Al's world of pies #4 - The Pasty Shop (Bristol Templemeads Station)

One of the keys to a good pasty shop, is location. With the emergance of the 'urban pasty shop', such as Pasty Presto or the West Cornwall Pasty Co., then you find them popping up in the most curious of locations. For years, you were only ever likely to find a dedicated pasty shops in a small Cornish fishing village that was run by some crazy backward local from Mevigissy who had been up since dawn crimping her offerings with the traditional technique that had been handed down over generations. However, with these shops popping up in most unlikely locations (from Bath Abbey Square to Reading station), then anyone with an NVQ in Food and Hygiene can now be handed the responsibility of making a 'Cornish pasty'.

However the 'urban pasty shop' that taunts me most right now is the Pasty Shop that lurks in the subway at Bristol Templemeads station. With it's aroma that is more enticing than a KFC on a Friday night, the Pasty Shop is perfectly placed to lure travellers in to sample it's fine wares. Like a pastry siren, it tempts you with the smell of meat and pastry because when it comes to satsifying a hunger on that long journey are you really going to chose a visit to Dash Sushi, or a pasty?! I think not!

With 15 minutes to wait until my train to Bath, I was suckered in by just such a sensory ploy this weekend and though perhaps it should be documented in blog form. Now, unlike the previously mentioned KFC that offers much and fails to deliver on it's promise, the Pasty Shop actually makes some rather nice pasties. But I guess that should be expected seeing as Templemeads is the transport hub that acts like a gateway to the west. In this case I decided to sample their 'Big One' and was charged a very reasonable £3.49 for the privilege. The pastry of my big one, was firm and crunchy and inside a nice mix of well seasoned potato and meat was soon filling my hunger. Although a little mushy, and with not much in the way of solid chunks of meat, the claims on the bag that this was '100% Pure' seemd slightly misleading as it was hard to tell just what you were eating that was 100% of anything. The other problem, was that the contents were hotter than the sun in parts, and with only a few minutes to go unilt the 14:40 to Werymouth was set to arrive and ferry me home, I was the victim of several severe burns to the roof of my mouth as I attempted to finish it before the train arrived. Fortunately, the train was running late and I was gifted an extra few minutes to finish off the offending crust. People may complain constantly about the state of the railways and the decline of public trasnport, however they are never grateful when the lateness of a train actually makes their life better, on this occassion and I have never appreciated signal failure at Cardiff more.

Pros: Good pastry, great location, Reasonable price.
Cons: Mushy potato, Hotter than hell, tempts me to buy one every time I am at the station,

OVERALL VERDICT: 8/10