In honour of British Pie Week 2018, we visited Flaming Galah's The Aussie Pie Stop.
Food
Following years of trips up and down Ber Street on a reasonably regular basis and reasonably regularly pointing at Flaming Galah's saying: 'What's that? That looks interesting,' I finally decided to actually look at what it was – and it turns out it's an Australian pie place with an exceedingly good reputation, ooo indeed! The menu is equally intriguing with lots of individually named pies with an array of fillings and a budget price of £4.95 for a 'bonza' deal of a pie, mash, mushy pies and gravy.
It all sounded too good to resist so one frosty lunchtime my friend Ellie and I turned up to see if it was all too good to be true.
We pre-ordered our pies online via Flaming Galah's Facebook page and 15 minutes later we were collecting them – only on arrival we found people practically falling out of the door. Considering this was day two of the heaviest snow fall I've seen in my lifetime, I wasn't expecting so much of a crowd. Luckily the queue moved quickly and as soon as we arrived at the counter our pies were handed over in record time.
The number one downside to pre-ordering as a rookie is that the menu I had read online didn't include The Vegan Tucker – a pie filled with Thai yellow vegetable curry promising a good kick of spice. The Vegan Tucker was everything I ever wanted and more, but sadly for me I'd already saddled myself to The Greek – a spinach, roasted red pepper, onion, garlic, black olives and feta cheese number. Despite being a little heavy on the feta and light on the red pepper, it was still enjoyable and packed a surprising amount of flavour.
Ellie had The Pom, which was very generously filled with creamy garlic chicken and mushroom, and combined with the gravy it had the right level of moisture. The chicken was good quality and well-cooked – not at all like the processed chunks of meat you get in some supermarket pies. There wasn't a mushroom in sight however so we think they must have been blended into the sauce.
The pastry on both was lovely, flaky yet substantial but not too stodgy.
The mash was unusually umami -tasting, a bit meaty, but we actually couldn't figure out what had flavoured it (we did really try!) It didn't taste like traditional mash at all and was by the far the show-stealer; it was seriously good.
I've been struggling to find a satisfying weekend takeaway indulgence in the city centre, and I think Flaming Galah's is definitely a contender.
Drinks
We didn't order any drinks but they had the usual cans you would expect in a take-away.
Ambiance
It's a pretty cool little place – there's a lot of heart and quirk for a takeaway.
You can technically eat in, there are a few seats available, and we had actually planned to stay but it was so busy all the seats were occupied so we opted to take away and eat our pies in the work canteen (fancy!)
Price
It's a total bargain! For the full works its £4.95 but there are variations on pies and sides, that all work out cheaply.
Service
Nice, funny and speedy. They seemed very organised and efficient.
Parking
The closest places to park would be John Lewis, Queens Road or Rouen Road car parks. There are spaces on the street outside but watch out for parking regulations.
Location
About midway up Ber Street, five or so minutes walk from John Lewis. It is slightly out of the way unless you are passing but it's worth the trip.
Highlight
The mash and general excitement about getting a takeaway pie. It was also really filling.
In Summary
It more than delivers for under £5! I think I ordered the wrong pie for a freezing cold day – my Grecian inspired number is probably better suited to sunny days but I was still impressed and Flaming Galah's is going to be seeing my custom regularly. Bring me The Vegan Tucker right now!
This is an independent review
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