Chef's Pie - Chicken & Chorizo

The Verdict

The Angel & Royal's Chef's Pie changes regularly, and on our visit it was an almost Spanish-inspired chicken and chorizo pie, served with Koffman triple-cooked chips, carrots, greens and gravy. First things first: this was a proper pie. The pastry was pleasingly crisp on the outside, with thick walls that held everything together beautifully, while the inside remained softer and had taken on plenty of flavour from the filling. Most importantly, there was no disappointing gap when we cut into it. It was generously filled right to the top. The filling itself was tasty. The chorizo was very finely sliced and worked particularly well, giving plenty of flavour without dominating the chicken. The chicken was cubed, which we weren't entirely convinced by. We'd perhaps have preferred larger chunks of chicken fillet or pulled chicken for a little more texture. Then we need to talk about the carrots. Their inclusion in the pie troubled Tom slightly. In a Spanish-inspired chicken and chorizo pie, carrots felt more like they were filling space than earning their place. There was a solitary encounter with what appeared to be celery, no noticeable onion and, surprisingly, no peppers. With chicken and chorizo as the starting point, peppers seemed a more natural companion than carrots. Outside the pie, however, the vegetables were excellent. The carrots were very well cooked and seasoned, while the kale retained its texture without becoming stringy. The pie was served on a bed of vegetables, the plates arrived properly hot and everything was very well presented. The Koffmann triple-cooked chips were also excellent, particularly with the vegetables and the thick gravy. There was a generous little pot of additional gravy alongside the meal, too. The slight oddity was that the gravy appeared to be beef gravy. It was a very nice gravy, but pairing it with a chicken and chorizo pie left us questioning whether it was the right gravy. And that perhaps sums up the plate as a whole. The chips, carrots, kale and rich gravy worked extremely well together as traditional accompaniments to a good British pie. The chicken and chorizo pie was also very good. We just weren't completely convinced that the two belonged on the same plate. That's probably an inevitable consequence of the Chef's Pie changing regularly while the accompaniments remain largely the same. On another day, with a steak or traditional meat pie, we'd imagine the combination would be absolutely spot on. At £24.95, this is certainly at the premium end of pie and chips, but the quality of the cooking, generous portion and surroundings go some way towards justifying it. The Angel & Royal itself is a lovely setting: clean, welcoming and well presented. We finished with Ringtons tea and Stokes coffee, which rounded things off nicely. A very good pie with excellent pastry, plenty of filling and some superb accompaniments. Individually, there was a lot to like. As a complete plate, though, the Spanish-inspired filling and traditional British accompaniments weren't quite a perfect marriage. And we're still not sure about those carrots. Summary - FREE Parking. 1 minute walk away (get the code from the venue). City Centre location.