PieBird

I was excited to try piebald after hearing great things, and this is my type of food. yummy, warm, casserole-​style food. I love love love chicken pot pie so when I found a place that specializes in said dish, I knew I had to drag the boyfriend to go.
The place is a lot smaller than I imagined. Think narrow and deep, like a lot of downtown restaurants I suppose. I of course ordered the famed chicken pot pie, and my boyfriend got the shepherds pie. For our side, we got the sweet potato casserole and kale soup. Big fan of that kale soup. Small size though. It’s like a teacup-​full, basically. Literally served in a mug. Anyways, at least it was yummy. unlike the sweet potato casserole. Way too sweet, like cloyingly-​so.
Chicken pot pie was actually very not memorable. Yes, it did taste like a chicken pot pie, but I wouldn’t say it’s better than the ones I’ve had in the past that were from regular lil olé southern diners. I don’t know, I thought this one would blow me away. It was just very simple. The shepherds pie was hard to finish. I actually don’t think we finished that one.
Well, I’d still love to come back and try the dessert pies because I LOVE fruit pies. I looked over in jealousy as most other diners had ordered slices of pie. Will come again when the reno is finished.

I had both sweet and savory pies and all was delicious. I got the Movarian and the gravy in it was flavorful and it was packed with chicken. I had the basil tomato soup which was so good I took some home with me.
I had key lime pie and peach pie that I took home and the key lime was the best I’ve ever had. You could taste the butter in the crust! The peach pie was made with real fresh peaches though it did seem like it had been sitting around a few days. I like the whip cream on it but if I got it again I would ask for it on the side or not bother with it so I could have heated it up.
We were only table inside, we had came in the middle of the week but service was still slow and several times we had to go ask for our waitress to come to the table. I would definitely come again the pies are so worth it.

Maybe we came at an off time? When we pulled a few mins after 11am on a Saturday, the sign on the door said Closed. I was about to call, when someone inside flipped over the sign to Open. My friend and I were still eager, so we went in.
There were 2 pies sitting in the case by the entrance. Hmmm… Pie is in the name and yet two sit out to greet customers. Okay, it’s early, let’s keep going. My friend ordered the one hand chicken pot pie and I the spinach feta one hander. It was definitely not skimpy on the spinach. Fairly decent, but nothing to write home about. Crust was good, nice and golden, flaked a little, cooked through; decent.
Then came dessert because, hello, pie. On the board was written chocolate pie and coconut cream pie as options, along with some others. I asked our server what she would recommend and she said the coconut as they were out of chocolate. Wait, what?
Coconut pie came to the table looking more like coconut pudding covered (concealed) in whipped cream. The coconut filling was very loose and did not hold a shape. To me, and based on several hundred internet hits, that’s not what coconut cream pie is supposed to look like. I couldn’t finish it and am probably glad I didn’t.
By the time we left, there were only 4 other patrons. The restaurant across the street was packed so it is definitely not the area that lead to the lack of patrons.

Went to Pie Bird about a month ago. Have been wanting to go for quite some time.
Had the Shepherds pie and a salad with a glass of wine.
Food was yummy. price was reasonable… server was nice… seemed a little new. a little unsure.
I give 3 stars as my friend and I were harangued by fruit flies the entire time.
CRAZY.
Seriously. I think this is the 3 rd time in a couple months a restaurant I have gone to has been invaded by fruit flies.
Get rid of the flies and you get a 4 !!

This was the first time my boyfriend and I went to Pie Bird, and the food was priced way more than what it was worth. We were the only ones in the place and it took 30 minutes to get our meals (which the buns were toasted to the point they were charred) the selection of pies was much less than what they had online.
Was disappointed in the whole experience. We will probably not go back.

It felt like our waitress really had to try hard to be so unengaged, negative, & curt with us. It’s almost as if we had done something wrong by choosing to eat there — my mind is blown by how bad the attitude & the service was at Pie Bird.
The following would have been fine if it weren’t for how utterly dismissive and curt our waitress was:
Had to ask for a server after we had been seated 15 minutes — Hostess promptly fixed that for us. Honest mistake
At the end of the night, had to walk check up to bar myself to pay after 10 minutes of waiting for waitress to come back; based on our puzzling bad experience already. If I wanted to I couldn’t have made an excuse for them — the place was completely dead with only two other couples dining in.
I have eaten here before, but I will not be revisiting this establishment. My night was worse for having dined at Pie Bird. So so negative.

