Pie and Ale meats Eat Bake Blog (Lever Street, Manchester)

Our trip to Manchester was born out of a nostalgia to see the 80s band A-ha in concert which of course soon became a food and drink adventure too.

We arrived in Piccadilly and headed to the northern quarter which is only ten minute walk. After consulting Google reviews we agreed that Pie and Ale was going to be our destination of choice; mainly for a cheeky ale but this developed when on arrival we were greeted by the wonderful aroma which apparently was the smell of their Croc Pie.   Between this and the visual impact of a great choice of cask ales and craft beers we were feeling very pleased with ourselves.

We were dining early that evening at San Carlo so we decided to have pie without the mash.  I was tempted by the Croc Pie but felt it would have been too rich for our early lunch.

Their range of beers started at 3.2% for those seeking a session to the Porters at 5% (anyone who knows me will appreciate which beer I chose). The staff are really friendly and helpful on sharing tasting notes of the beers.

The mesmerising beer wall.

We ordered our Pies (minus the mash as we are eating at 5 and it was already past noon).

David ordered the Hunters Pheasant at £11.95 which was crammed with wild pheasant breast, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, sherry vinegar, Jerusalem artichoke, parsnip and thyme.

I played safe and ordered the Steak and Yippee Ale Pie at £9.95 made with their own cask ale which was crammed with tender chunks of beef*, silver skinned onions,rosemary, garlic and flat field mushrooms.  I made the mistake of not reading the menu and rushing in as I am mycophobic (I do exaggerate but I really don’t like their flavour).  The filling was lovely tender juicy pieces of beef. The pastry was slightly overbaked or just too thick, take your pick – but overall the quality of the pie was good.

Our pleasure was further added to by the wonderful The Doves sounding out around the bar (Random fact:  I went to Wilmslow High with these lads and still think fondly of the ironic dedication to our former music teacher in the slieve of their first album)

It’s great to be home!

Drinks: we had Sonnet 43 (Durham) American Pale Ale 5.3%ABV;  wherever we have this wonderful zesty ale it is always great and continues to be a winner for us.    I opted for the wonderful Teleporter 5%ABV from SWB (Holmfirth); smooth and rich cocoa and vanilla flavours get me every time  and if you were not aware Porter fans this is now bottled!

Cost: Lunch and 4 halves of beer cost £24

If you love Ale and Pie then a trip here is a must.  You will find a great choice of craft/ cask ales and quality pies; with some more exotic offerings than you’ll find in your average purveyor of pies.

I only wish they shared the provence of their ingredients and cuts of their beef for us foodies *

If you like my blog then you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter under @EatBakeBlogGB

Louise x

EatBakeBlogGB

---