was cold and I was more than happy to get some warm pie in my belly. The girl working there was friendly and helpful, offering suggestions and telling us about her favorite pies. We also opted to have our pie nestled on a bed of beautiful beautiful mashed potatoes. It was awesome. Every bite. You need a Pieminster pie in your life. ASAP.
I like the small communal tables with water, utensils and condiments readily available. The store is small, quaint and clean.
Try not to turn left out of the store when you leave like I did. We walked almost straight into a headless goat hanging from the ceiling at the front of the butcher shop next door. Fun.

Can’t go wrong with so many pie options! Veg, chicken, beef. Great mash and gravy!

Oxford’s covered market on a Sunday left much to be desired. Many of the shops are closed, and the market was basically empty which made it feel like a dying establishment. Half the shops were open and I was most excited about Ben’s Cookies and Pieminister. We ended up getting lunch at Pieminister. I opted for the chicken and mushroom pie which came with mashed potatoes, mushed minty peas, fried scallions, and cheese. It was one of the most British meal I ate, and for a really good price too.
As you’re probably aware, British food is notorious for being bland, and Pieminister was no exception. I’m truly angry at British food and I don’t think it has any excuse to be bland, but we’ll save that for another day. That aside, I thought Pieminister was a fantastic meal. The mash and mushy peas were really great, and the pie (though a bit dry), tasted great once you added some mustard for flavor. It was a massive amount of food, and I honestly couldn’t finish since I already felt like I was going to burst.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend Pieminister for one of your more British meal experiences that is cheap and pretty filling while at the covered market.
If you still have any room, stop by Ben’s cookies for their famous cookies.

Had the shamrock pie which was delicious. The pie was nice and hot with tender beef. I hope to go there again.

We stopped by for much needed warmth, refuge from the dreadful rain and much needed sustenance after the walking tour. We were wet, cold, hungry and generally miserable so anything delicious & soup based from here would really hit the spot. I had the Beef & Kidney pie with a cup of English tea. Man, I scoffed that meal down and was so ready for a nap, but alas, we had more walking to do because it’s Oxford after all. Thankfully, by that time the rain had stopped so that made everything better.

Popped in here on a day trip to oxford. While you could walk right by it within the busy covered market, the types of pie’s within the display window were intriguing enough and we decided to stop for lunch. While the interior is small and dark, with picnic style tables, the food more than makes up for the ambiance. My mom ordered one of the ‘lighter’ pies (feta cheese, butternut squash) and I opted for the chicken of arragon (chicken with bacon and tarragon). Both were absolutely delicious and I would love to return to try some of the other flavors! Service was quick and everything was reasonably priced.

This place has the best pies i have ever had! Pieminister is located right in the middle of the covered market and its totally a hidden gem in Oxford. They have alot of delicious hommeade pies for meatlovers and for vegiterians as well and they are both scrumptious! You can add sides to the pie like mushy peas (i highly reccomend this) or mashed potatoes. They offer to add gravy on top which the first time i got a pie thought it was weird but the second time i tried it a little bit and it totally complemented the pie!
They also have healthy alternatives and pies under 500 calories. I recently tried the «light as a feta» pie which was filled with butternutsquash, roasted tomatoes and feta and it was to die for. I got an order of mushy peas for a nice light lunch.
They offer table seating and they give you a fully glass bottle of water per table, which i thought it was really neat and every restaurant should have that. All tables had a full bottle as you walk in, and if it didnt, they had alot more water bottles by the counter for free! Definitely a good business model.