Jury’s kinda still out here.
Expensive? Entirely. Almost laughably.
Quality? Um… not bad — ok. I had the tomato pie (a new discovery — I know I know I’m late in the game. Hey I’m not from the south). Wasn’t what I wanted and they added a peppery spice that really overtook the delicate flavors that should show off in a tomato pie so I wasn’t a fan of that.
Hipster vibe is real, and I’m wicked not a fan of that.
However, a friend brought some chocolate pie thing over one night for dessert as I was making dinner and that was unreal. So I’ll go back to see if I can tip the scales in one direction or another but so far I’m leaning toward a solid «meh».
More to come on this…

Person street kinda surprised for sure this time. It’s like a subdowntown where people can have more space to hangout and enjoy food. And piebird is not that obvious but I do spot it somehow
Location: like I said, it’s in a subdowntown, parking can be an issue if it s during rush hour or weekends. So be prepared to get frustrated. The store is right the opposite of the STATION bar
Food: they only have hand pie during lunch hour. I particularly fond of black bean pie although pimento cheese is awesome too. But I wish cheese pie could be more seasoned. And I have to say that their fries sauce besides the ketchup is fantastic. Try it and you will be satisfied. I also think the hand pie is really crispy outside which is better than most hand pie sold in triangle.
Service: I saw two extremely of this restaurant. Most people give bad reviews because the reservation always mixed up. I agreed. They seemed to have limited space and short of staff. It can be annoying and the food wasn’t really quick (maybe I was too hungry to wait). But I think food is important when you judge a local owned restaurant. That’s my opinion.
Overall: four four four star. The lady is really nice and it’s a gem to actually have a place to enjoy hand pie.

Made an online reservation for 6PM. This place was void of customers. Two haughty make host/​bartenders and a friendly female waitperson.
Food is average. Service pretty poor for an empty place and the price for the follow or does not equal the overall experience.
Pimento cheese appetizer sounded good but ended up greasy and bland. Two dinner specials were ok just no wow factor and our empty glasses stayed empty until we paid the check.
What are you people doing that is so important that your only two diners are ignored? Seriously-​get it together. We noticed a place across the street with a patio that was packed and we regretted not eating there.
PS. Lovely neighborhood-​fun to stroll.

I thoroughly enjoyed the food options at this establishment! The savory pies are pretty unique and delicious. I had the curried vegetable and my friend had pimento cheese and they come out as an individual portion and choice of a side. The sandwiches looked real good too. the service was quick and friendly! I will definitely be going back to try some dessert pies.

Service was probably the worst in the city. No luck flagging down waiters & had to stand in the to-​go line to be acknowledged.

If you are thinking of having pie on pi day stay home. The food here is great but today 3÷14÷15 the service is a nightmare.
They are running out of pie by the minute.
After today please come back the pie here savory and sweet is great.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere is very cute and quaint. They have a distinct funky/​hippie vibe inside with local artists’ paintings and chalkboards with the daily specials.
Food: the food is a little pricey for what it is (we went for lunch) but extremely delicious. We got the arugula salad, fries, and spinach feta pie. Definitely recommend trying their homemade ranch dressing-​it is to die for! The pie is also pretty much the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten. We got a slice of the banana pajama pie and a slice of the crack pie. The crack pie is definitely named appropriately!
Service: this is the only downfall to this place. We came at 1230 on a Saturday for lunch and it was very quiet (3 tables full). It took them a few minutes to even seat us and then another ten to have a waiter greet our table. The table next to us got sat a few minutes after us but was greeted before us and got to order before us. Our waters needed refilling a few times and it was hard to get the server’s attention. In the beginning there was no excuse because it was so quiet but as our meal progressed they got very busy and should have added an additional person on the wait staff. Not impressed with the service but the food was so good we will be back. Hopefully better luck next time!

Tried PieBirds last night based on the reviews and website that they carry gluten free pie. They were out of gluten free pie, so my friends order pie and I order ice cream.
A little while later the pies are brought out missing one, the missing one shows up but it is wrong and then the waiter comes back and says they are out of ice cream. How do you have pie a la mode without ice cream? No other suggestions were made. Also, maybe tell me before everyone’s dessert shows up and I was missing mine.
I ordered hot water because they couldn’t tell me if they had a tea that was caffeine free, so I used my own caffeine free tea.
So basically I went here was charged $ 6 for hot water and didn’t get any dessert.
Server never apologized, never offered another alternative (though there probably wasn’t another alternative).
I was so disappointed.

Spinach Feta Pie along with their Pimento Cheese Pie was really good! The included side salad just makes you feel that you ate something good for you. Ha! Have to knock them down by one star for not having the Arugula Salad. For dessert… sharing a slice of Fudge Pie and Crack Pie just completes a great lunch. Very much would recommend.

This is a great place to catch up with a friend! The atmosphere is so quaint.
I chose the option of getting three hand pies. They are small enough that 3 is just the right amount. However if you aren’t that hungry I would suggest just getting 2.
Everything I ordered was delicious!

