A few years ago I thought it would be fun to make pies for a living. I made them for a restaurant and I made them using the owner’s secret recipes. They were brilliant recipes but sadly I was sworn to secrecy so I am not able to share the recipes with you. So when I come across a pie shop that makes their own pies I always get a bit excited. Because it gets me closer to my favourite thing in the whole world: pastry (well after Mr NQN 
).
Just off King Street in Newtown, The Pie Tin is housed in a heritage listed building. In the front is a large cafe area with separate tables and a large communal table made from a converted trolley. Ordering is at the counter which is where the selection of pies begins. I’m meeting my friend Christie from Fig & Cherry for lunch with her adorable bub Poppy and I go up to the counter to order. It’s a hard choice-we want to start with a savoury pie but we walk past the tempting display of fourteen sweet pies including a peanut butter and chocolate pie, coconut cream pie, cherry ripe cheesecake, American style sweet pumpkin pie, sour cherry pie, a massive apple pie and Oreo pie…oops there I lost myself for a second didn’t I?
But I’m trying to set a good example for Poppy who is eating her own version of carrots and risoni so we start with a savoury pie. There are several options with beef, lamb, pork, chicken and vegetarian pies with flavours like butter chicken, Moroccan lamb and hearty lamb and rosemary as well as a couple of sausage rolls and a Cornish style pastie. A pie meal with two sides on a metal plate is $10 and so we go for the Southern Style pork with apples and a beef & ale pie with potato based on a staff recommendation.
Poppy, just because I adore her
Vintage pie tins and pie funnels
There are four sides to choose from to go with your pie including mushy peas, potato mash, sweet potato mash and baked beans and I want them all but I also love chips and gravy so we have that with one and the sweet potato mash and baked beans with the other. There is also a choice of three salads but I honestly forgot about selecting them-truly! On a side table are house made condiments including a slightly textured tomato sauce and a bbq sauce. And while you’re choosing , behind the counter is a large kitchen where the chefs are preparing the pies.
Big Bertha $7.60
Because I tend to love anything either oversized or miniature I bought a Big Bertha beef pie to take home to Mr NQN. A stocky six centimetres high it is topped with buttery, flaky pastry and generously filled to the top with nicely seasoned tender beef mince and no gristle in sight.
Southern Style pork with apples BBQ sauce with chips and gravy $10
The staff had recommended this so I was eager to give this a go as they mentioned that the pulled pork centre is cooked for four hours until very soft. It’s sweet with cinnamon and apples and we ate this with relish and gusto. The fat chips, cooked fresh and light which is really the only way to eat fat chips are drizzled in gravy and this plate was a definitely favourite.
Beef and ale pie with potato and Boston beans and sweet potato mash $10
We didn’t mind the beef and ale pie-it was good, not great especially when compared to the pork pie above. The ale flavour is strong and the beef is nice, big and tender chunks. Christie comments that the potato topping looks a bit dry and it has a creamy sour cream flavour to it and it is baked so that it is crunchy edged on top. It isn’t one of those creamy whipped potato tops that you can get. The potato itself retains little chunks of potato which I don’t mind as it gives it texture and means that it’s made from real potato as opposed to powder. The Boston baked beans are flavoured with tomato, pieces of ham and a tangy vinegar whereas I’m used to molasses sweetened, smokey flavours of Boston baked beans. The sweet potato mash, also slightly chunky is spiced with grounds of black pepper.
Sweet pie display
Apple pie $6.50
“Do you feel like dessert?” I ask Christie. I’m hoping that she will say yes because I’ve seen the range of pies. I know that I need to get the sky high apple pie for Mr NQN because he complains that apple pies never have enough apple in them. They bring out a new apple pie while groaning under the weight of it. It looks to be about 45cms across in diameter and they tell me that there are 5 kilos of apples in it. And by George Clooney it is good! The sweet crust on top has a crunch from the sugar on top and the apples have an excellent texture to them with just the right amount of sweetness and yep it is just $6.50 for a slice of this gigantic pie!
Coconut cream pie $6.50
I ummed and aahed in front of the display for a few minutes narrowing it down to the Oreo, peanut butter & chocolate and the American pumpkin pie but the coconut cream pie just looked at me coquettishly and I ordered that. It’s a generous sized slice and once we sink our forks in we can’t help but finish most of it off. There is a bottom layer of vanilla custard and on top is a fluffy light, sweet layer that tastes like a fluffier marshmallowy textured buttercream sprinkled with toasted coconut. When the two layers combine together they are sweet and balanced and we end up mostly eating the filling from the pie due to an activation of the emergency stomach. The base is similar to a shortbready biscuit and it is served with a side of thick cream.
