Dinner in a Doll's House

If there are two things in life we love one is tapas and the other (being British) is pies.  So when we heard about a new pop up called Pie Tapas (@pietapas) safe to say we were 110% game.  You may wonder what sort of people would think of something that from the outset may seem like a bit of a random idea.  The answer..... two bored chefs from Yorkshire on holiday in Magaluf, now all of a sudden this idea does not seem so random.

We ventured way out East to The Dead Doll's House (@DeadDollsHouse), Hoxton to mingle with the cool kids (of which we are not).  This quirky, charismatic bar is tucked away in an unlikely warehouse building on Hoxton Square and has a lot to offer.  From the minute you walk in the door it feels like a cross between the mad hatters tea party in Alice in Wonderland and a stately home. With such a unique feel, well stocked bars and roof terrace on the 4th floor, what is not to love?!


 The menu consisted of 6 savoury pies

• Duck and rhubarb
• Lamb, apricot and cumin
• Spring chicken, leek and tarragon
• Rabbit, bacon and mushroom
• Roast celeriac, parmesan and hazelnut
• Goats cheese, puy lentil and roast beetroot

1 desert pie

• Apple, earl grey and orange zest

3 side dishes

• Long stem broccoli with garlic and walnut
• Braised red cabbage
• Lemon dressed chantenay carrots

For the price we paid (£15) we could have a selection of 5 pies and no sides or 4 pies and 2 sides.  We opted for the later.  The food was nicely presented on slates with some chutney and gravy on the side.  Each pie had a little flag stuck in it telling us which was which, we thought this was a really nice touch. Between the two of us we tried all the savoury pies and sides.
The pies themselves were small however they were packed with filling and flavour.  The pastry was beautiful and the gravy really helped to bring all the flavours together.  The rabbit and roast celeriac pies were our favourite followed closely by the lamb pie.  The sides were on the whole good, the broccoli was garlicky and cooked really well with just enough crunch.  The braised cabbage was everything that braised cabbage could be and full of flavour.  The carrots had a nice crunch however we found the lemon dressing too overpowering.  We found that Camden Hells (@CamdenBrewery) and Hawkes Alcoholic Ginger Beer (@wearehawkes) went very well with the pie selection we chose.

This place definitely left us feeling enchanted and searching for more places that sell Hawkes Ginger Beer