Eat My Words: We review Hobbson’s Pie Shop in Lincoln
It’s easy to spot Hobbson’s Pie Shop. Just look for the crowd of people.
I’m not sure I’ve ever made it up Lincoln’s Steep Hill without being greeted by a group of tourists hovering outside this narrow, beautifully decorated shopfront and staring intently at the menu like men used to as the football results popped up on the Radio Rentals screens at full time on a Saturday afternoon.
“Is it good?” one lady asked me as I passed her at the door. “I’ve heard it’s really good.”
At that time I was unable to give her the answer she craved so she could convince her son to dine here. But if she reads on she’ll hopefully know for next time.
When put together the words pie and shop conjure up, for me anyway, images of Mrs Miggins serving barely passable slop in the Blackadder series.
Thankfully Hobbson’s is nothing like that. There wasn’t even a disgruntled French aristocrat eyeing a suspicious-looking sausage lurking in the corner. That space was taken up by a family gathering and a very well behaved Dalmatian.
After being led through a plush looking entrance room we were shown a table in the main dining area, a gorgeous-looking thin space which fuses modern fittings with a decor fit for a raucous Georgian gathering.
The many beautiful mirrors - some with drawings, jokes, quotes and local info scribbled on in white ink - added width to this narrow room.
One daubing was an aptly round chart whose slices suggested - Agent Dale Cooper, look away now - any sensible pie connoisseur would always choose savoury over sweet.
Another, to my shock, revealed that this building used to be home to none other that Lawrence of Arabia, who took lodging here in 1925 while serving at nearby RAF Cranwell.
It was around the time he wrote the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, his autobiographical account of the Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire, the mirror continued (that sounded a bit Snow White, didn’t it?).
Leafing through the menu I skipped past the section nicely labelled Hobbson’s Choice - where the pie options included fish, chicken and shepherd - to the real reason I was here.
The shortcrust selection boasted all the familiar pie favouries - steak and Guinness, lamb, redcurrant and mint, venison, plus ham, leek and cheddar. Everything but four and twenty blackbirds.
But one selection I’d never considered could be stuffed inside a crust caught my eye; aubergine and pak choi (Chinese celery cabbage to us laymen), cooked in a miso ginger glaze and served with green pepper gravy.
As I doubt this combo will be popping up on the high street anytime soon I thought I’d best not miss my chance to try it out.
“Customers have told us this is the best vegan pie they’ve ever tasted,” our waitress told us, before offering me a choice of mash.
I went for cheese and spring onion - I promise this wasn’t a spiteful finger flipped at the vegans - wondering whether my meal choice was bold or bonkers.
“We lived always in the stretch or sag of nerves,” as Mr of Arabia may or may not have written in this very building.
While I had carefully considered my food, my son Connor - who didn’t need convincing to dine here - didn’t hesitate when he spotted sausage, mash and peas on the kids’ menu.
“The vegan pie,” declared a second waitress, delivering my food to me.
I totally understand why they present the meal choice like this, to ensure the non-meat eater doesn’t get an unsuspecting mouthful of steak, ham or shepherd.
But I wished they’d have named the dish as they placed it in front of me as this was not just some combination of stuff that was never sentient to appease a certain demographic, this was very much a meal with its own identity and deserved to be treated as such.
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Yes, Asian cuisine-inspired veg belongs in a pie about as much as ice cream belongs in sponge. But sometimes things that shouldn’t work just do. Marvellously so.
This was delicious, flavoursome, rich, filling and downright brilliant. As was the mash. As was the sauce.
A great pie. A great meal. And if any of the crowd outside Hobbson’s ever asks, you can tell them I said so.
Out of five:
Food: It pays to try something new. My pie was excellent and the mash superb. ****
Drink: We had a Coke each. Boring, I know. ***
Decor: Part Georgian drawing room, part modern restaurant. I liked it. ***
Staff: Extremely pleasant, helpful, attentive and presumably ridiculously fit considering the narrow twisting staircases they had to take regularly. ****
Price: The bill came to £32.75, which was for one pie (£17.20), the kids’ sausage, mash and peas (£8.75) and two Cokes (£3.40 each). ***
Have you had a great meal? Share your own Eat My Words reviews or tell us where to try by emailing: news@lincsonline.co.uk