I leave with my two enormous slices of pie to take home – I need Mr NQN to do some housework so I considered this money well spent in bribes
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite type of pie: chicken, beef, lamb or vegetable? And do you ever use food as a bribery tool?
And did I mention that at every turn Poppy wanted to grab bits of the pies?
The Pie Tin
1a Brown Street, Newtown, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9519 7880
Open: Monday to Wednesday 9am-6pm
Thursday-Saturday 9am-8pm
Sunday 10am-5pm
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72 Comments | Add your own
That is what I call an apple pie! You can SEE the apples!
I don’t really eat pies (don’t remember the last time I had one), but I think I still want to go here, for the pulled pork and the mushy peas Mmmmm
Saving room for the sweet ones:)
What a great find, Lorraine! And very affordable too. Must take Pete, he loves pies!
Pies look great, and they seem good value compared with that you pay at the gas station. Now I am craving and its not easily available here.
I need to go there as soon as I get back to Sydney!! The pulled pork pie looks amazing!!
How wonderful are those red lamps and chairs!!!!
The Pie Tin is such a welcome addition to that end of newtown, and it’s thanks to them that my wife now knows what pumpkin pie tastes like. Just don’t make the initial mistake I did of assuming that their pies are little or eat-on-the-street-while-walking-friendly. These are serious pies to be sat-down-appreciated!
And my recent favorite from them is the mango chocolate popsicle pie.
YUM!!!
There is nothing quite like a good pie! These look amazing, I love the idea of the coconut cream pie!!!
We must have been on the same wave length as Mr GG and I found the best pies we have ever tasted yesterday!!
YUM
LOL on “forgetting” the salads
Ooooh that pork pie looks great. I pretty much love any pie.
Little Poppy is growing up! Very cute.
There are just not any great pie places near me. This one looks fabulous! What a cutie! So hard to pick just one favorite pie, but it wouldn’t have meat in it. xoxo Mum
What a great little shop! I love places like this that really care about doing one thing really,really well. The pies sound great- I so would have chosen the pork pie too- and I love you included photos of the Cutie Pie Poppy!
Food bribes are great, last night I gave my husband # tamarind soup mix, a new salt, and some special poached pears, this means on the weekend I will get veggie planting, roof fixing, and wall painting- he just doesn’t know it yet
Omg im so trying this place the next time im in Sydney:D
I love a beef pie.
I love a good chicken pie, the meat never seems to be tough, where as beef can be a bit chewy,and the “lid” can hide big chunky bits that can be difficult to eat daintily if you don’t have the benefit of knives and forks.
On bribery, I’d use food:) I get a lot of mileage out of a pavlova with my husband.
I am normally a beef pie girl, but that pork with apples really has me curious. The name of this shop is just perfect – love it. And Miss Poppy is adorable!
I use chocolates as a bribery tool.
I stumbled across this place a few weeks ago with a girlfriend of mine and they were just closing and we vowed to go back! I love the look of it and the apple pie OMG!!!!! Poppy is super cute too
Oh I’d never be able to pick a favourite pie, I love all pies, sweet or savory, either one will do!
What a gorgeous array of pies you had privy too, and what a gorgeous & sweet Poppy girl you have to love and adore.
I swear my mouth was drooling throughout your whole post. If I didn’t live so darn far away, I’d be at the Pie Tin in a heartbeat!
On my list thanks to you, I love pies, when in Tasmania I join the throng and make Scallop pies.Of course mine taste the best. By the way aren’t those French stools and chairs in just about every ‘cool’ place in Australia just now.
Dear Lorraine
Southern Style pork with apples BBQ sauce – what a great idea! I’ll have to serve my pork with apple-infused BBQ sauce next time! :>
Best regards
Ravel
Poppy is definitely cute but oh my god, the coconut cream pie looks just divine. Am about to go to bed but I know I’m going to lie awake all night longing for a piece of pie!!!
You made me laugh when you mentioned the activation of the emergency stomach. I’ll have to use that one!
I don’t discriminate between pies as long as the meat inside is tender and not fatty.
I wish I could use food as a bribery tool. I could certainly be persuaded to do things for certain foods.
I love a really nice pepper steak pie.
But that apple pie, well, I’d sell my soul for a piece of that! Its huge!
Great photos of Poppy, she’s too cute!
What a glorious pie shop, thanks for doing the leg work ( or should I say stomach work lol) for us Lorraine. “Activation of the emergency stomach”, hahah love that, you’re just too funny! I would have great difficulty walking past the sweet pies cabinet and choosing just one.
The savoury pies look great but I would have to take my husband there to scrutinise and judge the best, he’s a hard critic. His favourite being Beef and Burgundy pie with juicy chunks of beef.
