Clark’s Pies

No other pie comes close, not even the ones from the Clarks Pie shop in Cowbridge Road.
The Grangetown baked Clarks Pie is the original & best!

I grew up just around the corner of this shop, in Kent Street, and never went in this shop as a kid. I hang my head in shame.
But but but! Look at the opening times! You’ve got three and half hours to complete your pie odyssey to the south of Grangetown. I was always in school between 10am and 1.30pm and no one wants a pie, not even a claaaarkies during the summer holidays.
Yet I think the difficult location (probably easiest to jump on the 9A from town which passes the shop) and the tiny window of opportunity to visit adds to the mystique and legend of the pie. The shop itself is very Fifties, still rationing Fifties rather than almost the swinging Sixties, and functional with a small line in merchandise available. They should seriously push this like Spillers do with their t-​shirts.
I think every proud Cardiffian should make the pilgrimage at least once to this factory shop, the original source of the clarkies. You won’t get any nearer finding out what the recipe is but will feel closer to the city.

This shop in Grangetown is the original Clark’s Pies outlet — the very first one that ever opened anywhere. It’s located in Llanmaes Street in the Grangetown area, and has been open for decades apart from a brief period during World War II when it was closed due to wartime meat rationing.
A second branch opened in the Canton area in the 1930s, and also one of the family’s sons moved to Bedminster in Bristol to branch out there — so Clark’s Pies are also very well known across Bristol.
Personally I don’t eat pies or pasties much, but this shop definitely deserves a review because it’s a piece of Cardiff’s history. The pastry is so chunky that the pie doesn’t even need a foil tray to hold it in, which gives you a picture of how substantial they are. The exact recipe used in their pie filling remains a closely guarded secret — but it’s based mainly on chunks of beef, potatoes and other vegetables, and thick gravy. All pie lovers should definitely head down to this shop to try one!

Lovely pies

On particularly bleak day, I like to grab lunch at Clark’s, where ordering the standard fare of one large pie and two mash covered in liquor (a non-​alcoholic clear sauce with parsley) is one of the most filling and homey ways I’ve found to spend £2.85. In addition to the foodie satisfaction, it’s worth paying such a small price just to sit in Clark’s austere tiled setting, which some long-​time Londoner friends have confirmed is a real deal, old school pie and mash establishment. Most days, it’s pretty mellow but sometimes there’s a huge queue out the door (usually on Fridays).

The Famous Pie, What can I say! do they taste better on a plate? or walking down the street holding hot clarksie in your hand sucking at the juices and trying to stop anyone noticing as it sqishes out and down your chin. Lovely (I know what I like) ha ha volunteer to go get them and have one on the way home then one on a plate. Wicked. For some this pie THE CLARK is a way of life our history our childhood memories. Wales, Rugby, Beers, Pies. Try one for yourself. The little tiny shop on the corner sells the pie cold or hot and in bulk for parties they also do a mean pastie but nothing else, no chips nada. Total dedication and respect. How many pies do you know get that? A small shop a shrine for the mighty Clarks Pie. Oh no I need one right now.
9 you can get them now in chippys BUT not quite the same and you only know they came originally from their shop if they have the name on their bases (the pies that is.) x