When it comes to Cardiff pies, there are none more famous than the Clark’s Pie.
Established more than a hundred years ago in 1913 by Mary Clark, this family company is known across the city for their iconic oval-shaped minced beef pies.
From their last remaining shop on Bromsgrove Street in Grangetown, pies are distributed to fish and chip shops around Cardiff, where they’re a regular fixture in heater cabinets sat alongside saveloys and rissoles.
Nicknamed 'Clarkies' or 'Clarksies', the pies even have their own slang, with a ‘Clark's tash’ being the nickname for when you burn your top lip on the pie’s hot filling.
However, there’s also a second pie shop in Cardiff which is run by the descendants of the Clark family.
The Victoria Park Pie Company, which traded as a Clark’s Pie shop from 1931 until 2011, is run by Ceri Dutch-John, the great granddaughter of Mary Clarke. This Cowbridge Road East based shop was renamed more than 10 years ago to differentiate the two separate family businesses.
With two different outlets selling their own versions of Cardiff’s most legendary pie, I thought I’d try them both to decide which one is the best.
The plan was to order a hot large minced beef pie from each and see how they compared.
Here’s what I found.
Clark’s Pies
The shop
Located on a Grangetown street corner, there’s something genuinely historic about the look and feel of the Clark’s Pie shop. It wouldn’t look out of place as an exhibit in St Fagans.
The retro-feel continues inside the shop with its heater cabinets laden with baked goods, beige wallpaper and traditionally branded menu.
The price
£1.65 for a large pie. It’s a bit of a bargain really.
The appearance
With its classic oval shape, the pastry lid had a good golden brown colour and a slightly rough looking texture. Once removed from its foil tray, a 'Clarpie' stamp was barely visible on the bottom of the pie.
The taste
The proof is in the eating and it was a very tasty pie. Thick, crisp, and slightly crumbly pastry was well-filled to the brim with hot mince in gravy.
Thankfully the pie had cooled slightly on my journey home so I didn’t end up with a Clark’s tash.
However, I did find all of the pastry a touch on the stodgy side and I think the mince would have benefitted from a lighter touch with the salt shaker.
Victoria Park Pie Company
The shop
The outside of the Victoria Park Pie Company has a much more contemporary look with a colourful logo featuring an illustration of Mary Clark.
However, the shop’s interior has a colder, more minimalist feel than the Clark’s shop and a less bounteous pie display as the hot items kept at the back of the shop.
The price
£2.30. It’s 65p more expensive than Clark’s but I still think it’s good value for a large pie.
The appearance
Another appetising golden brown colour, the oval Victoria Park Pie was topped with an edible rice paper label celebrating the company’s more than 100-year history.
The pastry had a smoother appearance than Clark’s, which I think made it look more appealing.
The taste
Deeper filled with mince in a darker coloured gravy than the Clark’s Pie, a cut through revealed that it had thinner pastry walls too.
Taste-wise this was another lovely pie. The pastry was light and crisp and the warm mince in thick gravy had a good meaty and peppery hit.
Final verdict
These are both very good classic minced beef pies and are real Cardiff institutions which are well worth checking out.
However, it was the Victoria Park Pie Company’s lightness of pastry and more balanced seasoning on the minced beef which edged it for me.
But, at 65p difference in price, I can imagine many people’s loyalties will still lie with the cheaper and more famously named Clark’s Pie.
If you’ve tried pies from Clark’s and the Victoria Park Pie Company, then please let me know which one you prefer.
I really hope this doesn’t cause as much controversy as when I pitted Dorothy’s against Tony’s.
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