Toronto neighbourhood about to get traditional British-style pie shop
There's a new British-style pie shop on the horizon for one Toronto neighbourhood, but it's already made a splash.
Pie and mash, pasties and sausage rolls: could there be a better menu for warming oneself up during these dreary, bitter winter months? Chef Davy Love doesn't think so.
The force behind former Koreatown brunch spot The Bristol Yard and subsequent pop-ups Brick Lane Food Co. and Eastend Pie & Mash, Love could whip up a pie and mash platter that would fool even the most discerning of U.K. nationals in his sleep, and that's exactly what he's doing at his newest venture, a brick-and-mortar location of Eastend Pie & Mash.
Except for the 'in his sleep' part. He's very much awake on the job.
Marked appropriately by a larger-than-life Irn Bru can on the upper reaches of Leslieville, Eastend Pie & Mash promises to be the closest thing to a real-deal British pie and mash shop this side of the Thames, and it might just have a very legitimate bid at the title.
Specializing in — you guessed it! — pie and mash, the English and Scottish delicacy of savoury, meat-filled pies served with scoops of mashed potatoes and topped with gravy or parsley liquor, Love has plenty of tricks up his sleeves when it comes to making the staple dish his own.
Along with traditional pork pies, you can expect to sink your teeth into unique creations like Chicken Tikka Masala or Doner Kebab pies, alongside other offerings like Mac n' Cheese pasties, sausage rolls, Scotch Eggs and Sticky Toffee Pudding butter tarts for dessert.
Though the shop doesn't officially open until Thursday, Jan. 8, it's been soft-opened since late December, and those who've been lucky enough to tuck into a fresh pie while the shop is open have already been impressed.
The George Street Diner team, who were treated to an early preview of the pie shop, took to Instagram, proclaiming, "Finally a real pie shop in the city," with the hashtag #todiefor for good measure.
They're not wrong: shops devoted squarely to good, old-fashioned pie and mash are few and far between in this city, if not entirely nonexistent, so, while getting one at all is a major win, getting one that's actually good is even better.
Eastend Pie and Mash is located at 1031 Gerrard St. E.
@chefdavylove/Instagram