My friends and I came here for dessert after a big dinner and we still finished pretty much every bite of pie we ordered (we ordered one of every sweet pie they still had). Here’s the rundown of the ones I remember:
Chocolate cream: nothing special, nobody really wanted to finish that one
Bananas ‘n pajamas: very strong banana taste, pretty good
Crack pie: very very buttery, pretty good as well
Honey and sea salt: easily the favorite, SUPER DELICIOUS, must-​order (very sweet with a salty kick that balances it perfectly)
Lime/​coconut crust: really good Key Lime pie, I especially enjoyed the crust made out of shredded coconut
Cookies ‘n cream: nothing special again, a little too sweet
The one with cardamom: I personally liked it, but not everyone did. Skip it if you’re sharing pies!
Cherry and apple cobbler-​y ones: not bad, but not standouts
I’d love to come back and try their savory dishes! Service was also pretty good, but then again they weren’t super busy, so take that with a grain of salt.

I have been to PieBird three times, so you may wonder three times and only two stars, why would you keep going back?! Well I am more than happy to share why. My first experience at PieBird was probably the best one I had. My dad religiously reads Our State Magazine who did a huge article on pie versus cake and PieBird was featured, so when he was in town we had to go! We went in hopes of getting their famous «Crack Pie» but unfortunately they were out. Luckily they could make it for us to pick up a whole pie the next day (which was a suggestion by me when I knew how disappointed my dad was, instead of the waitress which I found interesting). We then each got a piece of pie to try. I had the Coconut Cream Pie which was good, and between the rest of our party we tried the Bananas in Pajamas, the Lemon Ice Box (my fav at that time!) and chocolate cream pie.
My second time going back was again with my parents, who were wanting to get Crack Pie again because it was delicious! Once again they were out but we decided to try some other kinds again. They had some to-​go pies and our waitress told us all the wrong flavors. Then we ordered a couple slices to go. It took about 30 minutes for our waitress to get the slices together. After all that time, they forgot one piece, had the wrong kind, and almost forgot to have us pay! It was just a complete mess. The only upside was I tried their Cranberry Walnut which was fantastic.
My third visit to PieBird was not much better. This time I actually sat down to eat. It once again took forever! Earlier that day they had $ 3 slices for their anniversary (which was apparently the day prior) but they wouldn’t honor the price when we came in.
Overall the pies are good, the slices are expensive ($ 6 per slice) and their service isn’t too great.

Okay, I like this place a lot better at dinner! The dinner menu has more variety than the brunch one. That being said, I wimped out and just had mac n cheese, since I was in need of comfort food. It was just what I needed. Their mac and cheese is buttery but light by cheesy standards with buttery bread crumbs on top. Peas and carrots were the veggie of the day. Again very buttery, but they went well with the mac n cheese. Good thing calories don’t count when they’re not your fault, huh? Didn’t hurt that I only ate half of it and took the rest home. Good leftover, although that’s when you really discover just how much butter you are consuming.
Thursday night, family event, back room was just right for 14 of us to be wined and dined. Everyone enjoyed their food. Big hits were the pie cracklins with pimiento cheese dip for the apps (sorry no pic… yes, they did go that fast!) And the Bananas and Pajamas pie dessert. The Samoa was also a big hit.
Husband liked his Maker’s Manhattan. Others of us had a glass of wine. Husband also liked his Shrimp Pie with a side of frites with curry mayo and ketchup. I tried both and agreed they were very good.
Special thanks to our wonderful Server who wins the Patience of a Saint Award for the week! (Yes, even more so than the Oakz the night before). What’s the saying you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives?
Relatives, even the rude one, thought the chicken pie was very good.
Thank you PieBird staff, for accommodating our family very well!

Crack Pie, French Press Coffee and The Record Krate spinning vinyl
Our second stop on the Tour De Oak City after trying nearly everything Oakcity Meatball Shoppe had to offer. We were all regulars/​familiar with Piebird as it is a favorite lunch stop when in the city, who knows how I’ve neglected to review it thus far, spank me why don’t ya.
We got
Crack Pie — Because I cannot not order it
Three Berry Pie (Twas a different 3 berries than the last time)
Samoa Pie — Taste like Girl Scouts
Peanut Butter Pie — Overly Sweet, but hey its pie right?
The French Press here should be thought of as Espresso, it is their own French Press Nest Blend Coffee by Counter Culture and is excellent with just a splash of fresh cream.
+ I’ll add from my many lunch time visits that the Black Bean and Green Chile Hand Pie is the best thing in Raleigh under 5 bones and if you’re especially piggish add the Pimento Cheese Hand Pie although it in itself is to cheesy alone, yes it is possible to be to cheesy
And off to Comedy Worx we went