Food as bribery…..always! hahaha
Love the pie tin. I had the chips and gravy followed by lime pie. So delicious and flavoursome.
Great article!
Food bribery is the key to any healthy relationship!
It is hard to go past my Aunties pumpkin pie. She has given me the recipe but it never works out, I end up with a swampy tasteless mess. I have even watched her do it and still can’t get it to work, I use a different recipe when I make pumpkin pie which impresses guests but still isn’t as tasty as my Aunts. If you aren’t using food for bribes then you are missing out.
I had no idea of this place, but probably because I don’t know where Brown Street is. Looks great though so I will definitely have a butcher’s next time I’m near there. Thanks!
Oh, hasn’t Poppy grown since your last pics! No wonder with a healthy carrot/risoni lunch
! Looks delightful! As you would guess I’m another one to avoid pastry/pies but, like InToleranChef, I do like a place to specialize in one thing and do it well. The pies do look ‘homemade’ and succulent and the value is obviously there. Favourite pie? – well, I may have a piece of the Finnish/Estonian open-top cabbage/onion/egg one occasionally 
! Bribery and corruption: yes, when adults are concerned, but never, ever with children: ‘if you eat your greens, you can have a piece of cake’ is simply bad longterm psychology 
!!
Oh I lived near newtown years ago, I’d love to revisit and go here!!!!!
When they first opened they also did chips with cheese sauce, but alas no more. I think we should start a petition to bring ‘em back.
I’m not the hugest pie fan. But these do look very good, not really in the same league as the ones form the bakeries around here. The pork pie looked particularly good even though I generally do not eat pork and the display of sweet pies looked amazing. I must admit when I was in the US I did gain a great appreciation for their creamy sweet pies. Loved the decor as well.
Get out of town, this place looks amazing!! I love everything about it. My favourite pies are beef burgendy….mmm chunky beef, really rich, & buttery flaky pastry. & sweet pies are fab too
Heidi xo
p.s. Poppy = far too cute to handle.
Oh I love savoury pies, especially if they’ve been made A. by me, so I know there are no dodgy ingredients, or B. somewhere like this place, which looks like a real find. And Poppy is gorgeous!
OMG – this looks like heaven! I will be definitely going there!! Thanks for another great find!
Oooh pies….. I love love love savoury pies!!!
I think I am a little morbid cos when i see a pie shop that makes their own pies I think of Sweeny Todd!
I’ve walked past this several times but never ventured inside. These look great, though. Now I’ll have to make the effort.
Firstly Poppy is a little chubby cheeked cherub she is adorable!! You must be her favourite Aunty?…
Now,I do love a good pie but it must be a “GOOD” pie. By that I mean it has to have tender chunks of meat in a lovely sauce/gravy that is for savoury pies. As for sweet ones they must be crammed with fruit in a natural (not overly sweet liquor)with a crunchy pastry top.I know I’m not asking for much!! These pies look especially good.. My favourite being chicken & Leek or corn…Sweet option apple of course or a combo of apple & pear….Yummo!!
Don’t freak out but….I dont like pies! Although that coconut cream pie makes me weak at the knees!
Big Bertha! I love it!!!
What an adorable place. I tell ya, pie is definitely the new cupcake, huh?
My absolute favourite savoury pie is Beef and Guinness hands down. I love pastry and pies and basically anything beefy cooked for a long time with wine or stout is sooooo divine. I actually have a small twist on my homemade chicken pie fillings: I use cornmeal, Masa Harina as the base instead of regular wheat flour, great for soups too and very good especially if wanting a gluten free option. Maggie Beer had done two good versions of gluten free pastry once. But if you know of one too Lorraine, that would be fab. Cheers.
When I saw the title I thought on apple pie…ja,ja,ja…I never imagine a sore with only pies, and saviry pies, but why not, if here in Peru we have a store with only “empanadas”.
By the was, Poppy is adorable.
I love a great pie. The pastry doesn’t always agree with my tummy, sadly, but I LOVE A GOOD PIE. And the little one is a sweetie!
I love pies! Love them. Probably one of my favourite desserts now. Like you, I am always impressed when restaurants actually make the desserts/pies themselves – unfortunately many places seem to outsource it and the result is mass-produced and uninspired…
Umm… YUMMMMMM! If only I were still living in Newtown and not the other side of the country! This will be on my list of must visit places for the next trip i think, and for now i’m just stuck with a mid-morning pie-craving!
The pies look so yummy,and Im on a diet!my favourite pie is a local yamba prawn and scallop, with a pot belly top,the best of a huge variety offered from our Pot Belly Pies shop.
Guess one wouldnt make too much difference on the scales!!!
