Overview
With its crisp pastry shell and hot, tasty filling, it's not too hard to see why the humble pie is a dead-set favourite Melbourne winter treat. And now, it's got a brand new home, in Footscray's small but mighty Pie Thief.
This little spot is the work of Bar Josephine owner Aaron Donato, along with friend and regular, chef Scott Blomfield (Supernormal, Mighty Boy), who set out to create their own solution to Melbourne's lack of good urban pie shops. The duo has taken over the space next door to Bar Josephine, added a healthy dose of colour and cheer, and is now fuelling pie obsessions all over the west.
The menu is heavy on the nostalgia, too, promising to fill you up, please your taste buds and give you a few warm and fuzzies in the process. Boosting the throwback feels, the pair also stirs hot and cold Milos and slices trays of creamy vanilla slice.
Lasagne pie
Thanks to Blomfield's background, the food is created using a restaurant approach, so expect top-notch ingredients and a bit of technique to the buttery pastry and crafty fillings.
The pie menu currently features six core creations, including a steak and cheese, a thai chicken curry and a classic egg and bacon number that you can match with Code Black coffee. The lasagne pie — yes, a pie filled with lasagne — has proved a big hit already, too. It boasts rich bolognese, creamy béchamel and even a cheesy piece of lasagne sheet.
A Pie of The Week option rotates through clever creations like nacho, and cauliflower cheese, and there's a solid vegan option in the pumpkin and tofu cheddar combination. Oh, and they haven't forgotten about the sausage roll, either – here, you'll find an old-school pork and fennel, along with one inspired by the humble chicken parma.
Find Pie Thief at 297 Barkly Street, Footscray. It's open from Monday to Saturday 7am–4pm and Sunday 9am–4pm.