I’ve wandered past a number of Pieminister’s ‘posh?’ pie and mash establishments over the past year and it just so happened that my Oxford encounter coincided with lunch.
Pieminister is hidden away in the touristy trap that is the Covered Market. Its a surprisingly small place with a serving hatch for takeaway and room for about 10 – 15? people to be seated. It was clean and pleasantly decorated with a nice smell wafting around of warm pies.
My first disappointment was seeing how the various pies were named. Yes, Pieminister about 15 years ago it MIGHT have been trendy to called your Steak & Kidney pie «Kate & Sidney» but NOW its not hip its just plain cringeworthy… stop it!!!
I have to admit that the there was a wealth of pies on offer and it took me a good few minutes to choose. I ended up going for the previously mentioned «Kate & Sidney». Why? well to be honest its the granddaddy of pies in my estimation. If you can’t make a good Steak & Kidney pie then forget it.
Having placed an order for the full monty i.e. Pie, Mash, Mushy Peas, Crumbled Cheddar and crispy Shallot bits (yup, go figure on those last two!) I retired back to the pie menu to see what other pies took my fancy for a possible repeat visit… BIG MISTAKE!!!
The server placed my plate of food on the counter and it was like… W. T. F !!!
A splodge of mash sat in the centre of the plate the pie was then squashed into it and the rest of the food piled on top of it and finished off with a sprinkling of crumbled cheddar and crispy shallots. I didn’t know if I should eat it or save it to decorate this years Christmas tree! A fussy eating 5yr old would have loved it but for adults??? The cynic in me thinks its done to hide the various small portion sizes.
I managed to deconstruct the monstrosity best I could so as to be able to taste everything individually.
The main reason for coming here is the pie so starting there its glaringly obvious that this is a supermarket style pie. Being cynical I’ll bet the shops are just a super lucrative sideline to flogging the pies in Tesco’s et al. I like my pie crust bottom to be soggy with wet filling which would be death to pie that needed to sit on a supermarket shelf for X time. What I got was a thin ‘compacted’ pastry which was OK but meh. The biggest suprise though was the filling as it should have been called CARROT with a bit of stake & kidney on the side. Filling was the dry sort rather than the leak out over the plate type. Taste was OK but had an odd sweetness to it. Had to search for the kidney!
Mash was pretty annomous was expecting a bit of butter in there but nope. Was suprised at the smallness of portion considering the price and potatos are as cheap as chips. Gravy reminded me of my childhood visits to my Grandmothers errrrr onion flavor Bisto anyone? Good sized portion of mushy peas which had the right texture and thickness BUT for some reason somebody in head office has mandated that they stick an industrial sized bag of sweetner into ever portion which to me made it almost inediable. The minty ‘flavor’ also tasted unnatural.
Cold deep fried shallots and about a months worth of Cheddar cheese crumbled on top was just plain wrong if you get asked just say NO!!!
To sum up I won’t be dashing back but I won’t be avoiding it either. You dont have to scratch too hard to find its corporate soul.

Delicious! I can’t remember the name of the one I had but it had beef, chorizo and olives. It was fantastic. The potatoes and gravy were great too.

If you like savory (or savoury) British pies and good service, you’ll love Pie Minister.
I’ve had about 4 or 5 different pies there, and they’re all delicious. It’s worth the extra fee to get the pie hot (vs cold), and the mushy minty peas and gravy are pretty good. Our out-​of-​town guests have always loved it.
If you go on Tuesday, they sometimes have a «Mother Load» special for £5: that’s a hot pie with mashed potatoes, mushy minty peas, gravy, and cheese (and I think fried onions). You will not leave hungry.
Oh, and they have free wi-​fi and water – everything you need for urban survival.
The employees have always been nice and helpful.
Three potential downsides/​problems:
1) The «hot» pies aren’t always heated all the way through. We’ve had to ask that a couple of «hot» pies be heated a bit more in the oven, because they were still a little cool in the center. Your best bet is to get whatever pie just came out of the oven.
2) Like most British businesses, the Covered Market (in which Pie Minister is located) is open at their convenience, not yours. (I.e., they open late and close early… and often.)
3) It’s packed in tourist season (i.e., any time other than the dead of winter).

Maybe it’s because I’m American, but I have never seen so many pies in one place at one time!
I was intrigued by this place because every time I would walk by its huge glass windows in the Covered Market, I would see piles of mashed potatoes, vegetables, and peas. Along with these golden, crusty, filling-​spilling-​out pies. Yum. Who says British food is bad? Give me an hour to change their minds!
There is a pie for everyone here… from spinach and goats cheese for vegetarians to classics like Steak and Ale. However, there are inventions like «Moo Moo Pie» (you can figure that one out), and «Mini Amigo Pie» with beans, butternut squash, and chilli. The «Matador» was an interesting one I tried with Chorizo, Beef, and a spiced gravy. My boyfriend loved it while I was less of a fan. To each his own, I suppose. There are delicious chicken pies like the «Cheeky Chick» as well as sweet pies, if you fancy!
It’s a chain so it’s not a whole new discovery but good all the same! Enjoy the gravy goodness!

Amazing pies, the PieMinister has a great range for you to try including a beef and chorizo pie! Very witty names for the pies, which I do like, and you can get each pie with mash, peas and plenty of gravy. A nice treat for lunch; however prices have increased and portions diminished a little recently. Still a good meal with the student deal, but otherwise would be a bit much for lunch!

Brilliant selection of interesting pies. Decent student discount meal of £4.75 for any pie and mash, but they’ve taken the mushy peas out of the deal recently. The indignity! It can be tricky to get a seat at lunchtime so have a Plan B in mind (like pretty much anywhere in central Oxford…).
The service is a lot less friendly than is typical in the Covered Market.

Absolutely brilliant pies — try the «mr porky» with peas and mash. Makes a great takeaway

These are honestly the best pies I’ve ever had in England so far! Not to mention the cute name — Pie Minister — so fitting in the town of Oxford. Even the pies have gorgeous names like Mr Porky Pie, Chicken of Aragon Pie and Matador Pie.
You can choose to have them served on a bed of mash and gravy with mushy peas — the only way to eat a pie. It’s big, it’s handmade and it’s delicious — what more can I say but get your butt down there and try them!