What an adorable place! I love the variety of pies! Mouth watering photos! Lucky Mr. NQN!
*laughs and laughs* Oh, Lorraine! I saw the first photo and already was phrasing in my head my comment, which was going to be “Yeah, but do they have peanut butter pie? I don’t care about anywhere that doesn’t have peanut butter pie”, and then in one of your first paragraph… peanut butter pie.
I love. I love.
I’m doing a Homer Simpson over the thought of a pulled pork pie – genius!!
I’m with Mr NQN, that apple pie looks amazing!
Those pies look amazing! I love a good beef or lamb pie but I too would have to leave room for that coconut cream pie! It looks so good.
You had me at “peanut butter and chocolate pie”…
Pastry is one of my favourite foods, and my biggest weakness for saying no
Oh and I want that coconut cream pie too…
No trip to Newtown library is complete without a trip to The Pie Tin. Great incentive for the kids to get their books back on time….a slice of lime tart!!
I so want a pie right now (Insert Homer Simpson-esque drooling noise).
PS. Holy crap baby Poppy is cute! Those little chubby cheeks are adorable.
That coconut cream pie looks… just… incredible.
As for my favourite kind of pie, I think I like beef best, but that pulled pork one above could be the new winner!
OMG at this post – and to think we just had an Aussie-style beef pie for dinner over the weekend! I was sighing rather dreamily when I read about there being fourteen sweet pies on display; what a heavenly notion.
I’m definitely a beef-pie sort of gal, though the rest of my family hankers for chicken hand-pies. And I do resort to using food to bribe people. I learned the hard way that the promise of fresh-baked cookies gets certain jobs done.
Pies? What pies? Oh yes, yummmmmy pies ! Got delightfully distracted by Poppy – she is such a cutie!! Would brighten up any day – even a day without pies
You made pies for a living? I knew I LOVED you!
And I love this place. Can I move in?
There was a pie truck in San Francisco that served only pies. I still can’t get the steak gruyere pie out of my memory. Being from Nashville, where sweet pork is king, I would have opted for something else, but I have always thought a pie only place (like the food truck) would be awesome. Like you I am partial to anything with a pastry crust. Did you ever see that tv show, Pushing Daisies, centered at the Pie Hole…two people in love who can’t touch, cause everyone she touches dies. It was so quirky and always left you happy and wanting to eat pie.
I’ve walked past this place a few times, I must try it next time. I’ve never had a coconut cream pie so that’s definitely on my list!
Yum! Pork pie with apples?? Swoon. That is my kind of pie
The pics of pies look so delicious, it’s making me hungry!
I think red meat makes pies really hearty so I’d go for beef or lamb.
And yes, Poppy is very cute!
These pies look amazing, but it is Poppy that really shines. Adorable!
Chicken Pot Pies, as we Americans call them, are comfort food for me, reminding me of my youth.
Poppy is quite possibly the cutest thing ever!! Nawwww!
That pork pie does look amazing. Im getting a little excited lookign at all this pastry haha
Thanks for shouting me lunch darling! Poppy absolutely looooves her Aunty Lorraine
I love all pies…except those dreadful pot pies that just have a lid. Such a cheat not giving you pastry top and bottom!
“the coconut cream pie just looked at me coquettishly and I ordered that.” And that’s why I love reading your blog ma’am, such a way with words…
Oh my – how good do the pies look!?! i often get a craving for a pie…there’s just something about delicious flakey pastry surrounding chunks of beautifully cooked meat…
and the sweet pies…heaven! not sure how you didn’t eat all of them
coconut cream pie, majorly-stuffed apple pie, yum. that pork bbq pie, though, tops my list!
OOOOOOoooo YUM! they looked amazing! I’ve got to take my dad there! We’re a good ozzie family we love our pies. Our favourite was Dinky-Di pies before they sold up and now they are still ok but they don’t do lamb and rosemary anymore
our favourite!
Wow we are getting every kind of place you can imagined in sydney arent we?
So many pies and the serving size is quite generous! This strangely reminds me of Mrs Lovett’s pie shop in Sweeney Todd ^^
Oh my goodness this place looks amazing! Sweet pies are such a huge deal in America and you can find them all over the place, but it isn’t quite the same here.I love pie and this place seems like it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. My only problem is I don’t really see how I could go there and only try one type of pie, it would be completely impossible. Already im thinking how I’d love to try the sweet pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie and old favourite apple pie. Gosh, how will I ever get rid of my little tummy with places like this around!?
I absolutely love this place, and I am currently on my way there with my pie and savoury pastry loving husband. I think you encouraged me to skip the savoury bits and jump straight to the sweet things:) x
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