Eats
Where to find the best pies in Greater Manchester
From traditional meat and potato pies, to bacon fat brioche pastry barms, bone-in lamb shank pies and bottomless pie brunches, we've got you covered.
Georgina Pellant -
7th March 2023 
Ok, ok, we all know that Wigan is roundly considered the birthplace of the best pies in Greater Manchester, but other boroughs need good pies too, and we’re here to give them what they want.
As northerners, we appreciate a pie any time of the year (or day, for that matter), so we thought we’d do you all a solid and point you in the direction of some of the best pastry-encased treats in and around Greater Manchester.
From buttery puff pastry to dense shortcrust boys, flaky filo, suet crusts and more, here’s where can find some of the best pies in Manchester city centre and beyond.
Don’t ask us to put them in order, it’s too hard.
Where are the best pie places in Greater Manchester?
1. Galloways
Yes, we know we promised pies from other boroughs but we’re still starting with a few Wigan gems. It had to be done.
First founded in 1971 by Ronald and Patricia Galloway, Galloways Bakery is something of a local pie institution. With pie choices spanning butter and onion, chicken and mushroom, chunky steak, hot pot and minced steak, and prices from just £2.30, it’s as cheap as it is delicious.
A solid favourite of The Manc team, we’ll quite happily drive over to Wigan to visit Galloways for a meat and potato pie with gravy. Most of the time it won’t even get home – we’ll just eat it cold in the car.
2. Baldy’s
Not an insult, that’s actually the name, we promise. Having recently shut up its Wigan shopfront, multi-award-winning pie shop Baldy’s is going through something of a change as they venture into dark kitchen life. The pies, however, thankfully remain as epic as ever.
Favourites include ‘The Big Jim’ — a combination of 14-hour braised beef shin, bone marrow, confit onions and smashed pistachio crumb (My. Word.) — and ‘Triple Truffled Cheese’, packed with cave-aged cheddar, double Gloucester, parmesan, caramelised onions, truffle, black and white sesame crumb.
Baldy’s also serves up some pretty famous Wigan Kebabs, or at least their version on the regional delicacy. We’re talking bacon fat brioche with marrow fat mushy peas, buttered mash, crispy shallots and chives plus Baldy’s signature gravy. Naughty.
3. Lord Of The Pies
Moving swiftly from Wigan to Cheshire East, the brilliantly named Lord of The Pies is up there with some of the region’s best.
Even better, they offer delivery: meaning you can get their hot, fresh, award-winning pies to your door with helpings of mash and gravy, peas and more. While they might not strictly be in Greater Manchester anymore (RIP that lovely Stockport spot), they still shop plenty out of their HQ in Macclesfield.
Choices include the likes of beef and stout, pork and black pudding, classic meat and potato; pulled chicken balti (this thing absolutely flies off the shelves), cheese and onion, chicken and mushroom and a very good vegan pie.
Boxes start at £28 for six and Lord of the Pies also collects for The Christie Charity, ever since pie maker and owner Oliver Doyle was diagnosed with a very rare genetic illness. Pie fans are encouraged to donate when buying a box.
4. Ate Days A Week
Although its Manchester pie cafe turned out to be a rather short-lived affair, fortunately, the same can’t be said for the popularity of Ate Days A Week‘s pies, which continue to sustain a solid fan base across Greater Manchester.
Now available from the kitchen at Bask in Stockport and served by the bucket load on matchdays, their award-winning pies are amusing nods to hit songs — two perfect examples being the three cheese and bone marrow burger sandwich, ‘Live Forcheddar’, and the 2021 British Pie Award winner, ‘Pie of the Tiger’.
Don’t mind if we do.
5. The Bay Horse Tavern
Nicknamed ‘Horsemoor’ when it reopened thanks to the new interior’s striking resemblance to the Deansgate steakhouse, classic British pub grub is the order of the day at The Bay Horse – pies included.
On the main menu here, you’ll find all the classics: steak and ale, cheese and onion, mushroom and leek, as well as a chicken, bacon and spring cabbage concoction that sounds delicious. All of these come served with a choice of mash or chips and lashings of gravy.
Did we mention on Mondays they do a pie and a pint deal for a tenner? We can’t think of many better ways to start the week.
6. Patel’s Pies
Ex-scaffolder Steve Patel worked in construction for 18 years before venturing into the food world with Vaso Kitchen. Quite the sea change.
Then, in the midst of the pandemic, he decided to launch his own pie brand, combining traditional northern pie techniques with flavouring tips and tricks learnt from his Indian dad. The results are pretty incredible.
