Where to get your pastry fix this British Pie Week.

The British have a long – and sometimes sinister – history of eating pie.  Medieval “pyes”, laced with spices and fruits, were filled with pigeon, eel and rabbit. During the 16th century, the rich hid live birds under the pastry lid to create some dinner-time theatre. The protagonist in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus reaps gruesome revenge on Queen Tamora by baking her two sons into a pie and feeding it to her.

Centuries later – perhaps thanks to a return to nostalgic, hearty dishes during uncertain political times (and inclement weather) – Londoners love pie more than ever: the pastry-clad comfort food appears on menus spanning modish restaurants and reinvigorated British pubs. In honour of British Pie Week, here’s our pick of the capital’s finest (and where to find them).

Ms Margot Henderson and Ms Melanie Arnold, founders of Rochelle Canteen, know how to keep it simple. Their latest outpost in the Institute of Contemporary Arts, a light-filled dining room decorated with little more than bright jars of house-made pickles, lets the food do the talking. And the guinea fowl and smoked bacon pie has plenty to say for itself. The bird is simmered in a herby liquor, studded with nuggets of bacon, before being baked beneath a golden suet pastry lid. The generous portion will look too big. You’ll polish off the lot.

Save space for dessert. A slice of crisp-bottomed pear and almond tart from the counter is further evidence of head chef Mr Ben Coombs’ outstanding pastry skills.

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Marksman, in Hackney, has all the appeal of a laid-back East End boozer (they still serve Foster’s from an unmarked tap to the crinkly-faced gents propping up the bar), but since its relaunch in 2015, the pub has garnered a reputation for serving stellar food (it won Michelin pub of the year in 2017). The chicken and leek pie is made with a gentle stew of tarragon-flecked organic chicken, clad in a layer of buttery, burnished-yellow flaky pastry. This is pared-back British cooking at its best.

Eat the fried potatoes: layers of sliced potatoes, baked then deep fried until teeth-chatteringly crisp. IPA from local Five Points Brewery works alongside, if you don’t fancy the Foster’s.

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Mr Michel Roux Jr oversees the food at The Wigmore, a glitzy new pub in a former banking hall attached to The Langham hotel. The menu elevates classic bar snacks, such as Scotch eggs and devils on horseback. But save space for the ham and parsley pie, made with salty, slow-braised ham hock and a shock of green herbs. The pastry, a mixture of suet and shortcrust, is dangerously good.

Order the house saison, a bespoke beer made for The Wigmore by Bermondsey-based craft brewers Brew By Numbers.

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Corrigan’s is the type of restaurant in which one could lose an afternoon. The interiors invite you to linger: leather armchairs, oak panelling and a drinks trolley laden with amber-coloured spirit bottles. Chef-patron Mr Richard Corrigan’s comforting cooking, too, is generous enough to take your time over; especially his excellent pies. The pastry is a golden burnt ochre, and the succulent filling suspended perfectly inside. Flavours change with the seasons, and this month there’s an unctuous oxtail and prune version, which comes with a jug of rich, shiny gravy, and a heap of fluffy mash. A dish to make you feel all’s right with the world.

Head next door to Dickie’s Bar for an inventive cocktail made with foraged Irish ingredients.

Corrigansmayfair.co.uk 28 Upper Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 7EH

A quick scroll through Mr Calum Franklin’s Instagram feed (@chefcalum) is proof that the head chef of London’s Holborn Dining Room, within the Rosewood Hotel, is a pastry perfectionist. His intricate creations span lattice-topped rhubarb pies, hand-raised pork pies and blushing pink beef wellington. It began when Mr Franklyn found an antique pâté en croûte mould in the hotel’s basement, and began to research traditional recipes. With its shiny pastry encasing a rich duck, pork and pistachio filling, the pâté en croûte with plum jelly is still a standout.

Pick up a slice to take home from the in-house pie room, opening this month.

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Make like the thousands of diners before you and order the famous fish pie at J Sheekey. This Soho institution has been keeping London’s pre-theatre crowd sated for over a century, and the recipe for its bestselling dish has changed little over the years. A well-made fish stock, glossy veloute sauce, and generous chunks of halibut, salmon and smoked haddock, baked beneath a fluffy mashed potato crust – it’s all about top-quality fish, prepared with care.

Head next door to the Oyster Bar to start (or finish) the evening with oysters and champagne.

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