If you’re a festival fan, and a pie fan (and who can deny that’s a decent combination?!) then you might be aware of Pieminister’s Mothership pie incarnations. Previously, the Mothership had only been available to those in the know who could order “off-menu” or at festivals, but now, at Leeds’ Pieminister branch on Duncan Street, all of us serious pie fans can experience a Mothership-induced pie coma.

For those not in the know, the Mothership is your choice of pie (you can choose from a range of 13 flavours) served on a bed of mash (or coleslaw), topped with minted mushy peas, cheddar cheese and shallots. To top it all off, each dish comes with your personal gravy boat on the side.

All sounds good in theory, so we popped down last weekend to try it out for ourselves.

We ordered a chicken pie and a spicy venison pie, the chicken served with mash and the venison with coleslaw. The fillings were spot on, full of flavour and really satisfying. The tarragon in the chicken pie shone through in particular.

That said, the pastry really could have been better. For a place that prides itself on its pies, you’d hope for pastry perfection at the very least, but for us the nail wasn’t quite hit squarely on the head.

The combination of mash with pie (poor pastry not withstanding), minted mushy peas, cheese, and shallots was very tasty indeed, and with a drowning of gravy, the whole thing was a genuine treat for pie lovers.

Our little girl, meanwhile, had a plate of mac n cheese that she devoured with relish; she pretty much scraped the whole plate clean, so it’s a thumbs-up from her.

Pieminister is a solid family-friendly option in Leeds and will no doubt pull in the crowds thanks to the new additions on its menu, but one warning: don’t expect overly slick service. From our experience, and from the experience of a few others we’ve heard from, you don’t come here for warm, personable service, compared to some of the other family-friendly chains and independents that dominate the city centre.

So, a bit of a mixed bag from our visit, but perhaps our photo will convince you to give it a go for yourselves…