You can find Patel’s Pies at multiple sites across Greater Manchester, including A Taste of Honey and the Makers Market in West Didsbury, as well as The Butcher’s Quarter in Northern Quarter.
7. Fraser’s Butchers
Pies might typically be the domain of bakers but let’s not forget the contribution of butchers too.
A long-standing Bolton favourite, this family-run butcher has won big at the British Pie Awards as well, taking home silver medals for a traditional pork pie as well as their unbelievable pork, turkey and stuffing pie called ‘The Huntsman’.
They also won a bronze award for their meat and potato pie, which sits on the menu alongside many others such as the cheesy chicken and leek, Ploughmans, and the classic chicken and mushroom.
8. Pieminister
On the shelves in your supermarkets and available as a sit-down scran in various spots around Manchester, Pieminister is, as the name suggests, all about proper pies.
Pies here come in every shape and form, including the healthier option of having one of their delcious filo options. There’s even a pie bottomless brunch, a.k.a. our idea of heaven.
Simply walk in, order the pie of your choice, and have it piled high with mash, Yorkie puds, carrot and swede mash, baby garlic and kale roasties, pigs in blanket, pork scratchings, heaps of gravy and more. Just perfect.
9. Great North Pie Co
Winners and now judges at the Great British Pie Awards, multi-award-winning pie favourites Great North Pie Co specialise in classic flavours like Lancashire cheese and onion, roast chicken and mushroom, and 14-hour braised beef.
With a newly opened cafe at KAMPUS in Manchester city centre, head down for your fill of butter pies, suet puddings and what genuinely might end up being one of the best pie experiences you’ll ever have.
In case you’re not full convinced of just much our office loves this place, you can always read our review HERE.
10. Idle Hands
For some people, the best pie in Manchester is a sweet one and if its a pastry encrusted dessert you’re after, Idle Hands is up there with the absolute best in town. As you can see, there’s always a hearty selection on – with plenty of choices for vegans as well as veggies.
Think passionfruit cheesecake pie, rhubarb and blood orange pie butterscotch meringue pie; malted milk brownie pie, key lime (we make silly noises whenever we eat this one), cookie dough; Earl Grey, Bakewell, and everyone’s favourite, the classic cherry pie.
Sit in and enjoy a slice at the NQ cafe or order a whole pie to your house. No judgement here, honest.
11. The Black Friar
As part of its recently relaunched pub grub menu, The Black Friar in Salford has a rotating menu of pie specials and they’re all utterly decadent.
This revamped old-school boozer boasts cosy settings and a selection of tall, hand-built, homemade pies, making it a must for Greater Manchester pie fans. Get ready for this: spinach and wild mushroom, duck and orange, lamb tagine pies and even a BONE-IN lamb shank pies (yep, that one on above).
Just ask your server for the daily special and know you’re not prepare for this level of deliciousness.
12. Pie and Ale
A longstanding Northern Quarter favourite and a Manc institution at this point, Pie and Ale deals in all the classics. Steak and ale, three-cheese with onion marmalade, Korean BBQ pulled pork, Singapore curry — you name it, they’ve tried it.
Wild card options, meanwhile, include a Sunday roast pie (only available on Sundays, duh), a wild boar sausage bean and cheese pie, as well as a bulgogi pork pie with Korean pork belly, miso, soy, ginger, peppers, coriander and gochujang, but they’re always changing things up here. That’s why we love it.
Washed down with its wide range of on-tap ales and wines — all from a pretty affordable price for town, might we add — it’s a perfect city centre pie-stop off. Ask anyone who’s been and they’ll tell you the exactly the same.
13. H.M. Pasties
Last but not least is H.M. Pasties, set up by former prisoner Lee Wakeham in 2018, which offers a lifeline to those in need of work experience after leaving prison. Using ingredients from local prison farms wherever possible, the bakery makes delicious Cornish pasties and pies.Inside the underground Manchester noodle bar serving Chinatown’s spiciest scrans
H.M. scooped up four gongs at 2022’s British Pie Awards, winning the vegan category overall with their chickpea curry pasty and taking home a silver award for their legendary cheese and onion pie.
The bakery also scored two bronzes for their traditional Cornish pasty as well as a creamy vegan leek and mushroom pies that is to die for. The story behind this place alone makes it one of our favourites.
Read more:
- Hunting for Manchester’s best kebab with buses and a BIG lunch
- Inside the underground Manchester noodle bar serving Chinatown’s spiciest scrans
- The best places for breakfast and brunch in Manchester
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Feature Image — The Manc Eats
