Review: Friday Pieday at the Forge & Foundry, Camden

But do their pies impress Tim Sowula as much as his beloved Tapping The Admiral?

A bitter quitter will always remember the pleasure of an unplanned fag, so an unexpectedly phenomenal hot pie on a cold night can create a deep-rooted yearning for another.

Thus I’ll never forget my first Tapping The Admiral experience last year, when a downpour at Kentish Town West station sent us scurrying to the nearest boozer: the evening quickly blossomed into a triumph with the first incision into the golden suet and ale crust, its juicy insides tumbling onto a bed of mash. And thereon, what had been an occasional dalliance, turned into something more serious. I became a pie user.

So when upmarket live music venue the Forge and Foundry invited The Kentishtowner to explore their new pie menu ahead of their launch of ‘Friday Pieday’, I jumped at the chance. It also, of course, provided an excuse to go back to the Admiral, for research purposes of course.

If Camden still retains a slightly ragged live music crown, then the Foundry is the sparkling gem, bringing a Southbank feel to an otherwise well-thumbed strip of venues. Owned and managed by two local musicians, its impressive interior is designed by award-winning Camden architects Burd Haward specifically to host jazz and classical music.

And unlike most music venues that serve food, or restaurants that host live music, the Forge and Foundry manages to do both things very well, and is a top choice for intimate dates or large parties. But it’s never struck me as a pie place, so as restaurant manager Sam praised his delicious cocoa ravioli with wild mushroom and sage cream, or risotto with orange and fennel, I was intrigued to see what they would do to a more humble British dish.

We were invited to their kitchen to see the pies prepared, but my heart sank when the chefs produced bought-in puff pastry. Everything else was made fresh on the premises from high quality ingredients, but Sam maintained that in their relatively tight kitchen space it wasn’t worth the time and effort to make their own pastry. I would argue, however, that if you plan to rechristen a day of the week, it’s worth every effort to make your pies properly. And so the puff pastry was the first disappointment.

The second was the size of the pie. The Admiral’s dish stands tall in the middle of the plate; The Foundry’s pies were around half the size, and worst of all, no mash. A let-down because taste-wise, these pies were good. We loved the vegetarian spinach, mushroom and parmesan pie (main pic), and beef and mushroom, made using balsamic vinegar with a good helping of reduced veal to enhance the meat’s flavour, was delicious. The chicken and mushroom was rather dry though; and whilst the dishes were served with tasty onion gravy, it made the absence of mash evening more glaring.

We washed the food down with a fine selection of ales from the Meantime Brewing Company; but if the Foundry is trying to compete against the offerings of local pubs, then they could be doing more. A top pie needs a succulent, moist filling with at least three distinct flavours, wrapped in crisp but not too thick pastry, and with side dishes that complement without distracting. And you order pie to feel full.

For the same price, you can get a better, bigger offering from the Admiral and others in the area. The Foundry is a great venue for live music, and produces smart, tasty southern-Europe influenced dishes, but if they’re going for the pie crowd, then we – not to mention Desperate Dan – would be disappointed.

Words & Pics: Tim Sowula

And how did we rate the pies at Tapping The Admiral? Find our original review here